Voices of the Fathers 04 – The Pilgrimage of Egeria

Today we hear an excerpt from The Pilgrimage or Travels of Egeria. It is the earliest extant graphic account of a Christian pilgrimage. Egeria was a late fourth-century Christian pilgrim, probably from the Iberian Peninsula or southern Gaul, whose travel diary, commonly called the Itinerarium Egeriae, provides an invaluable eyewitness account of the Holy Land between about 381 and 384. Writing in colloquial Latin to a circle of women - her "dear ladies" at home, she described an extended journey through Egypt, Sinai, Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia. She visited the monastic communities of the Egyptian desert, then traveled to Mount Sinai, where she ascended the holy mountain associated with Moses. From there she journeyed north to Jerusalem, which became her base for several years. Her detailed descriptions of the liturgy in Jerusalem—especially during Holy Week—constitute one of the earliest and most important sources for the development of the Christian liturgical year.