Who is behind this virtual pilgrimage?
This special ecumenical online pilgrimage has been created by pilgrim-filmmaker Michael M. Conti, who took the 85-mile “Hildegard Way” through the Nahe river region in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was an inspiration from Dr. Annette Esser, the founder of the Scivias Institute for Art and Spirituality. Dr. Esser speaks in character as “Hildegard” at 10 stations along the trail and gives a small glimpse into the many teachings of Saint Hildegard.
Hildegard Way was an inspiration from Dr. Annette Esser, the founder of the Scivias Institute for Art and Spirituality in Germany.
Hildegard Way or Hildegardweg
The Hildegard Way (“Hildegardweg”) was established with support from the European Union in 2013 and is a 140 km pilgrimage trail through the Nahe river region in Germany. The trail begins in Ida-Oberstein, leading past the monastery ruins of Disibodenburg and Hildegard’s Rupertsburg Abbey, concluding at the Abbey of Saint Hildegard in Einbingen.
The concept of these tableaux was developed by Dr. Annette Esser and written up by a team of authors facilitated by the Scivias Institute, including sisters of St. Hildegard Abbeys: of these, 27 meditation tableaux follow Hildegard’s major mystical work, the Liber Scivias, and 31 information tableaux present Hildegard‘s medical, musical and ethical works and on the historical sites where the saint lived. These tableaux are in German and English.
I think, I speak for all of us, who have worked hard and with much enthusiasm on realizing this project, when I say now: Welcome for a visit in the land of Hildegard. Welcome for a Hildegard Pilgrimage! In Saint Hildegard’s words: o quam mirabilis – how wondrously – how wonderful !
Annette Esser, Cologne & Bad Kreuznach, Spring 2020
Find the Hildegard presenter profiles and schedule on this page. The focus was spirituality and creativity as seen through Hildegard’s natural medicine, art, writing and music.
First virtual pilgrimage 2020
Over one hundred virtual pilgrims joined us on the Hildegard von Bingen Pilgerwanderweg, where Saint Hildegard speaks! This pilgrimage started 12 days prior to Saint Hildegard’s Feast Day on September 17, 2020. We began at noon EDT every day, starting on Sunday, September 6.
For twelve days online, you were invited to experience contemplative spiritual direction from an American follower of Hildegard, see new videos that are elegant and divinely inspired from “Saint Hildegard Speaks” stations along the Hildegard Way in Germany and listen to academic and theological short talks on themes in Hildegard’s life.
The virtual pilgrimage concluded on Saint Hildegard’s Feast Day on Sept 17, 2020 with Matthew Fox’s special presentation.
The Hildegard von Bingen Pilgrimage Book (2022)
The Hildegard von Bingen Pilgrimage Book directs you along the way, offering short descriptions of each of the ten stages. It also provides profound information about Hildegard’s life and her theological, musical, medical, and botanical works. Biblical texts and meditative poems are included to offer you additional inspiration, furthering the potential for your own spiritual discoveries in the company of Hildegard.
Behind the scene of the first virtual Pilgrimage
Dr. Annette Esser and the Scivias Institute
Under the leadership of Dr. Annette Esser, the Scivias Institute is a community of leaders & learners located in Bingen, Germany. We are a non-profit organization and a registered society in Germany. Being in an ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, we strive to join into the social and academic discourse in theology, art and science today. We would like to welcome many friends and sponsors as our members.
“There is a pilgrimage saying the path itself is the goal. Some find that the goal of a pilgrimage is to touch a saint’s grave. Whatever works for you, just be in grace, and celebrate your journey!”
— Dr. Annette Esser
Dr. Beverly Mayne Kienzle: Retired Harvard Professor, Medievalist, Women’s Historian
Beverly’s work on two historical figures: Virginia Cary Hudson, a twentieth-century woman and Beverly’s grandmother; and Hildegard von Bingen, the best-known woman of the twelfth century.”
Dr. Beverly Kienzle’s Hildegard von Bingen’s Homilies on the Gospels are here translated for the first time from Latin into English. Hildegard’s sisters recorded and preserved her informal preaching in this collection of homilies on twenty-seven gospel pericopes. As a teacher and superior to her sisters, Hildegard probably spoke to them in the chapter house, with the scriptural text either before her or recited from memory, according to Benedictine liturgical practice.
Dr. Beverly Kienzle writes:
Hildegard was the only medieval woman who systematically interpreted the Gospels; that is, she explained the multiple meanings of biblical texts methodically and theologically. She achieved a rich, creative, and coherent presentation of Christian theology, from the origins of the world and humankind to the afterlife. She affirmed repeatedly that divine visions taught her the deepest meaning of the Scriptures,
Viriditas, or greenness, a unifying capacity of nature, lies at the core of Hildegard’s natural science, medicine, cosmology, and theology. The life-giving power of the Holy Spirit offers hope, refreshment, and faith in God’s creation, even when human perversion destroys it. For Hildegard, the lives and spirits of all creatures are interdependent—a crucial lesson for a world suffering from a pandemic and the destruction of natural life.
Her belief in the interconnectedness of all living beings influences the international movements for integrative medicine and for environmental protection. Hildegard’s influence on healing, creation theology and women’s leadership continues today, as evidenced by the spiritual pilgrimage to her homeland, so beautifully presented in the videos that follow.
Rev. Dr. Shanon Sterringer with Hildegard Haus
Rev. Dr. Shanon Sterringer is a theologian and an ordained priest (ARCWP) with over two decades of pastoral experience and a strong advocate for holistic health/spirituality. The Hildegard Haus in Fairport Harbor, Ohio is the home of The Community of St. Hildegard, an inclusive Christian community where all are welcome to fully participate in the sacramental celebrations.
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox
Fox is a recipient of the Abbey Courage of Conscience Peace Award (other recipients being the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Ernesto Cardenal and Rosa Parks); the Ghandi King Ikeda Award; the Tikkun National Ethics Award; and other awards. His work has been honored by theologians, artists, healers and thought leaders around the world.
He has been interviewed in print and broadcast media including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, Yoga Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, New Age Journal, Utne Reader, Spirituality and Health, Tikkun, Science of Mind, Chicago Tribune, Toronto Star, Washington Post, National Catholic Reporter, The Independent (London), The Guardian, YES! Magazine, and Caduceus Journal, as well as The Today Show, Democracy Underground, The Young Turks, the BBC and Brazilian, Canadian and Italian television.
Hildegard von Bingen, a Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century.
Michael M. Conti, Pilgrim-filmmaker
Michael M. Conti has over 25 years of experience in video production, technical direction, hosting online learning modules, and streaming platform distribution to help tell stories and monetize film content. As a director, editor, producer, and consultant, Conti’s successful track record, beginning in Hollywood and beyond, is representative of his work through Michael M. Conti Productions LLC.
The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard tries to answer why abbess, artist, composer, healer, and visionary Saint Hildegard von Bingen is considered to be the patron saint of creativity and discusses her continued impact today on theology, medicine, art, medicine, and music.