The Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago and Its Impacts on Marital and Familial Relationships: An Exploratory Study

This paper presents the results of a survey conducted among people walking the pilgrimage route to the shrine of St James in Santiago de Compostela. The aim of the research was to investigate how a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago among a married couple or family affects marital or familial relationships, whether walking the trail to Compostela together influences the behaviour of family members towards each other and whether it forms positive attitudes and behaviour. The empirical basis of the study is the results of a survey among respondents who made the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, as well as in-depth interviews conducted with 24 spouses of pilgrims along the Way of St James. The study revealed that doing the pilgrimage as a married couple or family had a positive impact on intra-family relationships. According to the interviewees, going on the pilgrimage together helped to strengthen marital bonds and trust, improve communication and mutual connection, show care and affection and improve contact with children.

Geographies of Care: The Catholic Church in Poland's Assistance to Refugees from Ukraine During Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

The purpose of the article was to analyze the collected empirical material in the form of in-depth interviews, observations, statistical data, and numerous accounts of the assistance of the Catholic Church in Poland in the first 8 months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The results of the survey revealed that the Catholic Church's activities and support to Ukrainians were carried out on many levels: charitable-mainly material, financial and social housing assistance, psychological, educational, and medical. All Catholic parishes and almost all women's and men's convents and monasteries in Poland, Caritas Poland, as well as dozens of church institutions, joined in helping refugees from Ukraine.

The Ministry of Religious Congregations to People Affected by the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus in Poland: Geographies of Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this article is to analyze the empirical evidence collected in the form of in-depth interviews, observations, statistics and accounts concerning the assistance provided by female and male religious congregations in the fight against the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland during the first year after the outbreak (March 2020 to February 2021). The paper describes the nature of the assistance rendered by religious congregations to the sick, to those affected by the pandemic and to healthcare facilities during the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in Poland. Our findings reveal that the activities undertaken and the support provided by religious congregations in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland have spanned many areas: medical assistance and nursing within the healthcare system, charitable work (including material, financial and welfare/housing aid), and pastoral, religious, educational, psychological, ecumenical, evangelization and missionary activities. The support provided by religious congregations as part of the coronavirus response efforts proved crucial and invaluable during the first weeks of the pandemic, that is in March and April 2020, when the healthcare system was faced with severe staff shortages.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Pilgrimages and Religious Tourism in Europe During the First Six Months of the Pandemic

This study presents the results of the examination of the influence of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus pandemic on religious tourism and pilgrimages to selected Catholic pilgrimage sites in Europe during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-September 2020). Field research conducted in shrines and on several pilgrimage routes involved interviews with shrine custodians and staff as well as pilgrims. Data regarding tourism and pilgrimage movement were also gathered. Research results have shown that the tourism and pilgrimage movement to the analysed shrines decreased by 90-95% during the first six months of the pandemic. The shrines in Santiago de Compostela and Lourdes were closed for a few weeks during the first wave of coronavirus spread. The influence of the pandemic on the age structure of pilgrims is noticeable, with a distinct decrease in the number of pilgrims aged 60 + . Also, the reasons for pilgrimages to shrines have changed. The overriding principle followed by shrine custodians and organisers of pilgrimages was to ensure the safety of pilgrims on their way to shrines and, most importantly, in the shrine areas. The largest Catholic shrines in Europe encouraged pilgrims to deepen their bonds with the shrine through participation in online services and prayers and to pursue spiritual and virtual pilgrimages. The study also shows a model of the development of pilgrimages and religious tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.