Bedevaarten in Wallonië

Abstract

Sociologists and historians have already investigated the anthropological wealth of pilgrimages. Some further inquiries are suggested as a result of a few examples drawn from Wallonia. An undefined but genuine religious feeling looms in the famous military, processions of the 'Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse': these seasonal rites help to solemnize the life of rural communities. But, on the other hand, pilgrimage is also permeating everyday life; such a diffusion appears in a map of the monumental or modest copies of the most renowned sanctuaries (numberless copies of Lourdes in the 'Basse-Semois'). In addition, besides the physical pilgrimage, religous elites have cultivated an attraction for the inner pilgrimage, with composite forms which came into vogue: the spirituality of the road at the time of the flourishing "Action catholique"; at the present time, gatherings of young people in Taizé, which are the manifestation of a quest. But now, are pilgrimages on the wane? The progress of medical Sciences, the break-up of the traditional way of life in the country, and the turn of mind now prevailing in the Church are promoting neither local devotions nor thaumaturgical saints. On the other hand, modern transport and advertising by travel agencies are strengthening the concentration of pilgrims in international sanctuaries. Lastly, at the, present time, other factors , are favouring old pilgrimages or the emergence of new places: the charismatic renewal; the rise of integrist protest; the eschatological predictions.