Introduction : the journey, the destination, and the company we keep

Abstract

Throughlines emerging from the 2023 Sacred Journeys 10th Global Conference in St Elmo’s Fort, Valetta, Malta, organized by Dane Munro and Ian McIntosh—from which most of the papers in this volume are drawn—reinforce an undeniable trend. In the twenty-first century, the phenomenon of pilgrimage has expanded well beyond commonly understood and now stereotypical forms associated with the major world religions—namely a visit by an individual or individuals to a sacred place for religious purposes—where emphasis is placed on ‘being there’ in the holy cities of Jerusalem, Rome, Mecca, Bodh Gaya, Prayag (Allahabad), Amritsar, and so on. Medieval travel from Canterbury to Rome, or across the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula or the Sahara to Mecca, was a necessary and often dangerous trial for pilgrims. But their eyes were on the prize. [extract].