Vatican to Launch Charter Flights to Holy Sites
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 08.21.07 | 11:50 AM ET
Religious pilgrims will now be able to fly to Santiago di Compostela, Spain; the shrine of the Madonna of Guadalupe, Mexico; and other sacred sites via official Vatican charter flights, the BBC reports. The first flight takes off Monday from Rome bound for Lourdes, France, with religious guides and the vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, aboard. Routes from other cities may be introduced, according to RTE News. The planes, which will be provided by the Italian airline Mistral, will feature the phrase “I’m Searching for Your Face, Lord” on seat headrests.
Religious tourism, the BBC notes, is “already big business, with some 200 million Christian pilgrims expected to visit holy places in different parts of the world this year.”
Related on World Hum:
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* Q&A with Sean O’Reilly: The Journey Inward
Related on TravelChannel.com:
Video: Samantha Brown’s Passport to Europe: The Vatican
Photo of Vatican City by soylentgreen23, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
search engine optimization company 04.11.08 | 8:45 AM ET
The Vatican has control over 70% of the real estate market in the whole wide world. They can afford building churches everywhere they like. Paying for some airplane tickets for their loyal employees must be a piece of cake.
Live Prayer 05.01.08 | 8:20 PM ET
This is huge, or is it? Yes, there are millions upon millions of people who visit the religious sites but they seek god for personal reasons and tend to be not so wealthy. Is the Vatican trying to cater to the rich part of the travelers who can afford exclusive diggs?
Don’t the struggling airlines go there already and will the Vatican steal away some of their much needed clients as if it is better to fly through them.
I think they are just trying to take a small bit of a pie they see sitting there, without thinking. I guess religion is about business.
Marry 07.26.08 | 3:51 PM ET
People let’s pray for those who think that they are near God, but in fact God is not in their hearts. Let’s hope they will find a true way.