(RNS) In “Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler,” airing on PBS beginning Tuesday (Dec. 16), American pilgrims from a variety of faiths travel to some of the most sacred sites in the world: Jerusalem, Mecca, the Ganges River, the Shikoku Trail, Osun-Osogbo and Lourdes.
The journeys bring the the pilgrims home transformed, sometimes in ways they did not anticipate. And their journeys continue. As one pilgrim says: “I know for sure is a lifelong journey. As a human being, I will always be seeking and searching.” Here are images of those sacred sites accompanied by the words of the pilgrims themselves.
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- Brian Kwan, pilgrim on the Jesus Trail: “On the door of the Garden Tomb is written ‘He Is Not Here. For He is Risen.’ I traveled a long way to look for something to reaffirm my faith, just to arrive and realize that what and who I was looking for was at home the whole time.” Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Jewish pilgrims pray before the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel. Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Ahava Zarembski, pilgrim to Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock: “God knows, I’m a searcher. God knows, I’m a seeker. Our whole self is in a constant state of change. That is a lifelong journey.” Photo courtesy PBS/WGBH
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- Syed Talha, pilgrim to the hajj: “You are going to hajj for one thing and one thing only — sacrificing yourself for the sake of God. Embrace it, don’t be bogged down with too much technicalities. You are going there to meet your Lord, be free and embrace him. Be very patient. Be patient, no matter what people do and say. You are in front of God. He will make your journey easier for you.” Photo courtesy PBS/WGBH
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- Amira Quraishi, pilgrim to the hajj: “The first rock, I was throwing rocks like I was throwing them at my own flaws, and the second one, I found myself asking for strength to overcome those, and the last one, I found myself feeling so alive.” Photo by Shakeb Ahmed, courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Umar Salahuddin, pilgrim to the hajj: “I truly was alone with God in a sea of 5 million.” Photo courtesy PBS/WGBH
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- Zachary Herrick, pilgrim to Lourdes: “I would tell somebody that’s thinking of going to this or any other pilgrimage to take it all in, come in with an open mind and open heart. Love each other and if nothing else, you walk away a better person than if you’d not have entered at all.” Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Zachary Herrick, pilgrim to Lourdes: “You feel you can breathe; after you get out of that cold icy water, you feel something’s out of you.” Photo by Anna Branthwaite, courtesy of PBS
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- Hugh Fisher, pilgrim to Lourdes: “There’s a misconception out there that by talking about things, by expressing things … it is somehow weak for a professional soldier to do that. I’m sorry, I don’t see any weak professional soldiers here.” Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Diedre Badejo, pilgrim to Osun-Osogbo: “I think anybody who goes on a sacred journey, anyone who ventures into another tradition is a soul searcher. They are seeking to find something within themselves they’re trying to connect to.” Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Nathaniel Styles, pilgrim to Osun-Osogbo: “Although we left Africa, Africa never left us.” Photo by Jon Wood, courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Shambu Misra, pilgrim to the Kumbh Mela: “It’s the land of spirituality so we’re all hoping to capture some of that.” Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Sue Kenney, pilgrim to the Kumbh Mela: “It doesn’t matter that the crowd is 1 million or 50 million; it’s the undercurrent of devotion.” Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- Karmen Plasencia, pilgrim to Kumbh Mela: “I had never experienced so much energy in my life. It was like stepping onto another planet so different from America or anything I had ever witnessed. So many different aspects of the Hindu religions, gathered all together peacefully. I felt as if I dropped into the heart of India and received blessing. A great deal has happened since I returned from this mystical journey. I stepped into this deep connection with spirit, myself and India.” Photo courtesy of PBS
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- Marianne Dresser, pilgrim to Shikoku: “The act of making a pilgrimage, however undertaken — even if just ‘for fun’ or as cultural tourism—is transformative. By walking the way, you embody the Way.” Photo courtesy of PBS/WGBH
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- John Osaki, pilgrim to Shikoku: “Participating in the pilgrimage provided a frame for understanding that all of life is a pilgrimage. It’s easy to lose sight of that amidst the bustle of daily life ‘back home.’ When I’m home, I try to remember the peace and sense of simplicity that walking the pilgrimage instills.” Photo courtesy PBS/WGBH
