Częstochowa is presented as the destination of a pilgrimage departing from Lipce, a sacred journey whose preparations and departure draw together village worship, communal travel, and a painful separation. The narrative does not describe the pilgrims’ arrival in the city; instead, it makes the road toward Częstochowa the setting for a farewell that changes the journey’s meaning for Jagusia.

The Pilgrimage Takes Shape

Hanka asks whether anyone from her household will make the journey. Her daughter Ewka is going with Maciuś, and Hanka decides to go as well, first washing her lighter clothes. She notes that few people from the village are making the pilgrimage that year, giving the departing company a particular, limited scale rather than the appearance of a universal village procession.

The journey acquires a more personal significance when Hanka reveals that Jasio, the organist’s son, will travel with the company. Jagusia reacts at once, rushing out of the cottage only half dressed. Hanka has heard the news from the organist’s wife and frames the pilgrimage as a chance to travel with the priest and in greater dignity. Jagustynka, however, suspects that Jasio’s decision is not simply an act of goodwill.

Ritual and Departure

Before setting out, the pilgrims gather in the church while the priest begins a votive Mass for their intention. Jasio serves at the altar, but his tearful, grief-stricken appearance distinguishes him from the formal steadiness of the rite. Jagusia is among the figures he sees through his blurred vision, while the other pilgrims approach communion. The destination is thus linked first to a shared act of worship, even as private sorrow presses into the ceremony.

After Mass, the Parish Priest of Lipce bids the pilgrims farewell from the altar. Once they leave the church, he sprinkles them with holy water and blesses them. The company raises its banner, places the cross at its head, begins singing, and starts the long road to Częstochowa. These actions give the departure a marked religious order: the journey begins not as casual travel but as a procession set apart by blessing, symbol, and song.

The Road as a Parting

Jagusia accompanies her mother and the other villagers, but the pilgrimage’s communal purpose cannot console her. She watches Jasio from a distance; the organist’s wife and children stay beside him, leaving Jagusia no opportunity to speak with him or even see him clearly. The procession carries him away while she remains outside its closest circle.

At the shrine by Podlesie, Jagusia and her companions say goodbye to the pilgrims. The singing company recedes along the sunny road until it vanishes from sight, leaving only clouds of dust in the distance. Jagusia returns toward the village after the others, exhausted by the heat and anguish. In this episode, Częstochowa remains an unseen destination, but its pull is decisive: the pilgrimage transforms a religious departure into a separation that Jagusia experiences as devastating and potentially final.