On Tuesday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m. , we invite you to the Pilgrim Café at the Barth Bible Center.

“Celtic spirituality and its relevance today”

With Thomas N. H. Knoll, theologian, preacher at the Pilgrim Center Berlin, and trainer for pilgrim guides.

Celtic spirituality is not a nostalgic romanticization of times past. It is a spiritual attitude that discovers the sacred in everyday life: in nature, in relationships, in walking, in silence, in blessings. It is a spirituality that seeks connection—between heaven and earth, humanity and creation, body and soul. This evening will focus on precisely these questions. An evening for listening, thinking and inner participation.

“Celtic Christianity & Spirituality”

May 6-16, 2026

For those who want to delve deeper, there is also a special opportunity: an 11-day pilgrimage to Ireland, where Celtic Christianity is still alive today.

Under the guiding principle of “How the Irish saved civilization in Europe”, we will follow the ancient pilgrimage routes of the great saints: St. Patrick, St. Brigid, and St. Kevin.

What makes this trip special:

• Pilgrimages through a landscape that Celtic Christians consider to be enchanted
• Times of silence and exchange
• Encounters with ancient stories, myths, and spiritual poetry
• Celtic blessings for plants and animals, for heaven and earth
• A spirituality that does not divide, but unites

The journey will be led by Bernd Lohse (author, pilgrim, retired pastor) and Thomas N. H. Knoll (preacher and pilgrim guide). The travel partner and organizer is Biblische Reisen Stuttgart.

For more information and to register, please contact: thomas.knoll@pilgern-im-osten.de
Registration deadline: February 25, 2026 (later only on request!)

"And Patrick went to the top of Mount Cruachan Aigli and stayed there for the next 40 days and nights, and the birds bothered him and he could see neither the sky nor the land. For to all the holy men of Ireland ... God said: ‘Climb up, holy men, to the top of the mountain that towers above all others and is higher than all the mountains in the west, to bless the people.’" 

Book of Armagh (Irish manuscript from the 9th century) 

This refers to Ireland's holy mountain “Croagh Patrick,” a rocky mountain in the far west of the Emerald Isle, which pilgrims still climb barefoot today in memory of St. Patrick's Christianization of Ireland. This ancient pilgrimage commemorates the forty days of penance that St. Patrick is said to have imposed on himself here in 441, and it remains one of Ireland's most important pilgrimages today, which is why Croagh Patrick should not be missed on any trip to Ireland's pilgrimage routes. Walking Ireland's ancient pilgrimage routes not only offers an opportunity for spiritual renewal, but also a connection to our own Christian past. After all, it was mainly monks and itinerant preachers from the Old Irish Church who sought to spread Christianity in German-speaking areas between the 7th and 10th centuries.

/Sabine Petters