God looked at everything he had made,

and found it very good. 

Genesis 1: 31 

Walking pilgrimage is increasingly popular in the Twenty First Century.

Over 446,000 people finished the Camino to Santiago de Compostela in 2023 and over the last ten years the number of pilgrims has more than doubled. We can welcome this while recognising that we live in a time of global warming, other threats to the environment and grave social disharmony. It is therefore important that pilgrims make a positive contribution to addressing these issues, rather than becoming part of the problem.

Why we should care

A holistic faith tells us that God created all things out of love, and as created beings we can respond to this love in prayer. Humanity is part of creation, sustained, and dependent on it, so care for the environment shows love of the creator God and love for our fellow humans. What we do to the environment affects the ability of our planet to sustain human life, so the human social and natural environmental problems we face are aspects of one complex crisis. A healthy planet is necessary for the common good of humanity.

"We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 139

How then can walking pilgrimage make a positive contribution to addressing this complex environmental and social crisis? How can it promote the rebuilding of our relationships with our neighbours and with our world?

Treading carefully

The earth is fragile, and we all have responsibilities for how we behave as pilgrims. We can make a difference to the natural landscapes and the human communities we walk through, either positively or negatively.

• Avoid air travel. An important benefit of walking pilgrimage in England & Wales is the avoidance of travel by plane. Global air travel has almost doubled in ten years, from 2.2 billion passengers per year in 2008 to 4.2 billion in 2018. After the pandemic aviation is again one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and the UK accounts for 4% of global emissions from flights. Flying damages the environment because emissions at high altitudes from burning jet fuel, soot and water vapour have a greater impact than emissions at ground level. So pilgrimage on foot using public transport is a better option.
• Respect the landscape. Take care not to drop litter and clear up after any accompanying dogs. Some pilgrims walk with a litter picking stick, collecting rubbish along the way. Dog faeces can transmit diseases to humans and livestock, so must always be cleared up.
• Use resources carefully. Be careful not to waste paper through unnecessary printing of route instructions, prayer leaflets and so on. Use refillable water bottles.
• Follow the Countryside Code, especially when walking through farmland, closing gates and sticking to footpaths. Dog owners should remember that the pets they love can scare other walkers, especially children and livestock, so it’s important that dogs are tightly controlled. Photograph or draw wildflowers, birds and animals but never pick, scare or harm them.
• Be friendly. Pilgrims should always be friendly to others we meet, especially hosts, farmers and other walkers. We should be respectful of local communities and traditions. Encounter is a key part of pilgrimage and one of the ways it creates a better world.

Promoting the common good

Wherever possible pilgrims should use public transport to the start and end of walking pilgrimages. This supports the viability of local train and bus services as well as minimising our personal carbon footprints.  

Walking pilgrimage can promote hospitality: it is good to use local pubs, shops, food providers, accommodation, and other small and family run businesses wherever possible. Take time to visit churches along the way and perhaps donate towards their maintenance. The feeding of our nation and the livelihoods of farming families depend on agriculture, so walk reverently through farmland.

Large scale tourism can overwhelm local communities, and there is now strong political opposition to it in popular resorts around the Mediterranean. Many of the Hearts in Search of God Pilgrim Ways are to places which are full on interest, but which are less frequented. We can expect a warm welcome in such places and our presence will be a blessing not a burden.

If you are organising a group pilgrimage, think about how you can include people who are less well-off, and people who are sometimes marginalised or excluded. For example it may be possible to find stretches of path which are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies.

Celebrating creation and human flourishing

Jesus sends out the Apostles

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. (Luke 9:1-6)

A walking pilgrimage is a slow and humble journey, in constant contact with the earth. We are drawn into wonder and awe at the beauty of the world. We are reminded that we are transient, fragile beings and that we do not live by our individual efforts alone. Our flourishing is not dependent on the acquisition of goods, or the number of choices open to us. Such individualism cuts us off from the earth and from other people, and so from experiencing the love of God through them. A walking pilgrimage can be an opportunity to refocus our hearts on God. Rather than wanting to possess ‘stuff’, we are drawn to a desire to share the experience of the journey with others.

Walking on pilgrimage or going out into the ‘wilderness’ is very different. Leaving our homes is an act of trust in the providence of the Lord in creation. “Take nothing for your journey” says Jesus (Luke 9:3). No matter the level of comfort of our lodgings along the way or the standard of refreshment at the inn, when we set foot outside our front door, we are reminded that we are at the mercy of others. Whether it is for transport, food, shelter, or even the work that has gone into making the map, we are dependent on the earth providing for us, and interdependent with humanity.

For Christians pilgrimages are joyful public acts of witness to a shared faith, and they have the potential to inspire those who take participate, support or simply observe. As well as personal spiritual blessings, walking pilgrimages can provide encouragement to live more sustainably, so protecting our planet and helping our fellow humans flourish.

Adventure is good for our souls. We may return changed and questioning the strange way we take things like food, water, heating, transport and shelter for granted. Squandering these precious resources creates misery for those in poverty through the consequences of environmental degeneration of the land, seas, air and climate.  

Such reflections may prompt us to make practical changes in our lifestyles which would be good for the planet, and for us all. Prayer and liturgies along the way are important for this. A liturgy at the end of a pilgrimage might include a celebration of the hospitality received on the route and an opportunity to give thanks for the wonders of creation.

Phil McCarthy, Hearts in Search of God project lead

I am grateful to John Paul de Quay of the Ecological Conversion Group for his advice and comments.

FIND OUT MORE

The European Green Pilgrimage Network handbook can be found here.  (NB The Network itself no longer seems to be active).

Set out! Set out! You were born for the road. Set out!

You have an appointment to keep. Where? With whom? Perhaps with yourself!

Anonymous pilgrim