Evangelization is aim of shrines, says Vatican official

(October 1, 2010) The Second World Conference on the Pastoral Care of Pilgrimages and Shrines ended on Thursday in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, with a Vatican official saying the main objective of pilgrimages to shrines is evangelization. Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People noted that the Church has come to realize this objective over the past decades, and so its understanding of shrines has changed from a devotional practice to an area of pastoral care. He pointed out that "the moments of pilgrimage, because of the circumstances that motivate them, the places to which they go and their closeness to daily needs and joys, are a fertile field for the word of God to take root in hearts." "We have become more aware of this possibility over the last decades, in which we have passed from a devotional practice to a pastoral of pilgrimage, discovering that this moment becomes an occasion for the renewal of faith and also for a first evangelization," he explained. Archbishop Vegliò particularly recommended Pope Benedict’s guideline to the conference participants that evangelization take place through pilgrimages and shrines, especially by giving pilgrims access to the sacraments, and helping them to encounter God.