Synopsis

“Heading Home: A 21st Century Pilgrimage” chronicles the more than four-thousand mile pilgrimage of a small band of Christians from all walks of life. Led by philanthropist and author Roberta Ahmanson, the two-week journey covers almost 2000 years of church art and architecture.

The film invites viewers to join these pilgrims as they experience many of the world’s most magnificent churches and cathedrals, starting at the 4th century Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, then on to Rome, Pisa, Florence, Bologna, Ravenna, Venice, Torcello, and Aachen before winding up this incredible adventure at the 20th century Temple Church in London.

Along the way, these pilgrims learn how artists, architects and theologians worked in parallel for many centuries – from Saint Augustine’s vision of a New Jerusalem to Dante’s admonitions about the Last Judgment.

As Ben Quash of London’s National Gallery of Art explains in the film, “You can look at these works and buildings as part of the story of art but they’re also part of the story of faith and if you’re not interested in that story, you’re only getting part of the picture. You don’t have to be a person of faith to think about how they’re part of the story of faith. You just need to have enough of an imagination to feel your way into why these things mattered.”