Virgin Trails: A Secular Pilgrimage

Susan McKnight is an administrator of the Courts Technology Integrated Justice Project at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

Travel writer Robert Ward takes the reader on a tour of some of the most
revered shrines and cathedrals dedicated to the worship and adoration of
the Virgin Mary. He begins his journey at Notre Dame in Paris,
describing the site and offering commentary on the pilgrims, who range
from tourists to art lovers to true believers. He visits smaller venues
in Paris and then travels to Chartres. One of his most important stops
is Lourdes where he actively participates in helping the pilgrims with
disabilities to reach the shrine and partake of the various rituals. It
is here that he begins to understand that his self-proclaimed atheism is
not a roadblock to sharing in the friendship and spirituality of the
shrine. At one point in the book, he describes an epiphany: “That
moment when the unbeliever’s eyes open for the first time on a truth
so dazzling, so self-evident, that all doubts and questions melt away,
the restlessness of the heart is stilled.”

Ward also visits the Camino de Santiago in Spain, El Ferrol, and
Fatima. Fatima disappoints because the story of Bernadette has been
exploited commercially. The final three chapters deal with shrines and
churches in Barcelona, Rome, and Loreto. Each chapter provides a
detailed history of the locations and excellent descriptions of the
landscapes. Small photographs are scattered throughout the book.