The answer is a resounding yes, according to both Professor Kathryn Barush of the Graduate Theological Union and the Jesuit School of Theology (JST) at Santa Clara University, as well as Father Christopher Renz, OP of the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology (DSPT). Cinema is not just a form of entertainment, but a transformative medium that can lead us on a unique camino, i.e. a valid way to God.

This same sentiment permeated a collaborative film festival, which concluded in Spring of 2025: The Spirit of Cinema: Illuminating the Journey of Faith, which both Father Chris and Kathryn oversaw at the Blackfriars Gallery at DSPT. Through cinema, it seems, and even through an heralding movie poster, Catholics can experience spiritual transformation.

Phil’s Camino: A pilgrimage within a pilgrimage

The film festival featured a curated show of films alongside a collection of religious movie posters displayed for festival attendees. Some of the films and posters are widely recognizable to Catholics, such as The Song of Bernadette starring Jennifer Jones, as well as Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments. Others are less known, such as the recent lauded documentary, Phil’s Camino, which Kathryn advised at an early stage of the production process.

Kathryn collaborated with Phil Volker, the subject of Phil’s Camino, by editing his blog entries into the book, Walking in the Mud: The Diary of a DIY Camino. For Kathryn, seeing Phil’s story come to life on screen is a pilgrimage within a pilgrimage. “Phil's backyard Camino shows us that we're all on a path together as pilgrims on earth. The interior journey is reflected in the outer expression of faith.”

Phil Volker was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and undertook the famous walking pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, virtually, so to speak, by walking on a muddy path on his 10-acre property on Vashon Island, Seattle. Counting the miles on his island, he checked his progress on a map of Spain, where the physical Camino is located.

Kathryn considers Phil, who passed away from his cancer in 2021, as one of her great personal and spiritual teachers. “When I think about Phil's backyard camino journey, it seems there are different ways to kind of enact pilgrimage in our day-to-day life that I think reminds us that we are part of the bigger picture.”

Movies as a Shared Pilgrimage

Film festival goers were greeted by a labyrinth wall decal juxtaposed beside framed movie posters suggesting that a poster begins the spiritual labyrinth that the viewer will mentally travel while viewing a film. Father Chris, a spiritual director for over 25 years and the DSPT’s academic dean, attests to the universality of the spiritual journey for all, as well as the effect art can have on faith.

Father reflected, “Film is expressive of the cultural dimension of our faith, and this is where I think art and cinema can make powerful connections for us, not just as Catholics, even more specifically in how the faith is played out in everyday life in a particular culture.”

Movies, while not liturgical, still offer the audience collectively a reminder of both their personal and shared faith. This is all part of the universal experience of being on pilgrimage together. According to Father Chris, “Journeying with others is the core of the Christian experience which Jesus speaks of when He says, ‘Wherever two or three are gathered in my name there am I’ (Mt 18:20 NABRE). Similarly, Christians are also en route every day of their lives. Movies allow us a visual experience that reinforces our daily journey.”

Transforming the world through pilgrimage

Kathryn’s interest in pilgrimage began when, as a child, she and her grandfather would visit the Lourdes shrine at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory in Buffalo, New York. “When I finally went on pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, I felt like my grandpa, who used to walk me to the Basilica on mini pilgrimages from his home, was right there with me.”

Father Chris, who has coordinated multiple exhibits at Blackfriars Gallery, commented, “We are on a journey to our true home, the Heavenly Jerusalem. We are all always on pilgrimage. Every day we are asked by Jesus to ‘come and follow me,’ and in so doing to undergo transformation.”

Pilgrimages we can make now

Whether a movie poster or a film, this sort of pilgrimage is one that all Catholics can undertake without ever leaving their home. Although the festival has ended, the collection may be found by visiting the DSPT’s website, and the movie Phil’s Camino is available on all major streaming services.

While on earth, it seems, all can advance in their journey to heaven through cinema. The pilgrimage does not end when the movie ends. Kathryn mused, “I think whether we are having a vicarious pilgrimage through watching a film, experiencing a work of art, or reading a book, the pilgrimage does not end when we arrive at a destination. Whether it's through a film or the process of walking, there are lessons to be learned and graces that continue to be revealed long after the journey is complete, or the film has ended.”

Movie Posters as Heralds of the Journey:

A Collection of Religious Movie Posters as a Legacy of the late Father Michael Morris OP

“If the movie could be seen as an art form for preaching the Gospel, then the movie poster could be its herald,” so stated the late Father Michael Morris OP, the original collector of the posters.