Restored pilgrim paths
In 1944, the legendary director Michael Powell made the film A Canterbury Tale, now recognized as one of the greatest and most beloved classics of British cinema. This strange fantasy depicts a group of conflicted modern people on a dreamlike trip to the city of Canterbury, following in the footsteps of the medieval precursors who pioneered the route still known as the Pilgrims’ Way. However secular their intentions when they first set out, each in his or her way finds at Canterbury the answer to long-felt hopes and dreams.
In the 1940s, Powell’s vision was hopelessly romantic. Yes, millions of Catholic and Orthodox believers still went on pilgrimages to such shrines as Lourdes, Fátima, and Santiago de Compostela, and revived English sites like Walsingham attracted hard-core Anglo-Catholics. In the modern Protestant world, though, pilgrimage was clearly seen as a relic of bygone eras.
But over the past generation, that institution has experienced a startling revival across what we often dismiss as secular Europe. As I described in an earlier column (“Pilgrims of our times,” May 18, 2010), many older shrines have been revived and attract millions of younger seekers, and whole new pilgrim destinations have been added to the map.
