The Lourdes Pilgrimage and the Impact on Pilgrim Quality of Life

Jennifer Klimiuk · Kieran John Moriarty

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Religious Tourism and Spaces Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology Travel-related health issues

Abstract

Lourdes, France, is a major site of pilgrimage, particularly for Roman Catholics with illness. The direct impact of pilgrimage on pilgrim quality of life (QOL) has not previously been measured. The present study aimed to measure the impact of pilgrimage to Lourdes on QOL in self-defined "sick pilgrims". The standardised EuroQol EQ-5D-5L questionnaire measured two aspects of QOL, namely a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score of self-rated health and an Index Value Score (IVS) of the five dimensions of QOL, in a group of pilgrims, before (Q1), immediately after (Q2) and two months after (Q3) return from pilgrimage to Lourdes. A total of 93 pilgrims responded at time Q1, 71 at Q2 and 64 at Q3. The VAS scores of self-rated health showed statistically significant improvement at Q2 (p = 0.04), although this was not sustained at Q3. The IVS Scores showed no significant differences at Q2 or Q3. However, at Q2, 67.6% of pilgrims reported their self-rated QOL as "much better" or "better", and this was maintained in 54.7% at Q3. Pilgrims identified "spiritual and religious aspects of pilgrimage", "a sense of togetherness" and "spiritual healing" as having the most significant impact on their QOL. The Lourdes pilgrimage had a statistically significant positive impact on the immediate post-pilgrimage VAS scores of QOL of "sick pilgrims", but this was not sustained two months following pilgrimage. The IVS scores were unchanged. Pilgrims identified beneficial holistic, spiritual and communal aspects of the pilgrimage experience.

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References

1990EuroQol - a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life 2012Interim Scoring for the EQ-5D-5L: Mapping the EQ-5D-5L to EQ-5D-3L Value Sets 2004Religious Coping Methods as Predictors of Psychological, Physical and Spiritual Outcomes among Medically Ill Elderly Patients: A Two-year Longitudinal Study 2000Should Physicians Prescribe Religious Activities?1996Lourdes: healing in a place of pilgrimage 2007Psychological studies.2012Participation in Mass Gatherings Can Benefit Well-Being: Longitudinal and Control Data from a North Indian Hindu Pilgrimage Event 2021The Impact of COVID-19 on Pilgrimages and Religious Tourism in Europe During the First Six Months of the Pandemic

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