Pilgrims to the Holy Land who are searching for the roots of Christianity can also gain a surprisingly rich understanding of other religions, according to a prominent Franciscan clergyman.
“A pilgrim does not come to the Holy Land to understand politics or to understand the geography. First and foremost he is a religious pilgrim,” said Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, whose formal title is Custodian of the Holy Land and who is the head of all Franciscans in the region.
“But of course when they come here as Christians they are exposed to the understanding and the presence of other Christians … and understand what ecumenical dialogue is and why it is so important.”
He spoke at a two-day interfaith conference on pilgrimage held from 28 to 29 December in Jerusalem, sponsored by the Israel-based Elijah Interfaith Institute and the Swiss-based Lasalle-Haus, also an interfaith organization.
Pilgrims are also exposed, sometimes for the first time, to Jews and Muslims living within their own context, he said. “An encounter with Jesus can’t be separated from an encounter with the people of different religions (in this land),” he said.
Modern-day pilgrim Franz Mali, a 51-year-old Austrian professor living in Switzerland, undertook a seven-month hiking pilgrimage to the Holy Land that started in Switzerland and wound through Italy, Austria, eastern Europe, Turkey, Syria and Jordan. The trip gave him a new view of the many Muslim migrant workers from Turkey and Syria living in Switzerland.
“(The migrant workers) were always strangers to me,” said Mali. “But now I have had this experience (with them in their own countries) and they were so nice and friendly and now I have an idea of how friendly they can be. My attachment to foreigners inside Switzerland, and Islam, will be completely different as a result.” Jesuit priest Christian Rutishauser, program director of Lassalle-Haus who also participated in the seven-month pilgrimage, emphasized the importance of walking for spiritual deepening.
“Not only does it deepen your own faith, it broadens your world view,” he said.