On Wednesday afternoon, 1 August, they left Landshut, in the heart of Bavaria, on a special train. They stopped at Freising, Munich, Rosenheim, Prien and Traunstein Halt before arriving in Rome.
However, the destination of these thousands of German pilgrims was Castel Gandolfo, where on Friday afternoon, 3 August, they had an evening in honour of Benedict XVI, as a gift for his 85th birthday, which he celebrated last 19 April.
Led by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, their Archbishop, the faithful of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising – including 450 Bayerischen Gebirgsschützen, the “mountain troops of Bavaria” who belong to the characteristic corps founded in the 15th century, together with 150 Bavarians in their traditional local costume – performed songs and dances in honour of Benedict XVI – seeking to recreate the atmosphere of his native land.