L1) Modern Day Saints and the Production of Contemporary Pilgrimage Sites: Analysis of Padre Pio of San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy and Sai Baba of Shirdi, India

Places valorised by saints have attracted pilgrimage for a very long time as devotion to saints is a way to achieve both material wellbeing and spiritual growth. Yet, the cult following of modern-day saints in contemporary societies has become a topic for exploration only in recent years (Di Giovine, 2010; Srinivas, 2008). A few excellent hagiographies discuss the material and non-material world created around charismatic modern-day saints (Shepherd, 1986). Adding to this scholarship, this paper aims to explore the creation of contemporary pilgrimage landscape of modern-day saints using a cross-culture comparative analysis. The saints are Padre Pio of San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy (1887-1968) and Sai Baba of Shirdi in India (c 1880- 1918). The analysis reveals several commonalities: both are believed to be ˜living saints’ with healing powers; became popular in a short span of time; and have global network of transnational following. The places where the saints had found their calling, begin to attract visitors, and from small unassuming villages transformed into popular pilgrim towns. With a contemporary orientation, both places have a mix of attractions - tomb of the saint, mega shrine to accommodate large congregations, charitable hospital to serve the needy, museums, thus making them more multipurpose. Since expressing devotion is the main reason, the traditional structure of religious functionaries and religious rituals is absent. Instead, lodging and boarding is provided in form of hotels, restaurants, and other tour services by non-religious (yet dedicated to the saint) enterprises. The heavy touristic orientation is also leads to intense commodification of souvenirs, contestations about heritage, and all things related to such saints (Di Giovine, 2012; Shinde, 2022). Thus, this paper offers insights about the processes involved production of newer spaces of religious tourism in sites dedicated to modern-day saints.