Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the ministry of Jesus. Surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Jerusalem date from the 4th century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers like Saint Jerome and established by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. Pilgrimages also began to be made to Rome and other sites associated with the Apostles, Saints and Christian martyrs, as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Major Christian pilgrimage sites:
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Medugo
rje. Apparitions of the Virgin Mary from 1981 up to the present time
Brazil
Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida -
one of the largest churches in the world and receives about 8 million visitors per year. It was also the birth place of Roberto Carlos
France
- Basilica of St. Thérèse in Lisieux.
- The several churches and basilicas in Lourdes - associated with Marian apparitions receive over 5 million pilgrims a year, making Lourdes the second most visited Christian pilgrimage site in Europe after Rome.
- Paris - the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, and Basilica of Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre
- Basilica of St. Thérèse (Lisieux) - in Normandie. The second pilgrimage site in France after Lourdes with over 2 million visitors per year.
Israel
The Holy Land, location of many events in the Old Testament and New Testament:
- Bethany, site of the resurrection of Lazarus
- Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus and King David
- Jerusalem, site of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus
- Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration
- Nazareth, hometown of Jesus
- Sea of Galilee, site of Jesus' early ministry
- The House of Peter in Capernaum
- The Jesus trail
- The Via Dolorosa
Italy
- St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
- Vatican City - Location of Saint Peter's Basilica, relics of various saints, relics of the Passion, important churches and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.
- Rome - on roads such as the Via Francigena. Site of the deaths of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and other early martyrs.
- Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church - the Padre Pio shrine located in San Giovanni Rotondo of southern Italy; also Pietrelcina as the birthplace of Padre Pio
- Basilica of St. Francis - in Assisi; also church of Saint Clare
- Loreto - in the Marche; home of the Basilica della Santa Casa
Mexico
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe - one of the largest churches in the world and receives about 20 million pilgrims per year. It can accommodate 40,000 people for a mass.
Poland
Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, where Black Madonna of Częstochowa is housed permanently. It receives about 4.5 million pilgrims a year.
Portugal
Fátima - Our Lady of Fatima is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She appeared to three shepherd children at Fátima on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917. Fatima receives about 4-5 million pilgrims a year.
Spain
- Some European pilgrims on the ancient pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela in 2005.
- Santiago de Compostela - in Galicia on the Way of St James (Galician: O Camiño de Santiago). This famous medieval pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James is still popular today.
Turkey
Constantinople (today Istanbul). Former capital of the Byzantine Empire and the see of one of the five ancient Patriarchates and first among equals among the Patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Hagia Sophia, former cathedral and burial place of many Ecumenical Patriarchs.
Other pilgrimage sites
Armenia
Etchmiadzin (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin). Etchmiadzin is the spiritual and administrative center of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Austria
Mariazell. Marian Shrine to Austria and Hungary
Canada
- Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, associated with miraculous healings.
- Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec, in honour of Our Lady of the Cape
Czech
Infant Jesus of Prague
Egypt
Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai, traditional site of the Burning Bush and the reception of the Ten Commandments has been commemorated since the time of Constantine the Great
France
- Cathedral of Chartres
- Conques.
- Issoudun. Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur
- La Salette, Our Lady of La Salette
- Saint Catherine Labouré of Paris
- Pellevoisin. Apparition of the Virgin Mary
- Taizé Community, modern monastery that actively encourages pilgrimages to it
Germany
- Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen
- Cologne Cathedral. Relics of the Three Magi
- Kevelaer
- Wittenberg. Church of Martin Luther and center of the Protestant Reformation
Greece
- Mount Athos. Orthodox monastic center
- Tinos
- Patmos, island of Revelation
India
- Goa. St. Francis Xavier
- St. Thomas Mount, place where St. Thomas was martyred
- Vailankanni, 16th-century Marian apparition site
Ireland
- Croagh Patrick. Saint Patrick
- Knock
- St. Patrick's Purgatory, Donegal
Italy
- Padua, St Anthony, relics
- Sacri Monti, the Sacred Mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy
- Turin, the location for the Shroud of Turin
Jordan
- Mount Nebo, Traditional site of the death of Moses
- Mukawir, the Herodias fortress where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded
- Um Qais, The city is mentioned in the New Testament as the site where Jesus cast out demons and sent them into pigs, which then ran into the sea
- Jordan River, This site has been recognized as the real (and only true) site where Jesus was baptized by all the major traditional Christian Churches
Lithuania
The pilgrimage of Žemaičių Kalvarija in Lithuania is one of the most important pilgrimages for Catholics.
- Hill of Crosses, near Šiauliai
- Žemaičių Kalvarija, Samogitia
- Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, Vilnius
- Šiluva
Mexico
Zapopan
Netherlands
Kapel in 't Zand, Roermond of Limburg
Norway
Nidaros, Trondheim. Shrine of St. Olav, 4th most visited pilgrimage site in Middle Ages
Philippines
- National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. One of the most venerated Marian images in Asia
- Quiapo Church. Home to the much venerated Black Nazarene, a much venerated statue of Jesus Christ which many people believe has miraculous attributes
Poland
- Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
- Licheń Stary, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń
- Święta Lipka
Romania
Miercurea Ciuc, Transylvania. Whit Sunday gathering of (mostly ethnic Hungarian) Catholics
Slovakia
Spain
- Ávila, St Theresa of Avila, relics
- Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza. It's reputed to be the first church dedicated to Mary in history.
- Caravaca de la Cruz, Region of Murcia
- Montserrat, Catalonia. The Virgin of Montserrat is housed permanently in the monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat.
- Guadalupe
- Santo Toribio de Liébana, Cantabria
Switzerland
Einsiedeln
Turkey
- House of the Virgin Mary. Pope John-Paul II declared the Shrine of Virgin Mary as a pilgrimage place for Christians
- Pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket, Canterbury Cathedral
UK
- Canterbury Cathedral associated with Saint Thomas Becket
- Glastonbury, England. St Joseph of Arimathea
- St. Andrews, Scotland. It is said that Saint Andrew was given, by God, directions to the location of St. Andrews
- Walsingham, England. Virgin Mary apparition site
- Holywell, Wales. St Winefride's Well it is the oldest continuously operating pilgrimage site in Great Britain
- St. Davids, Wales. Pilgrimage site since canonization of the saint in the twelfth century
USA
- Carey, Ohio to the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation. Catholic pilgrims from the Middle East journey here to mark the Feast of the Assumption
- El Santuario de Chimayo, New Mexico
Source: Wikipedia
What simple things made my Italy visit complete (aside from the "itsy-bitsy" shopping of course)? Italian pizza (and possibly Italian gelato, though I prefer ice cream really). Hmmm, yummy!!!
There were various selection of pizza flavors to choose from, most of which I am not familiar with. It was not hard to select for you can differentiate the ingredients visually. What makes it challenging is the desire to taste all of the variations, hahah.
