Deepl Translation:
Mechernich-Kallmuth – Under a bright blue sky, through green forests and past dandelion-yellow meadows, the 72nd St George’s Ride set off on 1 May from Kallmuth Castle to Georgspütz, and from there to Holy Mass and the blessing of the horses, before returning to the festival grounds in front of the village. This custom has been observed since at least 1666; since 1953, it has been undertaken not only by pilgrims on foot but also on horseback.
Following the 50th St George’s Ride 22 years ago, which saw 400 horses and an estimated 2,000 pilgrims on foot, accompanied by Bishop Dr Heinrich Mussinghoff, participant numbers have steadily declined. In 2026, there were just 53 horses and 300 church service attendees recorded. Some locals no longer even make the detour via the Georgspütz, but instead head straight to the festival grounds on Schevener Straße to enjoy pea soup, beer, coffee and cake.
But hope springs eternal: “As long as there is still one rider taking part, we will keep the Georgsritt alive,” assured local mayor Robert Ohlerth to Stadt-Anzeiger reporter Stephan Everling. And Pastor Thomas Schlütter, the day’s festival preacher, concluded his sermon with the words: “Saddle the horses of hope! Let us be like George and fight courageously against the dragons of our time.”
By which he meant figures such as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, but also a growing number of right-wing populists in Germany and elsewhere. “What we are doing here is not a nostalgic fancy dress ball, nor folklore, nor an empty tradition,” assured the pastor of Gemünd, Schleiden, Hellenthal and Dreiborn: “We are celebrating a highly topical mission: George fought against the dragons of his time. Today the call is: Be like George! And fight against the dragons of our time!”
Making a fine impression in the saddle and at the microphone
On 1 May, the senior pastor of the Schleidener Tal pastoral district not only made a good impression as a spiritual speaker, but also cut a fine figure in the saddle of the Irish Tinker gelding ‘Jojo’. Even though he hadn’t ridden for a decade and a half, his riding skills from his youth were still evident, as he had demonstrated during a practice session at the “Lindenhof” between Keldenich and Zingsheim beforehand.
Meanwhile, the other clergy were driven to the Georgspütz on the procession wagon. They were Father Dr Shaji Thomas Manikulam from Kerala, India, who is currently on a two-year placement with Communio in Christo in Mechernich, Assistant Priest Felix Dörpinghaus, and Deacon Manfred Lang, who is also the deputy to the head of Communio, Father Jaison Thazhathil.
The so-called Sacrament Cart, on which the First Communion children from the parish of St. Georg, former altar server Michael Loebel, and Andrea and Maleen – wife and daughter of Mechernich’s mayor Michael Fingel – had taken their seats, was pulled by the draft horses ‘Zeus’ and ‘Thor’. Kai Simons and Dietmar Evertz sat in the driver’s seat, the latter having done so for over 30 years.
A total of around 50 volunteers were on duty under the leadership of Gerhard Mayr-Reineke, chairman of the pilgrimage committee, and Robert Ohlerth, the local mayor, including firefighters from Weyer and Lorbach, the Kallmuth Music Society under the direction of Martin Stoffels, numerous men and women helping with catering and setting up the site, as well as the police and the Red Cross.
Wisselcap swapped for a riding helmet
“I’ve been looking forward to this wonderful day for weeks,” Thomas Schlütter told the newspaper reporter. He had learnt to ride as a child and teenager and had practised Western riding whilst still a curate. “Shortly before the procession began, he also exemplarily swapped the traditional biretta, the headgear of Catholic clergy, for a riding helmet,” wrote Stephan Everling in the Saturday edition of the “Kölnischer Rundschau” and “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”.
“Look at this St George,” began the former cathedral vicar and Episcopal Commissioner for the Permanent Diaconate in his sermon: “There he sits on his horse – perhaps a little more majestically for some of you today than for others, depending on how headstrong the steed was this morning. He holds the lance firmly in his grip, his gaze fixed resolutely on the beast. An image out of step with the times? Not at all!”
Today, he said, it is no longer about dragons that devour virgins as in the legend of St George, but about those that prey upon human dignity, peace and democratic values: “These are the dragons of authoritarian imperialism: when we look at the world stage, we see so many powers trampling on peace.”
The war of aggression that President Putin has unleashed in Ukraine, and which continues to shake the world to this day, is nothing less than an “archaic, dragon-like attempt to stifle freedom through brute force”, said Schlütter: “And we see nothing else in the political rhetoric of Donald Trump and his imitators: how truth is being replaced by lies, and how international solidarity is to be replaced by pure selfishness and isolationist nationalism.”
“Work must serve people”
But the dragons of our time sit right here among us and in our shopping baskets, said the preacher, “in the boundless consumption that devours our creation and humanity as if there were no tomorrow.” Those who buy the cheapest T-shirts, produced through slave labour, are feeding the dragon of exploitation. Work must serve people, not greed, Schlütter reminded the congregation, referring to St Joseph, the patron saint of workers, who is also particularly commemorated on ‘Labour Day’, 1 May.
Gerhard Mayr-Reineke, chairman of the pilgrimage committee of the parish of St. Georg Kallmuth and the pastoral area of St. Barbara Mechernich, welcomed the pilgrims and clergy on behalf of the parish priest, Erik Pühringer, who was away on a spa break.
He thanked everyone who had come to celebrate Mass together, and especially the dozens of volunteers from Kallmuth and the neighbouring villages. Among the guests, he gave a special welcome to Mechernich’s mayor, Michael Fingel, his wife Andrea and their young daughter Maleen, as well as Deputy District Administrator Ralf Claßen, who hails from the Kallmuth branch parish of Kalenberg. Pastor Lothar Tillmann and parish worker Elke Jodocy were also spotted as loyal participants in the Georgsritt. Pastoral worker Linda Schmitt-Thees led ‘Jojo’ during the procession. Stefan Werner brought the horse for the riding pastor from the ‘Lindenhof’ to Kallmuth.
pp/Agentur ProfiPress
