Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a ritual journey to a sacred or otherwise special place. Pilgrimages are undertaken for a variety of reasons, including the search for physical or spiritual healing, as the fulfillment of a vow, as a prescribed act of religious piety, for commemoration of significant events, as the expression of national or ethnic affiliation, to memorialize the dead, and for acquiring the spiritual blessing of a particular holy figure or holy place. In addition, pilgrimages may be made to [Page 992]secular or quasi-spiritual sites, as in a pilgrimage to Elvis Presley's home at Graceland, to war graves, or to Lenin's tomb. While pilgrimage may be an important part of spiritual practice within particular religions, it can be interdenominational as well. Pilgrimages enjoy a continuing ...