Our oldest church - Christ Church in Russell - is not yet 200 years old.

That's not to say there aren't natural wonders and views worthy of a mainstream deity. Many link with Maori mythology like Cape Reinga and the peaks of Tongariro National Park, he adds.

More than money

Martin says the religious tourism market is worth a pretty penny.

Pointing to UN World Tourism Organisation's findings, he says international statistics estimate 330 million people travel for religious reasons each year.

The market is huge.

"It's almost bigger than Jesus, with an economic impact ranging as high as $250 billion annually while direct revenue is thought to be closer to $15 billion, according to market analysis firm Future Market Insights.

"As a non-Muslim, I'm unable to go to Hajj in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. While Jerusalem, a holy city for three major religions, is firmly off the list for now, showing how a religious conflict has permeated vast swathes of the world for centuries but is also still very current."

Everyone has their own agenda when visiting sacred and religious sites. For some, they're rites of passage on an OE; for others, journeys into the past; for some it's a pilgrimage.

It's also a learning opportunity.

"In many destinations, even if you're agnostic or fairly light-of-faith, religion is often a rich seam of understanding local cultures, customs and history."

Just visiting the Vatican, Angkor Wat or the Blue Mosque make you appreciate how religion, wealth and power were intertwined in centuries past, he says.

In times of destitution, they built big churches and temples adorned with riches.

He can't see New Zealand following suit though. It just isn't up there with the world's best, he feels.

What does New Zealand offer in the way of religious tourism?

Perhaps what's considered "best" depends on advertising and a little unknown ingredient.

Trip Advisor recommends Hamilton's Sikh Temple, Parnell's Holy Trinity Cathedral, St Mary of the Angels in Wellington, St Patrick's Akaroa and the Hare Krishna Temple in Auckland.

One of the many religious pilgrimage opportunities the internet suggests is Kiwi Pilgrimages, a New Zealand response to the worldwide resurgence of the medieval concept of pilgrimage.

There are also numerous spiritual tourism experiences offered through various Maori websites.

Source

• Stuff

By issuing a decree of nihil obstat (literally "nothing stands in the way"), the Holy See "authorises prudent adherence" to the messages of Medjugorje but has not formally recognised the reality of the visions.

The ruling, issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), encourages devotion while urging caution regarding the messages from alleged visionaries.

In 1981, six children from Medjugorje claimed to have received messages from the Virgin Mary. These visions sparked a global phenomenon, with millions of pilgrims visiting the site.

Although the Vatican now permits public devotion, it maintains a neutral stance on the supernatural nature of the events.

The Vatican's decision highlights the spiritual fruits of Medjugorje such as conversions, renewed faith and an increased return to the sacraments.

Faithful are free to believe or not

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the DDF, noted that the pilgrimages have brought many positive changes. These include more profound spiritual commitment and numerous vocations to religious life.

However he emphasised that these benefits come from the pilgrims' experiences rather than direct interaction with the alleged visionaries.

"The upcoming messages will need to be analysed and, for now, they should not be considered true" Fernández said at a press conference.

Cardinal Fernandez added that the messages, when published, must be accompanied by a note from the DDF specifying that the faithful are free to believe or not.

Profoundly Catholic

While the Vatican appreciates the spiritual value of Medjugorje, it also cautions the faithful against certain messages. It said that positive experiences "occur mainly in the context of pilgrimages to the places of the original events, rather than during encounters with the 'visionaries' to witness the presumed apparitions".

Some of these messages, particularly those involving strict instructions on practical matters, are deemed "misleading" and not of divine origin. The DDF warned that certain phrases, such as "my plan" and "my project", attributed to Mary in the visions could create confusion over Christ's central role in salvation.

Despite the precautions and reservations, the DDF declared that the essential experiences of the past 40 years at Medjugorje were "profoundly Catholic".

"We see that God is doing good things" Cardinal Fernandez added.

Sources

New York Post

La Croix International

CathNews New Zealand

Gualtieri said this on Friday in a video message to participants of a Catholic meeting in Rimini. Gualtieri said the great Catholic pilgrimage event is a challenge that makes hands tremble.

At the same time, it is an opportunity to make Rome more beautiful, more efficient, more united, more inclusive and more sustainable, the politician asserted.

According to the Vatican News portal, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Vatican's Holy Year representative, compared the preparations to those for the Olympic Games.

Rome's mayor admitted that the city's residents would have to endure a "tough year". But this was necessary to give Italy's capital a new face.

Read More

The legendary church's reopening "is a historic moment and an opportunity to march behind the Blessed Virgin," reads the Les 7 Routes Notre-Dame website.

Named for the Blessed Mother, Notre-Dame de Paris ("Our Lady of Paris") is an 861-year-old monument beloved and revered by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

In 2019 the world mourned the damage done to the 315-foot-tall spire and roof of the cathedral in a devastating fire. The fire originated under the roof, spreading through the wooden rafters of the attic and consuming the spire, which collapsed.

Except for the main altar, all the works of art in the cathedral and the reliquary containing what is believed to be the crown of thorns were rescued.

Read More

The influx is sparking concerns among locals about respect and preservation of their community.

Roberto Almuina, 73, chairman of the 600-member residents' association, voices these concerns: "We don't have the slightest problem sharing our city with visitors. The only thing we ask for is respect."

Every day, around 1,500 pilgrims arrive on foot or by bike, alongside other tourists and day-trippers who come by bus or cruise ship.

This surge leads to congested streets and noise pollution, with city guides using loudspeakers, despite regulations.

Videos on social media show groups of pilgrims entering Santiago de Compostela, often singing and shouting.

"This has to stop" one resident is heard saying in a video.

Almuina describes the situation as "unbearable" and criticises the large groups blocking the narrow streets of the old town.

"Groups of 40 people in six-metre-wide streets in the old town are not welcome" he exclaims.

Cyclists navigating through the historic centre and littering in the cathedral square are also major issues.

"This isn't a picnic area or a beach on the Mediterranean. This no longer seems normal to me. I don't do that myself when I'm in a foreign city" Almuina adds.

Fragile Santiago campaign

The residents' association seeks dialogue with local authorities instead of protesting.

Almuina suggests setting up information centres at key city entrances to inform visitors about proper behaviour.

The guidelines are often overlooked - despite the existing "Fragile Santiago" campaign which advises pilgrims to avoid noise and refrain from using walking sticks that cause pavement damage.

Almuina also proposes a tax on day-trippers to cover waste disposal costs, arguing that pilgrims should not be exempt from such fees.

Many popular tourist destinations have already implemented such a tax.

Mass tourism is likely to keep the city busy in the future.

Last year, 446,077 pilgrims received their diplomas in Santiago de Compostela, setting a record.

By mid-July 2024, the pilgrims' office reported a 15% increase over the previous year.

Sources

Katholisch

The Economic Times

This rite customarily takes place after the annual Our Lady of Christendom pilgrimage in Spain.

The organizers of the fourth edition of the pilgrimage announced the prohibition in a July 6 post on X: "At the Archdiocese of Oviedo they have informed us that they have received instructions from the Dicastery for Divine Worship stating that the Traditional Holy Mass is not to be celebrated in Covadonga."

The pilgrimage will take place from July 27 to 29, starting in Oviedo.

Our Lady of Christendom explains on its website that the pilgrimage "is organized by a group of faithful lay Catholics devoted to the celebration of the Holy Mass according to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite," otherwise known as the Traditional Latin Mass or the Tridentine Mass.

Read More

In Paris, Notre Dame still dons the tourist maps, despite a horrific fire that ripped through the iconic cathedral in 2019 and the painstaking restoration works underway ever since.

The hilltop citadel of Athens, the Acropolis, has been attracting visitors long after the gods for whom the temples honour were superseded by Christianity.

The list goes on: Cambodia's Angkor Wat, the White Temple of Chiang Rai, the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong, or Malaysia's Batu Cave complex.

All deeply religious and heavily-touristed. All are at or near the top of their city's or country's most-visited site.

And, while there remains sites like Mecca, where only Muslims can visit, it's always intriguing to me when I see that many of these still-functioning religious sites - and entire states like Vatican City - attract enduring crowds of irreligious, agnostic, even atheist visitors.

And this remains true even as the percentage of devout followers of organised religion ebbs lower.

I must have clocked up many dozens, if not hundreds of these sites from Brazil, to Egypt, to Vietnam to Turkey to Hong Kong, Russia and Mexico (and all without conversion).

On the backpacker trail of southeast Asia it's not uncommon to become "templed out" such is the frequency of a Buddhist temple visit to punctuate the tropical budget-friendly itinerary.

The non-religious pilgrimage to historical sites has been witnessed nearly as long as mass tourism has been going on, and simply repackaged as "heritage tourism".

Researchers at Ulster University Business School back in 2003 (long before selfie sticks and mass social media) found "many people travel to sacred sites not only for religious or spiritual purposes but do so due to the way they are marketed, i.e. as a heritage or cultural attraction to be consumed".

Does a superficial yet peaceful visit and a couple of contemplative photos give credence to the idea that your four-week trip dossing about in the sunshine was actually a pilgrimage of sorts, under that conveniently vague terms "spirituality" or "wellness" in which you can dabble without committing?

My own collection of photos seems to attest to that. Read more

• Josh Martin is a London-based journalist who writes across business and travel topics