Paris Blog 1: Climate pilgrimages converge on Paris

London cycle team

Today, the various international pilgrimages to Paris to lobby the UN Climate talks, converged on the city centre.

The first I encountered was the 17 Westminster Laudato Si' cyclists. There they were in their yellow outfits, helmets and bicycles posing for photos outside Notre Dame Cathedral. It was early evening and a sharp wind blew around the piazza but, despite showing signs of feeling the cold, they were clearly uplifted by the experience of spending three days cycling from Dieppe to highlight climate change. "It was magnificent" reported Fr Joe Ryan of West Green Parish and chair of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission, "and not as stressful as I expected it to be for a 70-year-old". Barbara Kentish of the Commission felt "it was absolutely worth organising". She said, "our group became wonderful companions and the hospitality we received in the parishes we visited was fantastic".

It was great to see the cyclists in such good spirits after a pilgrimage that began in August when around 20 of us saw them off from Westminster Cathedral, little realising what a strenuous journey lay ahead in terms of terrain and weather. I'm in awe of their commitment to raising awareness of the issue of climate change.

CAFOD workers Jed Edwards from Liverpool and Ann Wilson from Salford were equally enthusiastic. "We experienced a great sense of community and the feeling of solidarity with those communities and CAFOD partners around the world who are suffering because of the impacts of climate change". Mark Spring of the Bradford on Avon Quakers described the pilgrimage as "uplifting, despite a lot of punctures".

As night fell the group joined other pilgrims at the nearby parish of St Merry for a sharing of pilgrimage stories and well-earned soup, bread and cheese.... more wonderful French hospitality.

Groups from Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Italy, France,Vietnam and the Philippines were joined by the British groups. Each put forward a symbol from their pilgrimage and sang a song, standing up in turn in their colourful sweatshirts and walking boots.

The Pilgrimage2Paris walkers, an ecumenical group in turquoise which set out from St Martin in the Fields two weeks ago, sang: 'To be a pilgrim' and pointed out that everywhere they stopped they highlighted the value of God's creation and that the world's poorest communities are affected by climate change. Organiser James Buchanan said the whole group was "very thankful" to have undertaken the pilgrimage and to have enjoyed "amazing hospitality in the French parishes. CAFOD, Tearfund and Christian Aid supported the pilgrimage and a cheer went up when the presence of a Buddhist walker was acknowledged.

A Scottish group of pilgrims put forward a solid oak baton, engraved with Eco-congregation Scotland. They reported that for the past six months the baton has been passed between over 100 churches and many communities and schools in Scotland to raise awareness of climate change and the UN climate talks in Paris. "It's time for Climate Justice" they said, "and the churches in Scotland demand climate justice".

St Merry's was getting quite cold on the November evening when the 'People's Pilgrimage' from the Philippines came forward to give a rousing climate song in Tagalog and had everybody up clapping. Nearly everyone put effort into mastering a very difficult but catchy chorus, despite simply guessing what the words meant. "Every step counts in the fight against climate change" said their spokesman, Yeb Sano. Perhaps one of the world's most famous climate activists, especially after his emotional reaction to the destruction of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 while a climate negotiator at the highest level, I sought him out afterwards. "This has been a powerful manifestation of the people's will" he told me; "in our group we had diverse nationalities, backgrounds and religious traditions, but we have been able to be on pilgrimage together for a better tomorrow".

Yeb will be an official observer at the UN climate talks which start on Monday, but will he return to being a negotiator himself? He told me, "I just want to go back to the Philippines and say to my kids, 'I did my best to fight for your future.'"