Pilgrimage

A physical journey with a spiritual purpose

A pilgrimage is a journey to a place of religious significance undertaken for a spiritual purpose. A tourist and a pilgrim might visit the same church, but the pilgrim travels especially to pray, deepen faith or give thanks to God. The outward journey is intended to support an inward change.

Catholics may visit places connected with Jesus, the apostles, saints or reported appearances of Mary. These connections make the history of their faith more tangible. Pilgrims may seek forgiveness, ask for help, give thanks or reflect on how they should live. Travelling and worshipping with other believers can also strengthen their sense of belonging to the Church.

Some pilgrims ask Mary or a saint for intercession: to pray to God on their behalf. This is not the same as worshipping Mary or the saints. Catholics believe that God is the source of any healing or help received.

How Catholic pilgrimage developed

Christian pilgrimage developed in the early centuries of Christianity as believers travelled to places connected with Jesus’ life and to the tombs of apostles and martyrs. The Holy Land and Rome became important destinations because they connected Christians with the foundations of their faith.

During the Middle Ages, pilgrimage became increasingly popular. Travel to the Holy Land could be difficult, dangerous and expensive, so shrines closer to home offered other opportunities for religious journeys. Walsingham, established in the eleventh century, is an example of a shrine that connected pilgrims with the Holy Land without requiring them to travel there. Later destinations developed around reported apparitions, including Lourdes in the nineteenth century.

The destinations differ, but the underlying purpose remains spiritual renewal rather than simply reaching a particular location.

Jerusalem: remembering Jesus’ suffering and resurrection

Jerusalem is significant for Christians because it is associated with the Last Supper, Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Pilgrimage there helps believers reflect on events central to their belief in salvation.

Pilgrims can pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, associated with Jesus’ prayer before his arrest. They may walk the Via Dolorosa, or Way of Sorrows, the traditional route commemorating his journey to crucifixion. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the traditional sites of his crucifixion and burial and is closely associated with belief in his resurrection.

These visits can make reflection on Jesus’ Passion more concrete. Rather than only reading about his suffering, pilgrims pray in places associated with it and consider what his sacrifice means for their own lives.

Rome: belonging to the worldwide Church

Rome is the centre of the Catholic Church, with Vatican City and the pope at its heart. It also connects Catholics with the early Church through sites associated with apostles, saints and martyrs.

Pilgrims visit basilicas and shrines, take part in Mass and other sacraments, and may receive a papal blessing. These experiences can strengthen their connection with the pope and with Catholics from different countries.

Rome therefore has both historical and present-day significance: it recalls the witnesses who helped establish Christianity and expresses the unity of the worldwide Catholic Church today.

Lourdes: healing, hope and prayer

Lourdes is in France. It became a pilgrimage destination after Bernadette Soubirous, a fourteen-year-old girl, reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1858. A spring associated with these apparitions became central to the shrine’s reputation for healing.

Pilgrims travel to Lourdes to pray, seek physical or spiritual healing, and ask for Mary’s intercession. The Catholic Church investigates claims of miraculous healing carefully; visiting Lourdes does not guarantee a cure.

Its significance is therefore wider than physical recovery. A person who remains ill may still find hope, peace or renewed faith through prayer and the support of fellow believers. For Catholics, spiritual healing and a closer relationship with God can matter even when bodily suffering continues.

Walsingham: England’s Nazareth

Walsingham is in Norfolk. Its pilgrimage tradition began in 1061, when a woman reported a vision in which Mary showed her the house at Nazareth where Jesus had lived as a child. She was instructed to build a replica at Walsingham.

The shrine became known as ‘England’s Nazareth’, offering a connection with the Holy Land for people unable to make the longer journey. Its association with Jesus’ childhood encourages reflection on the incarnation: Christians believe that God the Son became human and lived a human life.

Catholic pilgrims honour Mary, ask for her intercession and pray for themselves and the world. Walsingham links devotion to Mary with reflection on Jesus and his family life.

Pilgrimage in the Catechism

The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2691 teaches that pilgrimages ‘evoke our earthly journey toward heaven’ and are special occasions for ‘renewal in prayer’. The physical journey represents the Christian’s whole life: moving towards God, rather than treating arrival at a shrine as the final goal.

Paragraphs 2692–2695 place this within the Church’s wider life of prayer. Christians ask for the saints’ intercession; different spiritual traditions guide prayer; families first teach children to pray; and ministers, religious communities, religious education, prayer groups and spiritual direction offer support. Pilgrimage is one way to participate in this shared prayerful life.

Paragraph 2696 identifies pilgrimage sites as appropriate places for prayer, alongside places set aside for prayer at home and monasteries. It gives particular importance to the church as the place for the parish’s liturgical prayer and Eucharistic adoration. Catholic teaching therefore values pilgrimage without suggesting that a Christian must travel far to pray effectively.

Is pilgrimage important for Christians today?

Many Catholics argue that pilgrimage remains important because a break from ordinary routines creates time for sustained prayer. Places connected with Jesus or the saints can deepen understanding, while shared worship strengthens Christian community. Lourdes, for example, can offer hope to someone facing illness. These benefits support the Catechism’s emphasis on renewal in prayer.

Other Christians, including some Protestants, place less emphasis on pilgrimage. They argue that a close relationship with God can develop through prayer, Bible reading and worship in the local church: God is not accessible only at special destinations. Some also question asking saints to intercede, preferring to pray directly to God. However, Protestant views vary, and some Protestants value visiting places connected with Jesus.

A further objection concerns priorities. Travel can cost considerable money and time, which might instead be used to help people in need. Supporters can respond that pilgrimage and charity need not compete: spiritual renewal may encourage a pilgrim to serve others more faithfully afterwards.

A justified judgement should distinguish being valuable from being essential. Pilgrimage can be important when it strengthens prayer, faith and loving action. Yet Christians who cannot travel, or who understand worship differently, can still live a committed Christian life. Its importance depends on its spiritual purpose and effects, not merely on the distance travelled.