Youth pilgrimages along pilgrimage routes in Europe

FRANCISZEK MRÓZ

The conducted research leads to the conclusions that the beginning of the twenty‑first century is a period of the renaissance of pilgrimage and hiking trails in Europe. On the trails, young people constitute a significant group. The increasing growth of the secularization processes in the world does not affect the popularity of religious travelling. Is the phenomenon of youth pilgrimage going to survive in the coming decades full of demographic, cultural and socio‑economic challenges? However, the current demographic situation in developed countries, particularly the increasing proportion of older people living in society, as well as the rapidly growing number of young people departing from faith and a lack of stable geopolitical situation will be important factors contributing to a decline of pilgrimages among the young. A distortion of their meaning and treating them exclusively as routes of active tourism and culture is also a threat. It must be emphasized that pilgrimage routes will attract a new crowd of young pilgrims only if they remain the ways of faith, prayer, conversion and Christian love.