Above: "The remains of one of the most daring architectural expressions of early Irish monasticism: a hermitage built virtually in the air on the treacherous ledges of an Atlantic rock rising straight up from the sea to an altitude of 218 metres."
Ancient 'beehive' monastic cells on Skellig Michael, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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WHO ARE WE?
We are a team of two Irish people, Helen Gallivan, a recruitment consultant and John Dundon, a retired teacher. We met at a Christian meditation group, part of the ecumenical World Community of Christian Meditation. As we were chatting informally before going home one night, people began to talk about Christian websites they had discovered – a conversation that continued over the weeks. The idea came to the two of us that the wealth of inspiring online resources we had found could and should be shared more widely and – with no prior relevant experience - we decided to build a website. NEW PILGRIM PATH was launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2016. Our aim is to share with our fellow pilgrims of all Christian denominations - in Ireland and across the globe - some of the rich online spiritual resources we have found and continue to find. Because the choice is so huge and, at times, bewildering, we provide a brief description of every site we have found valuable – visiting hundreds of sites in our search. We then provide a link to, and a brief description of, each site. They are very varied – daily prayer, online retreats, sacred music, inspiring reflections, among others. The aim is to help visitors to the site find websites that are likely to be relevant and interesting to them at the particular stage of their pilgrim journey. We refresh some pages weekly – featuring a different website, poem and piece of sacred music. We hope that NEW PILGRIM PATH will help you as you seek encounter with the person of Christ, the Word of God, in our midst. HOW ARE WE FUNDED? We built and manage the website ourselves. Since we engage no external technical expertise, our costs are low. We are self-funded, and neither solicit nor accept advertising or donations. We rely on word of mouth to promote awareness of the website. To date, several hundred parishes (Catholic and other denominations) in Ireland and the UK have subscribed to our (free) weekly email featuring our latest updates, and close to 500 individuals have done likewise. If you would like to receive a weekly email, click here: Contact us. |
SKELLIG MICHAEL
You will notice that the banner picture on each page of NEW PILGRIM PATH is an image of Skellig Michael. Just 500 years or so after the death of Christ, the first monks arrived on Skellig Michael (from the Irish Sceilg Mhíchíl), an island 12 km from Ireland's south west coast, lying at the very edge of the then known world. The monastery that they established in this inhospitable environment remains one of the most remarkable testaments to human faith on earth. Skellig Michael was the culminating point of a mediaeval pilgrimage route which ran from Palestine to Ireland. Today, many people will know the island as a location in recent "Star Wars" films. Ancient meets new! Ancient meets new, too, in our 21st century pilgrimage. In bygone days, pilgrims typically stopped at holy sites along their way, to refresh themselves for the next stage of their journey. Today, our touch screens or keyboards can lead us on our path; websites can be the stopping points where we draw strength for our continued journey. 
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We refresh New Pilgrim Path with a featured website, poem and piece of sacred music each week; our other resources are also updated regularly. If you would like to receive a weekly email updating you on new content, please click here.