As the Archbishop of Canterbury continues her pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral ahead of her installation, she is stepping into a tradition that reaches deep into Christian history. Her 140km journey with her husband, Eamonn, along parts of the Becket Camino is not just a long walk; it is a spiritual act of prayer, reflection, and preparation.
For centuries, Christians have gone on pilgrimage to seek God, to remember the faith of those who have gone before them, and to encounter the Lord in a deeper way - a physical journey that also nourishes the soul. Though the form has changed across the ages, pilgrimage remains a living and meaningful part of Christian devotion. So, let’s dig into its meaning, origin, and relevance.
A journey rooted in faith
In simple terms, a pilgrimage is a journey undertaken for spiritual purpose. Usually, it involves travelling to a place that has special meaning in the Christian faith, such as a site associated with Jesus, the apostles, saints or esteemed Christian figures, or an important event in the life of the Church. Yet pilgrimage is not only about reaching a sacred destination. It is also about what happens along the way: prayer, reflection, suffering, repentance, worship, and a deeper awareness of God.
Pilgrimage may be physical, but it can also be inward. It may involve walking a historic path, visiting a shrine, or simply making space for the soul to journey towards God.
The origins of pilgrimage in Christianity
The roots of pilgrimage in Christianity are both biblical and historical. The Bible does not present Christian pilgrimage in the later formal sense of intentional travel to shrines or holy sites, yet the theme of journeying with God runs all through Scripture. The people of Israel journeyed through the wilderness. Jesus made his final journey to Jerusalem and the cross. Apostle Paul went on missionary journeys. Again and again, God’s people have encountered him while on the way.
Still, the earliest Christians did not at first make pilgrimage to holy places a central practice. Instead, they understood the whole Christian life as a pilgrimage. Believers were seen as “pilgrims and strangers” in the world, travelling from Earth towards their true home with God in the heavenly Jerusalem.
This began to shift in the fourth century. After Constantine became a Christian, places connected to the life of Christ and the saints were increasingly identified, honoured, and visited. Jerusalem became a major destination and Christian shrines and relics developed across the wider Church. Over time, pilgrimage to holy places became a major feature of Christian life and devotion.
Kinds of pilgrimage
Christian tradition has never understood pilgrimage in only one way. The University of York’s pilgrimage project and the St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology both show that pilgrimage developed as a rich and layered idea.
There is moral pilgrimage, which sees the whole Christian life as a journey of obedience to God. Another centres places - travelling to shrines, tombs, cathedrals, and holy sites linked with Jesus and the saints. A third is interior pilgrimage, which focuses on the inward search of the soul for God through prayer, silence, and repentance.
These strands have often overlapped. A Christian may travel to a sacred place, and in doing so also experience a deeper inward turning towards God.
Why Christians went on pilgrimage
Christians have gone on pilgrimage for many reasons. Some travelled out of love for Christ and a desire to walk where he walked. Some visited the tombs of apostles or saints to pray and give thanks. Some went in thanksgiving after recovery from illness. Some went in memory of loved ones. Others sought forgiveness, healing, guidance, or spiritual renewal. For some, pilgrimage was an act of repentance.
Simply put, pilgrims often travel to deepen their relationship with God, feel connected to the global Church, learn more about Christian history, seek blessing, or pray for healing.
Pilgrimage also has a physical side. It can involve tiredness, discomfort, weather, blisters, silence, and effort. That is one reason it means so much to many people. It reminds them that faith is not only about ideas. It involves the whole person: body, mind, and spirit.
Pilgrimage has also long been valued because it takes people out of ordinary routines. It creates room for stillness, for honest self-examination, and for renewed dependence on God. It expresses the journey of faith itself, with its movement, vulnerability, prayer, companionship, and hope.
Why Christians still go on pilgrimage today
Pilgrimage is not a required practice in Christianity, yet many believers still find it deeply meaningful. In an age marked by hurry, distraction, and noise, pilgrimage offers something rare: the chance to slow down and attend to God.
Some Christians go on pilgrimage to mark a season of change, discernment, or grief. Others go to reconnect with the historic faith or to seek healing and renewal. Some are drawn by a longing they can barely explain, only knowing that they need to step away from daily life and make space for God.
That is part of what makes Archbishop Mullally’s pilgrimage so meaningful. Her walk to Canterbury is not merely ceremonial. It also connects her with generations of believers who travelled prayerfully to holy places before major moments in life and ministry. By walking an ancient route, praying along the way, and joining worship at churches and cathedrals en route, she reflects a truth Christians have long known: sometimes the road itself becomes a place of grace.
Famous Christian pilgrimage sites
Across the Christian world, many places have become centres of pilgrimage.
Jerusalem holds unique significance because of its connection to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Pilgrims visit places such as the Garden of Gethsemane, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Church of the Ascension.
Rome has long been a major destination, especially for Catholics, because of its association with Apostles Peter and Paul and because it is the seat of the papacy. Pilgrims visit St Peter’s Basilica and other sites connected with the early Church.
Santiago de Compostela in Spain has become one of the best-known pilgrimage destinations in Europe, with ancient walking routes leading to the traditional burial place of St James. Other major sites include Fatima, Assisi, Medjugorje, and Mexico City.
Pilgrimage in the UK
Britain too has a rich pilgrimage heritage.
Canterbury Cathedral remains one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations in the UK. Its importance grew especially after the martyrdom of Thomas Becket in 1170, and for centuries pilgrims journeyed there in prayer, repentance, and hope. It is fitting that Archbishop Sarah’s own pilgrimage will end there.
Walsingham in Norfolk is one of England’s most important pilgrimage sites and remains a place of devotion for both Anglicans and Roman Catholics.
Iona, the small Scottish island, with its deep Celtic Christian heritage, continues to draw those seeking prayer, peace, and spiritual renewal.
Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is closely linked with the witness of St Cuthbert and the life of the early Church in these islands.
St Cuthbert’s Way is another important route in the British Isles that connects pilgrims with the memory of earlier saint. Associated with St Cuthbert, the beloved seventh-century monk and bishop of Lindisfarne, the route leads pilgrims through a landscape shaped by the memory of early Christian witness.
Archbishop Mullally’s route itself reflects this living heritage. Her pilgrimage includes St Paul’s Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, Lesnes Abbey, Rochester Cathedral, Aylesford Priory, the Shrine of St Jude, Chartham, and Canterbury Cathedral. In following this path, she joins a wider Christian story that has been unfolding for centuries.
Controversies surrounding pilgrimage
Pilgrimage has not been without its critics. From the early centuries of the Church, questions have been raised about whether journeys to holy places are truly necessary. 'If God is everywhere, why should anyone need to travel in order to meet him?' some have argued.
Others may object to the cost of pilgrimage. Some Christians believe the money spent on travel could be better used serving those in need. There are also concerns about overcrowding and commercialisation, especially at famous shrines where shops and souvenirs can distract from spiritual purpose.
Some Protestants, especially during the Reformation, strongly criticised pilgrimage because of its connection with relics, shrines, and what they saw as superstition or abuse. Others have argued that the same spiritual blessings can be found at home in prayer, worship, and ordinary discipleship.
These criticisms should not simply be dismissed. They remind the Church that pilgrimage is not an end in itself, nor a substitute for daily holiness, love of neighbour, or faithful worship. At its best, pilgrimage should deepen Christian discipleship, not distract from it.
Final thought: a tradition that still speaks today
Pilgrimage remains popular today because many Christians find it spiritually powerful. It removes them from everyday routines and gives them time to reflect. It teaches patience, humility, endurance, and dependence on God. It can also strengthen a sense of belonging to the church across time and place.
A pilgrimage may not change someone’s life overnight. But it can create space for clarity, repentance, healing, or renewal. And it can remind a person that the Christian life is not static. It is a journey.
The ancient tradition of pilgrimage is still alive because the Christian faith has always been a faith of journeying. From the Bible’s stories of wandering, exile, and mission, to the early church’s idea of life as a journey toward heaven, to later visits to Jerusalem, Rome, Canterbury, and Walsingham, pilgrimage has expressed the longing to seek God more deeply.
Archbishop Mullally’s pilgrimage to Canterbury is a fresh reminder of that truth. In walking an old path before taking up a new calling, she shows that pilgrimage is not only about history. It is still a living act of faith. Christians still do it today because the road itself can become a place of grace.
Dear reader, your entire life of faith is a pilgrimage. Embrace the journey and know that God is with you!
