Programme
Date: 22 October 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Paul VI Pastoral Center, Sala do Bom Pastor, Ourém–Fátima, Portugal
The programme is organised around three thematic sessions:
Session I – Understanding the Present
Pilgrimage, Spirituality and Visitor Transformation: New Patterns of Travel and Meaning
The boundaries between pilgrimage, spirituality, tourism and leisure have become fluid and yet the visitor groups remain distinct in their needs and preferences. This session explores how visitor motivations have evolved over the past century and examines the relationship between religion, spirituality and tourism. How are the Shrine cities creating opportunities for meaningful encounters with spirituality, culture and history.
Session II – Interpreting the Sacred
Shrines as Living Cultural Heritage: Art, Culture and the Experience of Sacred Places
Shrines are simultaneously places of worship, repositories of European cultural heritage and spaces of artistic expression. Architecture, sacred music, visual arts, museums and local traditions all contribute to how visitors perceive and experience these places. Rather than asking whether churches are becoming museums, this session examines how shrines can build on their religious traditions while expanding their role as dynamic centres of culture, interpretation, creativity and dialogue. Art and culture are understood not merely as complementary attractions, but as essential mediators between sacred traditions and contemporary society.
Session III – Imagining the Future
Sacred Places – Shared Futures: Resilience, Innovation and the Next Generation of Shrine Cities
European shrine cities are entering a period of profound transformation. Demographic change, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, climate change and shifting religious landscapes present both challenges and opportunities for the future of sacred places. This session explores how shrine cities can strengthen their role as places where spirituality, culture and contemporary society meet. It seeks to identify strategies that enable shrines to engage broader audiences, foster innovation and resilience, and continue serving as vibrant centres of pilgrimage, hospitality and community in the decades ahead.
Each session is headed by a key note speech and followed up with an interdisciplinary panel.
The conference language will be English and Portuguese, with simultaneous interpretation provided between both languages.
