{"id":2758,"date":"2016-06-29T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T14:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/practicalmattersjournal.ecdsdev.org\/?p=2758"},"modified":"2016-07-18T18:10:46","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T22:10:46","slug":"root-of-the-route","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pmcleanup.ecdsdev.org\/2016\/06\/29\/root-of-the-route\/","title":{"rendered":"The Root of the Route: Phil\u2019s Camino Project and the Catholic Tradition of Surrogate Pilgrimage"},"content":{"rendered":"
On a rainy day on an island in the Pacific Northwest, Phil Volker walked along the well-known, and well-trodden half-mile path in his own 10-acre backyard. The damp earth sprung beneath his boots as he chatted amiably to his companions. Although he had been walking for miles and miles along the circuit, today was a special day, as he had made it to Burgos. Or, at least, the distance to Burgos \u2013 a town along the ancient pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (known as theCamino – or Way – of St. James). After a cancer diagnosis had thwarted his dreams of traveling to Spain, Phil had mapped all 500 miles of the pilgrimage onto his own backyard, and today was just one stop along his circuitous journey. \u00a0Phil\u2019s Camino project is explored here within the Catholic tradition of surrogate pilgrimages in the forms of labyrinths, the Via Crucis, and other media, usually undertaken by those who could not travel for a variety of reasons, including economic hardship or, like Phil, ill health. The sacred trail that he mapped on to his own property will be considered as a work of art in the form of a built environment which retains a trace of the original Camino de Santiago, and, like the Camino de Santiago, continues to function as a place of healing and renewal for Phil and for the pilgrims who have joined him as he continues to traverse the Way.<\/em><\/p>\n On a hand-drawn map of his 10-acre property on Vashon Island in the Pacific Northwest, Phil Volker has labeled, in gently sloping capital letters, the north and south pastures, the garden and the corn patch, the woodlot and Raven Creek.[1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Yellow arrows point the way along a path bordered by towering fir trees and smaller hardwoods; at one point, five irregular stones bridge the creek and a rock pile marks the start and finish.\u00a0 It is a path he has walked many times, and\u00a0with\u00a0many companions.\u00a0 On the right side, the same lettering explains:<\/p>\n Blessed by Father Marc, we opened the Camino on Dec. 21st<\/sup> 2013.\u00a0 Between then + May 12th<\/sup> 2014 I walked 909 laps to equal 500 miles or the length of the Camino de Santiago in Spain.\u00a0 I walked alone and with others in all kinds of weather.\u00a0 Time was available to pray, think, laugh, cry, discuss + wonder.[2]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n After a cancer diagnosis thwarted Phil\u2019s dreams of walking the ancient Camino de Santiago to Compostela in Spain, he did the next best thing; that is, he mapped the entire route onto his own backyard.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a>Phil\u2019s Camino project will be explored here within the Catholic tradition of surrogate pilgrimages in the forms of labyrinths, the Via Crucis<\/em>, and other media, usually undertaken by those who could not travel for a variety of reasons, including economic hardship or, like Phil, ill health.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 The sacred trail that he mapped on to his own property will be considered as a work of art; in this case, it is a built environment which retains a trace of the original Camino de Santiago, and, like the Camino de Santiago, continues to function as a place of healing and renewal for Phil and for the pilgrims who have joined him as he continues to traverse the Way.\u00a0 It is crucial to include a diversity of visual media alongside textual discourse as scholars from a number of fields (including my own area of art history and religious studies along with theology, anthropology, and sociology) proceed towards a more developed framework for considering art and religion, as well as a critical lexicon for discussing the efficacy of objects.\u00a0 Phil\u2019s Camino will be examined here as a case study through which to develop the notion of the transfer of \u2018spirit\u2019 from sacred site to representation, while acknowledging the historical roots of surrogate pilgrimages within Catholic devotional practices and popular piety which the project engenders.<\/p>\n
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