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He walks, you pay

Giles Tremlett

LONDON: He calls himself "the payer-off of promises," but Portuguese computer expert Carlos Gil could just as easily go by the name of "rent-a-pilgrim."

He has revived a 700-year-old tradition by hiring himself out to go on pilgrimages for those too infirm, too busy or just too lazy to go themselves.

His twice-yearly pilgrimages to the shrine at Fatima are now financed by those who wish to fulfil pledges secretly given in their prayers. He charges $2,500 (about Rs. 1.13 lakh) for the week's 100-mile walk from his home in Cascais, near Lisbon, to the shrine to the Virgin Mary at Fatima. He also walks back, which takes another week.

Mr. Gil describes himself as a devotee of the sanctuary at Fatima, which was built after three shepherds claimed the Virgin Mary had appeared to them on a hillside in 1917.

He says he makes no profit on his trips. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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