Sharing on the Way to the Holy Land: The Shrine of Our Lady of Cassiope on the Island of Corfu

ABSTRACT This article examines the history of a small Greek church on the island of Corfu and attempts to explain how it grew into an important pilgrimage shrine for Latin pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem. It also reviews the legends, miracle stories and devotional practices that developed around the site and discusses these within the context of the pilgrims’ experience during their voyage to the Holy Land. The article argues that in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the visit to the church of Cassiope marked the first contact between western pilgrims and the Greek rite and the first instance of shared worship during their pilgrimage.