World Youth Day Pilgrimage: evaluation report

Importance of Pilgrimage Pilgrimage is important for Christians. It was a central feature of both the Old and New Testaments. It is practised by many of the great religions of the world. Pilgrimage is based on a strong attachment to place in the spiritual lives of people. It fulfils a human desire to see and feel a person’s faith origins. Pilgrimage sites offer stories both of saints and of God interacting with ordinary people. It also draws the pilgrim into an atmosphere of corporate spirituality, while allowing scope for individual response to God. At a pilgrimage site, a grace is encountered which can transform and enrich a person’s assumptions, leading to new knowledge and friendship with God.