Pilgrimages started in the 4th Century when St. Helena, Mother of Constantine claimed to have discovered part of the true cross in Jerusalem. In the Middle Ages the Church encouraged people to go on pilgrimages to holy places called shrines. It was believed that if you prayed at these shrines you would possibly be forgiven for your sins and have more of a chance of going to heaven when you die. Other people went to shrines as they hoped to be cured from an illness they had. An important shrine was at Walsingham, Norfolk where there was a sealed glass jar that was said to contain the milk of the Virgin Mary. At other shrines people would go to see the teeth, bones, shoes, combs, etc., that were said to have belonged to important saints. The keepers of the shrines would give the pilgrims a metal badge that had been stamped with the symbol of the shrines. These badges were fixed to the pilgrim's hat so people would know they had actually visited the shrine. Some people went on pilgrimages abroad. For example, in Palestine, you could visit a cave that was supposed to contain the beds of Adam and Eve and a pillar of salt that had once been Lot's wife. Other places Christians visit on Pilgrimage are the Holy Lands such as Israel or Palestine and many usually visit the places where Jesus lived, especially on special Christian celebrations or events such as they visit Bethlehem at Christmas and Jerusalem at Easter. St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy is another place of Christian pilgrimage as St. Peter, a disciple of Jesus was believed to have been buried here and it is the centre of the Roman Catholic Church and home of the Pope. In 1858, a young girl called Bernadette Soubirous had a vision of Our Lady, Mary, Mother of God. The spring waters that flow from the fountains in Lourdes, France are believed to bring miraculous healing from God and in Knock, Ireland on 21st August, 1879 a group of people claimed to have seen a heavenly vision there and also, Taize along with Lourdes is another main place of Christian pilgrimage. However, it is not just Christians who go on pilgrimages as there are Non-Christian places of pilgrimage such as Cos, Epidaurus, Pergamon, Tricca, Athens and Rome.
I will now take a closer look at pilgrimages to Lourdes and Taize as these are both important pilgrimage destinations in the Christian church. I will begin by looking
at Lourdes. Lourdes is a place of pilgrimage because it is where people go to pray to
Mary as Lourdes is where she appeared to St. Bernadette. It is a place of spiritual healing, spiritual repair and inner peace. People who go there pray for inner healing, not just physical. It is important to people as they can feel closer to Mary here and can find their inner peace.
I will now look at Taize. It is also in France in the Burgundy region. It was founded by a man called Roger Schultz in 1940. He helped refugees during the war and was driven out by the Gestapo. He then lived on his own for two years, praying three times a day. He came back to Taize after the war and it has grown as a pilgrimage centre since then. People of all faiths go to Taize and people meet there and pray together three times daily for ten to fifteen minutes. People go to Taize to find God and they find faith, love, calmness and inner peace in themselves. Music and singing is very important in Taize and they have song practice everyday.
As you can see, the places of pilgrimage I have chosen are quite different and people go there for different reasons. Lourdes is more of a place of worship to Mary, while Taize is a place where people get together and pray as a group more. Lourdes is also more a place of spiritual healing but people go to Taize so they can feel closer to God rather than Mary and to find their own faith.