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The high points of the pilgrimage were the vigils in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. But by the third vigil, familiarity had so far bred irreverence in some of the company that they desecrated the shrine outright—bargaining with the Moslem merchants, "swilling [strong wine] till the bottles were empty." Some of the priests got into a wrangle over their turn to celebrate Mass, and the lay pilgrims were forced to intervene. And then there were those pilgrims who went about scratching their names on everything in sight, and hunting for souvenirs. Felix's own "irreproachable" collection of relics included pebbles from holy places and thorned twigs from the Mount of Olives.
Yet, after all the troubles he had endured, there was no irony in the jolly friar's cry: "PRAISE BE TO GOD. The pilgrimage to Jerusalem is ending." After a side trip to Egypt, he hustled home happily to write his book about it all.