Location
Monserrat
Start Date
25-6-2026 11:30 AM
End Date
25-6-2026 1:00 PM
Description
Religious tourism is undergoing a profound transformation where the boundaries between physical presence and digital engagement are increasingly blurred. This paper presents first results from research analysing the World Youth Day Jubilee 2025 in Rome, examining the event as a "living laboratory" for digitized religious mobility. The study focuses on how hybrid ("phygital") environments redefine the contemporary religious experience and influence spatial behaviours.
Moving beyond the traditional dichotomy of online versus offline, this study examines the pilgrimage as a "platformed experience," co-produced by material urban settings and the communicative logic of social media. The research employs a robust mixed-method design, triangulating data from netnography (analysing over 1,600 records from Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook) with direct observation of participants' experiences during the event and in-situ surveys. This approach allows for a critical assessment of how digital narratives intersect with physical infrastructure.
The findings suggest that the pilgrim's journey is no longer solely defined by the sacred site but is curated through "phygital hotspots" - spaces where collective physical presence is amplified by digital visibility. The study identifies distinct experiential modes: the "performative immersion" driven by TikTok’s dynamic trends versus the "aesthetic contemplation" favoured by Instagram’s visual architecture. Crucially, we observe that these platform mechanisms create new hierarchies of sacredness, redirecting visitor flows and presenting novel challenges for crowd dynamics and site management.
Consequently, we argue that modern pilgrimage has evolved into a hybrid practice where digital documentation is a constitutive element of the religious experience. The paper concludes by offering a theoretical framework for "mediated pilgrimage," providing actionable insights for stakeholders on managing the convergence of spiritual expectation and digital performance at future religious mega-events.
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Included in
D2) The Phygital Pilgrim: Navigating Hybrid Sacred Experiences at The World Youth Day Jubilee 2025 in Rome
Monserrat
Religious tourism is undergoing a profound transformation where the boundaries between physical presence and digital engagement are increasingly blurred. This paper presents first results from research analysing the World Youth Day Jubilee 2025 in Rome, examining the event as a "living laboratory" for digitized religious mobility. The study focuses on how hybrid ("phygital") environments redefine the contemporary religious experience and influence spatial behaviours.
Moving beyond the traditional dichotomy of online versus offline, this study examines the pilgrimage as a "platformed experience," co-produced by material urban settings and the communicative logic of social media. The research employs a robust mixed-method design, triangulating data from netnography (analysing over 1,600 records from Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook) with direct observation of participants' experiences during the event and in-situ surveys. This approach allows for a critical assessment of how digital narratives intersect with physical infrastructure.
The findings suggest that the pilgrim's journey is no longer solely defined by the sacred site but is curated through "phygital hotspots" - spaces where collective physical presence is amplified by digital visibility. The study identifies distinct experiential modes: the "performative immersion" driven by TikTok’s dynamic trends versus the "aesthetic contemplation" favoured by Instagram’s visual architecture. Crucially, we observe that these platform mechanisms create new hierarchies of sacredness, redirecting visitor flows and presenting novel challenges for crowd dynamics and site management.
Consequently, we argue that modern pilgrimage has evolved into a hybrid practice where digital documentation is a constitutive element of the religious experience. The paper concludes by offering a theoretical framework for "mediated pilgrimage," providing actionable insights for stakeholders on managing the convergence of spiritual expectation and digital performance at future religious mega-events.