Travel agencies and priests as spiritual leaders: The merits of collaboration

Abstract

Journeys, labeled pilgrimages, appear to be flourishing in many parts of the world, not least owing to advances in transportation and communication technologies and growing tourism industries. However, surprisingly little research covers the role played by travel agencies and their professional tour leaders in organizing, carrying out, and even transforming the pilgrimage as a religious practice. In this article, I examine the role of travel agencies and tour leaders as mediators between people and priests. In Slovenia, travel agencies are launching pilgrimages led by so-called “spiritual leaders”—priests who have been gaining in popularity as leaders of pilgrim groups seemingly because they are able to joke, sing, and talk to people outside confessional boxes in a “human way.” The Catholic Church and travel agencies are together able to provide pilgrimage with spiritual care in combination with leisure, thus contributing to the revitalization of religious practice in Slovenia.