In literature, John Bunyan’s 1678 classic, The Pilgrim's Progress, was the most popular book after the Bible. This, along with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, J.R.R. Tolkien's trekking hobbits, many books by C.S. Lewis, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, and The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho, are a few more that helped frame lives as faith-filled journeys for generations.
Pictures: The Cover of The Pilgrim's Progress and the Emmanuel's Land Window at Emmanuel Church in the City of Boston (depicting Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress). Designed by Frederic Crowninshield (1845-1918).
Helen Guzik of the National Trust defines a Pilgrimage as, "... a devotional practice consisting of a prolonged journey, often undertaken on foot or on horseback, toward a specific destination of significance. It is an inherently transient experience that removes the participant from their home environment and identity. The means or motivations in undertaking a pilgrimage might vary, but the act, however performed, blends the physical and the spiritual into a unified experience."
While horses may or may not be involved, the Pilgrimage journey is also certainly something experienced today in many ways. Click below to see what a Pilgrimage might look like today.
“What Is a Pilgrimage? | History,” National Trust, n.d., https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/what-is-a-pilgrimage, Photo by Peter Amende.
Making a Pilgrimage is not just a Christian activity; people of many faiths can undertake one. Find resources below to follow along on a Pilgrimage, learn about what kit to take, how to make your own Pilgrim badge and write a prayer for Pilgrims everywhere.