Pilgrimages are as old as the Church. From the earliest Christian times people were already making the journey to the Holy Land to see places associated with Our Lord. Later, locations associated with saints also attracted pilgrims. The more famous the saint, the further were the distances that pilgrims came to venerate his or her relics.
The Middle Ages was the great age of pilgrimage. There were countless locations attracting countless visitors desiring to pray and do penance in the places associated with saints. Some of these places took on international importance and drew pilgrims from great distances. Rome, of course, was chief among them, followed by famous shrines like Santiago de Compostella in Spain.
During the great age of pilgrimage the highways and byways of Christendom were arteries connecting all the famous shrines. The roads of Medieval Europe were chock-full of colourful travellers: pilgrims, preachers, knights errant seeking good deeds to do, tradesmen and travelling craftsmen, folk going to market, wandering musicians called troubadours, men coming and going on crusades, plus assorted adventurers. Medieval books are often decorated with picturesque 'miniatures' of this colourful crowd.
Today, pilgrimages are still very popular. But pilgrims will fly or drive their chosen shrine. Long gone are the wayside inns full of jolly pilgrims, singing troubadours and knights errant. Today's pilgrim will join a highly structured package tour and stay in a plain modern hotel. But the desire is still the same: to leave the normal routine of daily life for a while and go away to be with God, immersing oneself in the supernatural atmosphere of a holy place.
Pilgrimages are like a microcosm of our lives. Our journey from birth to death to eternity is paralleled by the pilgrim's journey to the holy place. The aches and pains, the soreness and fatigue experienced along the way make the arrival all the more rewarding. In a similar way, the sufferings and ups and downs of life will make our eternal happiness all the greater. Pilgrimages are also a kind of retreat. As we journey along the road we also journey into our own souls seeking deeper insight into life's meaning and eternal truths. Pilgrimages are an occasion to spend a few days or weeks dwelling on the higher - more important - things of life and renewing our spiritual energies.
In spite of all the comfort and convenience of pilgrimage in the jet age, there is today a growing interest in old-style pilgrimage on foot. Santiago de Compostella is once again a highly popular international travel destination. Many visitors once again make the journey on foot, staff in hand, following the ancient Pilgrim's Way across northern Spain in the tradition of the Middle Ages. Several exclusive travel agencies now cater to foot-pilgrims to Santiago. There is also the Paris to Chartres pilgrimage. In Australia, the annual three-day pilgrimage walk from Ballarat to Bendigo is growing in popularity.
Modern man, in the midst of all his comforts and conveniences, in the midst of such a frenetic and fast-paced lifestyle, has as deep yearning for the epic foot-pilgrimages of the days of yore.
