ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the recent development of prayer walks centring on the medieval keeills in the Isle of Man and therefore the ‘living history’ of an emerging pilgrimage practice. This is an account of a modest initiative on a small island and focuses on the narratives of individuals, yet it provides rich material for understanding particular aspects of the contemporary trend in Western Europe to re-engage with pilgrimage, especially the growth of Protestant and ecumenical initiatives. The Isle of Man’s faithscape has been dominated by Protestant Christianity since the Reformation, with few traces of pre-Reformation pilgrimage remaining, but in recent years an annual week of collective walks to and worship at the sites of the Island’s earliest churches has been initiated. This re-engagement with pilgrimage, an activity traditionally associated with Catholic and Orthodox Churches, can be attributed to a combination of recent factors: wider interest in pilgrimage per se within Western society; a burgeoning fascination with Celtic spirituality by Christians, neo-pagans and those interested in self-spirituality; and the search for shared history and ‘common ground’ for those seeking engagement between different Christian denominations.
