Nocturnal ritual activities in tourist development of pilgrimage cities
Résumé
Dusk and dawn are important times in Catholic sacred places. Some shrines are famous for their nocturnal activities, including torchlight processions, prayer vigils, and late-night or dawn services. For pilgrims, a day does not necessarily end at nightfall and often begins before dawn. In pilgrimage cities, both religious and tourist authorities have renewed traditional nocturnal rituals, which are often promoted as intensely spiritual and unique tourist experiences. The discussion below asks how these nocturnal practices differ from the current offer in terms of night tourism. Nocturnal life, as currently understood, applies mainly to capital cities and is essentially based upon festive practices and leisure, providing what might then be seen as ‘artificial’ pleasures. This paper, based on fieldwork conducted in fifteen Catholic shrines (in Europe and Mexico), focuses on three examples: the nocturnal Marian procession of Lourdes (France), the case of Lyon Festival of Lights, and a recent project called ‘The 25th Hour’ conducted by the Association of the Shrine Towns of France. These examples are used to examine the link between tourist experiences, debates about authenticity, and the night, and considers nocturnal ritual practices as powerful assets for promoting a new type of cultural night tourism in both smaller and world cities.