Pilgrimage Sites and Holy Places

What Is a Pilgrimage in Catholicism

A pilgrimage is a journey made to a holy place as an act of prayer and penance.

Christian Pilgrimage Sites Worldwide

Christians have travelled to holy places since the fourth century.

Virtual Pilgrimage: Holy Places at Home

A pilgrimage can be made without a plane ticket.

Approved Marian Apparitions Explained

The Church rarely declares an apparition supernatural.

Is Garabandal Approved by the Church?

Garabandal is not approved. What Santander actually determined.

Our Lady of Akita: The Real Status

A 1984 diocesan approval from Bishop Ito of Niigata, and no Roman decree.

Holy Land Pilgrimage Sites Guide

The Holy Land is the geography of the Gospels, and its shrines are shared among several.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre Guide

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem encloses Calvary and the empty tomb.

Via Dolorosa: The Stations in Jerusalem

The Via Dolorosa is the route through Jerusalem that pilgrims walk as the way of the cross.

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is built over the cave venerated as Christ's.

The Four Papal Basilicas of Rome

St John Lateran, St Peter's, St Paul Outside the Walls and St Mary Major, and the four Holy Doors.

Rome Pilgrimage Sites for Catholics

Rome holds the tombs of Peter and Paul, the catacombs and the papal churches.

Christians and the Roman Colosseum

What the sources support about martyrs in the arena, and why a cross stands there.

St Peter's Basilica: What to See

St Peter's Basilica stands over the grave of the apostle Peter in Vatican City.

Tomb of St Peter Under the Vatican

What the Scavi excavations found under the basilica, and what is still disputed.

Sistine Chapel Ceiling Explained

The pope's own chapel and the conclave room, read panel by panel.

Assisi Pilgrimage Sites and Basilicas

The tomb of St Francis, Santa Chiara and the San Damiano crucifix, the Portiuncula, San Damiano and the Carceri.

Visiting St Carlo Acutis in Assisi

St Carlo Acutis was canonised in 2025 and his tomb is in Assisi.

Shroud of Turin: Can You See It

The Shroud of Turin is kept in Turin Cathedral and shown only at rare expositions.

Blood of San Gennaro in Naples

Naples Cathedral keeps ampoules of the blood of St Januarius, reported to liquefy on three set feast days.

France Pilgrimage Sites and Shrines

Lourdes, Lisieux, Ars, Paray-le-Monial, Rue du Bac, Chartres, Mont-Saint-Michel and Rocamadour, and what each one is for.

Lourdes Pilgrimage: The Grotto Guide

Lourdes is the grotto at Massabielle where Mary appeared to Bernadette in 1858.

Visiting the Fatima Shrine in Portugal

The Fatima shrine at the Cova da Iria holds the Chapel of Apparitions, two basilicas and.

Basilica of Guadalupe: A Visitor Guide

The Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City houses the tilma of Juan Diego.

Aparecida Basilica in Brazil: A Guide

Brazil's national shrine, the small dark image drawn from the river in 1717, and 12 October.

Jasna Gora and the Black Madonna of Czestochowa

Jasna Gora in Czestochowa holds Poland's most venerated icon of Mary.

Montserrat and the Black Madonna of Catalonia

The Benedictine abbey above Barcelona, La Moreneta, and the vigil of Ignatius.

Our Lady of Manaoag Shrine Guide

The Dominican shrine in Pangasinan, its ivory image of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the name that means she calls.

Central Europe Pilgrimage Shrines

The shrine belt of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.

Camino de Santiago Routes Compared

Camino de Santiago routes compared: the Frances, Portugues, Norte, Primitivo, Ingles and.

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral: A Guide to the Shrine of Saint James

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral holds the tomb venerated as the apostle James.

Lalibela Rock-Hewn Churches Guide

Eleven churches cut down out of solid rock in Ethiopia, built as a New Jerusalem.

Meteora Monasteries: What to Know

The Meteora monasteries in Greece sit on sandstone pillars and six remain active.

Mount Athos Pilgrimage: The Rules

Mount Athos is a self-governing monastic republic of twenty monasteries.

Orthodox Monasteries to Visit: A Guide

Eastern Orthodox houses from Greece to Georgia: Athos, Meteora, Patmos, Rila, Ostrog, Studenica, Kyiv, Valaam and Mtskheta.

Africa Pilgrimage Sites for Christians

Africa pilgrimage sites for Christians: Lalibela, Axum, Namugongo in Uganda, Kibeho in.

Auschwitz: Kolbe and Edith Stein

Auschwitz is where St Maximilian Kolbe died in the starvation bunker and St Edith Stein was.

Axum and the Ark of the Covenant

Axum in Ethiopia is where the Ethiopian Orthodox Church says the Ark of the Covenant is kept.

Basilica of St Anthony in Padua

The Basilica of St Anthony in Padua holds his tomb and the tongue relic found in 1263.

Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth

The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth is built over the cave-house venerated as.

Black Nazarene of Quiapo, Manila

Quiapo Church in Manila holds the Black Nazarene, brought from Mexico in 1606.

Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa

The Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa holds the body of St Francis Xavier.

The Camino Frances: The Classic Route to Santiago de Compostela

The Camino Frances runs about 780 km from the Pyrenees to Santiago.

Camino Portugues: Coastal or Central

The Camino Portugues runs north from Lisbon or Porto to Santiago.

Cappadocia Cave Churches and Fathers

Cappadocia holds hundreds of rock-cut chapels painted by Byzantine Christians, in the.

Catacombs of Rome: Which to Visit

The catacombs of Rome hold the graves of early Christians and popes.

Coptic Cairo and the Holy Family

Coptic Cairo holds the oldest Christian quarter in Egypt, including the crypt at Abu Serga.

Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage Climb Guide

Croagh Patrick is the Mayo mountain where St Patrick is said to have fasted forty days.

The Divine Mercy Shrine at Lagiewniki in Krakow

The Divine Mercy shrine at Lagiewniki in Krakow holds St Faustina's tomb and the venerated.

East Asia and Pacific Holy Sites

East Asia and Pacific holy sites: Nagasaki and the hidden Christians, La Vang, the Korean.

Egypt Coptic Holy Sites and Sinai

Egypt Coptic holy sites and Sinai: the Flight into Egypt route, Old Cairo, the desert.

El Santuario de Chimayo, New Mexico

Chimayo is the adobe chapel in New Mexico with the pocito of holy dirt, and the goal of the.

Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano Visit

Lanciano keeps the oldest venerated eucharistic miracle in the Catholic tradition.

Garden of Gethsemane and Olivet

Gethsemane is the olive grove where Jesus prayed in agony and was arrested.

Hagia Sophia's Christian History

Hagia Sophia was the great church of Constantinople for nine centuries.

Holy House of Loreto: The Real Story

The Holy House of Loreto encloses three stone walls venerated as Mary's house from Nazareth.

House of the Virgin Mary at Ephesus

The House of the Virgin Mary above Ephesus is venerated as where Mary lived with John.

Incorrupt Saints You Can Visit Today

Incorrupt and preserved saints on public view: Bernadette at Nevers, Catherine Laboure in.

India Christian Pilgrimage Sites

India Christian pilgrimage sites: Velankanni, Old Goa and Francis Xavier, San Thome and the.

Infant Jesus of Prague: The Church

The Infant Jesus of Prague statue stands in Our Lady Victorious in Mala Strana.

Ireland and Britain Holy Sites

Ireland and Britain holy sites: Knock, Croagh Patrick, Lough Derg, Glendalough, Walsingham,.

Italy Pilgrimage Sites Beyond Rome

Italy pilgrimage sites beyond Rome: Assisi, Padua, San Giovanni Rotondo, Loreto, Lanciano,.

Jordan River Baptism Site of Jesus

The Jordan River baptism site of Jesus has two banks: Qasr al-Yahud in the West Bank and.

Kibeho, Rwanda: Approved Apparitions

Kibeho in Rwanda is Africa's approved Marian apparition site.

Knock Shrine, Ireland: The Apparition

Knock is where fifteen villagers saw a silent apparition on the church gable in 1879.

Latin America Pilgrimage Shrines

Latin America pilgrimage shrines: Guadalupe, Aparecida, Lujan, Copacabana, Las Lajas,.

Is Medjugorje Approved by the Church

Medjugorje has a 2024 nihil obstat permitting devotion, and no declaration that the.

Mont-Saint-Michel as a Pilgrimage

Mont-Saint-Michel began in 708 when the Archangel Michael told Bishop Aubert to build on.

Nagasaki Martyrs and Hidden Christians

Nagasaki holds Nishizaka hill where 26 martyrs died in 1597, Oura Church where the hidden.

The National Shrine in Washington DC

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is the largest Catholic.

Our Lady of Good Help, Champion, Wisconsin

Champion, Wisconsin is the only Church-approved Marian apparition site in the United States.

Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, Vietnam

La Vang in Quang Tri is Vietnam's national Marian shrine, resting on a 1798 tradition from.

Patmos and the Cave of the Apocalypse

Patmos is the island where John received the visions of Revelation.

Philippines Pilgrimage Sites Guide

Philippines pilgrimage sites: the Black Nazarene, Manaoag, Antipolo, Baclaran, Santo Nino.

Protestant Heritage Sites to Visit

Protestant heritage sites to visit: Wittenberg, Wartburg, Eisleben, Geneva, Zurich,.

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal

Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal grew from a small chapel built by St Andre Bessette.

Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre Shrine Guide

Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre on the St Lawrence has kept devotion to the grandmother of Jesus.

San Giovanni Rotondo Padre Pio Shrine

San Giovanni Rotondo is where Padre Pio lived, bore the stigmata and heard confessions.

San Thome Basilica and St Thomas

San Thome in Chennai is built over the tomb held to be the apostle Thomas's.

Santo Nino de Cebu Basilica Guide

The Basilica del Santo Nino in Cebu holds the image given at the first Philippine baptisms.

Sea of Galilee Holy Sites to Visit

Sea of Galilee holy sites: Capernaum, Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes, Magdala and Mount.

Spain and Portugal Holy Sites

Spain and Portugal holy sites: Santiago de Compostela, Fatima, Montserrat, Zaragoza, Avila,.

St Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai

St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai surrounds the site venerated as the.

Turkey Christian Sites for Pilgrims

Turkey Christian sites for pilgrims: Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary, Cappadocia,.

Uganda Martyrs Shrine at Namugongo

Namugongo is where Charles Lwanga and his companions were burned alive in 1886.

Catholic Pilgrimage Sites in the United States and Canada

US and Canada Catholic pilgrimage places: the Washington national shrine, Champion,.

Velankanni Basilica: Our Lady of Health

Velankanni in Tamil Nadu is India's largest Marian pilgrimage.

Wittenberg and the Luther Sites

Wittenberg, Eisleben and the Wartburg are where Luther posted, preached, translated and died.