ABSTRACT
In 1873, the Earl of Norfolk led the first National Pilgrimage to Paray-le Monial in France. Although the expedition (organised by Cook’s) took advantage of new travel facilities – hotels and railways –, “convenience” and “modernity” were not always appreciated by a national press that criticised and even mocked pilgrimages. This pilgrimage was followed in the years to come by other sanctuaries in France – Lourdes, La Salette–, England and Scotland.
Furthermore, the onslaught of news items on pilgrimages that year (1,979 in the 28 newspapers consulted) not only confirms the importance of the press to the study of British Anti-Catholicism, but also demonstrates that interest in the phenomenon – in the midst of the Catholic revival – may have had more complex roots.
