Paper short abstract:

The presentation will focus on methodological challenges of pilgrimage research during the COVID-19 pandemic through the example of a small, local pilgrimage in Croatia. The emphasis will be on the attitudes and reactions of the local community towards institutionally conditioned restrictions.

Paper long abstract:

Ethnographic research which focuses on the pilgrimage to the Madonna of Snow in Kukljica, on the island of Ugljan in Croatia, began in the summer of 2020, at a time of strong restrictions and fear of Corona virus infection. Kukljica is a small island community which continuously celebrates the feast of the Madonna of Snow since the early 16th century (according to local tradition), displaying her statue in a procession that takes place mostly by boat making it a 'maritime pilgrimage'.

The focus of the presentation will be on the dynamics of established restrictions of the local authorities and the behavior of the locals/pilgrims in their attempts of preserving the practice in its usual form, showing persistence and strong importance of this religious practice for the local community.

The ethnographic data collected so far will be placed in a wider Croatian, predominantly Catholic context, in terms of comparison with main pilgrimage sites in the country, questioning institutionally conditioned restrictions and their impact on the performance of religious practices and the controversy between secular and religious gathering regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.