A near-2,000 mile pilgrimage by an Irish missionary could become a recognised European cultural route and trigger a tourism bonanza, campaigners said. A satnav map of the evangelising journey of Bangor monk St Columbanus from Ireland to modern-day Italy in the early days of Christianity has been created. Europe’s leading human rights organisation has been urged to bestow official status on the saint’s route in the month ahead. READ MORE: Coast Guard saves 400 lives in 2018His journey forms the basis of the pilgrimage route called the Columban Way beginning in Bunclody, Wexford, where he was born and ending in Bobbio, where he died. Bangor Abbey, where St Columbanus studied before his pilgrimage across Europe (Liam McBurney/PA).

Source: Irish Examiner December 30, 2018 10:52 UTC