Catholic Pilgrimages of National Minorities in the United States, Exemplified by the Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary of Częstochowa in Doylestown

W artykule przedstawiono polonijny ośrodek maryjny w Stanach Zjednoczonych - Sanktuarium Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej w Doylestown. Omówiono jego historię, działalność oraz znaczenie dla amerykańskiej Polonii

Religious tourism’s impact on city space : service zones around sanctuaries

Pilgrimage centers are important elements of the spatial structure of cities and simultaneously factors influencing their transformations. The pilgrimage function of sanctuaries can lead to development of service zones around them focused mainly on serving visitors, i.e., pilgrims and tourists. They often perform functions complementary to sanctuaries. Here we present the results of studies of sanctuary service zones conducted at twenty six popular Catholic sanctuaries in Europe. In this paper, we discussed the influence of the sanctuary on city space on the macro, meso and micro scales. We proposed a definition of a sanctuary service zone, and developed a model approach to the different types: initial (slightly developed) zones, dispersed zones (integrated into the urban space, with their pilgrimage function coexisting with other urban functions), and compact zones—linear, or pilgrimage districts (with dominating pilgrimage function). The development of sanctuary service zones depends mainly on the rank of the pilgrimage center, as well as on the period in which it was founded, pilgrimage traditions, and the location of the pilgrimage center in the city. This paper is a continuation and extension of research into the impact of pilgrimage centers on city space transformations in the context of socio-cultural changes in the 20th and 21st centuries

Perspectives for the development of religious and cultural tourism in the Bieszczady Mts.

The article aims to present the religious heritage of the Bieszczady region as a factor stimulating the development of religious and cultural tourism in the Bieszczady. The diversity of the local sacred landscape based on the region's centuries-long national and religious structures creates favourable conditions for the development of these forms of tourism. Roman Catholic pilgrimage centres and surviving unique, not only in Poland but in Europe, historic Orthodox (Uniate) church architecture, are the region's great and still underused wealth

Major research issues in religious tourism

The article deals with terminology issues in religtous tourism. The importance of pilgrimage in the contemporary world is highlighted, as well as those elements which determlne the phenomenon. Research concepts in religious tourism are analysed theoretically and relaUons between religious tourism and pilgrimage are presented. The need to draw a precise deflnitlon of religious tourism and to determlne its research area is also stressed.W artykule podjęto zagadnienia terminologiczne związane z turystyka religijną. Zwrócono uwagę na znaczenie pielgrzymek i pielgrzymowania w świecie współczesnym oraz czynniki warunkujące te zjawiska. W rozważaniach teoretycznych przeanalizowano koncepcje badawcze dotyczące pojęcia turystyki religijnej i przedstawiono relacje między tą formą turystyki a pielgrzymkami. Zwrócono uwagę na konieczność wypracowania precyzyjnej definicji turystyki religijnej i określenia jej pola badawczego

Spatial Changes of Pilgrimage Centers in Pilgrimage Studies – Review and Contribution to Future Research

Pilgrimages and pilgrimage centres are a subject of research often undertaken from the perspective of geographic sciences. Geographical research on pilgrimage movement and sanctuaries is important due to its focus on the spatial aspect. This article analyses the current state of research on pilgrimage centres. The main trends of the current studies include: the phenomenon of pilgrimage in terms of religion, society, culture and tourism; as well as its impact, including on the development of the settlement and; studies of pilgrimage centres, in particular their impact on space in various spatial and temporal scales, as well as; the conclusions drawn from them. These were all examined and discussed. For the first time, special attention was paid both to the research on the sanctuaries of the Roman Catholic church, their spatial organization and the changes taking place in them, and on the works discussing the managing of pilgrimage centres. In addition, the terminology applied to contemporary sacred places was discussed. In the conclusion, gaps in the existing state of knowledge and research questions that still await an answer, as well as directions set for the future research on pilgrimage centres from the perspective of tourism geography and the geography of religion are indicated

New pilgrimage centre in Kraków’s Łagiewniki-Borek Fałęcki district

Kraków is a city with a unique, rich religious heritage, including major sanctuaries. However, their situation has largely changed over the history. The most important ones started in the 1980s and are still being developed. As a result of the growing worship of Divine Mercy and Sister Faustyna, the convent in Kraków-Łagiewniki has been transformed into an international pilgrimage centre, hosting approx. 2 million pilgrims per year. In the early 21st century a new complex of sacred buildings, the “ Have No Fear ” John Paul II Centre, began to be built in the close vicinity of the sanctuary, as a centre devoted to the worship and remembrance of the great Pole and Pope. In this way a new religious pilgrimage centre sprang up far from the Krakow city centre. The aim of the present article is to present the centre and its importance for religious tourism now promoted in the city