The Functions of the Fishermen’s Sea Pilgrimage to St Peter and St Paul’s Church Fair in the Town of Puck

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to define the function of the Fishermen’s Sea Pilgrimage organised in northern Poland. It is the only boat pilgrimage on the Baltic Sea. One of the authors took part in nearly all the pilgrimages in the years 2004–2022. The authors describe the origins and form of sea pilgrimage against contemporary general trends in pilgrimage in Poland. Next, they present the route, participants, and course of this particular event. The participants of the Fishermen’s Sea Pilgrimage chose Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles’ church in Puck as their destination. The pilgrimage is an illustration of an emerging trend in contemporary pilgrimaging in Poland, characterised by: (1) choosing alternative modes of making the journey, apart from walking; (2) pilgrimage groups not based exclusively on the parishioners’ place of residence; (3) the performance of both religious and non-religious functions.

Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage in Vâlcea County, South-West Oltenia Region: Motivations, Belief and Tourists’ Perceptions

“…These were gathered through a questionnaire containing some open-ended questions that allowed respondents to leave narrative accounts of their experiences of practicing religious tourism and pilgrimage. Research methods such as interviews and questionnaires (online or in-person) may be applied to establish the reasons why an individual goes on a pilgrimage along a specific route to visit certain monasteries and churches (Palmowski and Przybylska 2022). It is thought that there has been a long-standing motivational dualism, i.e., the combination of religious, pilgrimage motivations and touristic (cognitive) motivations, which continues to this day.…”

The Historical Context of Boat Processions in Adriatic Maritime Pilgrimages

“…Recently, a significant development in academic research on maritime pilgrimages (Katić and McDonald 2020), or sea pilgrimages (Palmowski and Przybylska 2022), has occurred. Maritime pilgrimages can be observed as "ritual practices that include boat travel for persons or icons as part of the actual ritual structure.…”

“…While there are many examples of religious rituals and pilgrimages connected to the sea within Europe, including in Ireland (Harbinson 1992), Norway (Mikaelsson and Selberg 2020), Poland (Palmowski and Przybylska 2022), Spain (Gambin 2014, p. 8), Italy (Gambin 2014, p. 8), France (Badone 2008), Greece (Gertwagen 2006), and Croatia and Montenegro (Katić and Blaće 2023), to date, no one has addressed the diversity in the ritual practices linked to these pilgrimages. Although many Mediterranean coastal towns have processions, they differ in form (Gambin 2014, p. 8).…”