List of Christian pilgrimage sites

This is a list of sites notable as destinations of Christian pilgrimage, sorted by region and by (modern) country.

Old World

Holy Land

Sites associated with the gospel narrative in Israel and Jordan.

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.
• Jerusalem, site of the Passion (The Via Dolorosa) and Resurrection of Jesus, Ein Karem in westernmost Jerusalem is the birthplace of John the Baptist, Monastery of the Cross in central Jerusalem is the site of Jesus' Cross trees which the Cross made from.
• Beit Sahour the site of the Adoration of the shepherds.
• Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration
• Cana - the site of the Marriage at Cana
• Nazareth, hometown of Jesus.
• Sea of Galilee, sites of Jesus' early ministry.
• Nain, the site of the Raising of the son of the widow of Nain, one of Jesus' miracles.
• Jaffa (Joppa), the site of the house of Simeon the Tanner where St. Peter has visited and also the burial place of St. Tabitha.
• Lydda, the burial site of Saint George, the holiest Christian martyr.
• Abu Ghosh, the sites of one of the resting places of the Ark of the Covenant and the place where the Crusader identified as biblical Emmaus which is also the most well preserved Crusader in Israel.
• Emmaus Nicopolis, another identified place for biblical Emmaus where Jesus appeared to two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, the site is identified by the Catholic community of Beatitudes that also have a monastery there and they are prayer inside the antiquity area which includes ruins of Crusader and Byzatine churches.
• Emmaus (Al-Quebiba) - the Franciscan tradition seeing this as the biblical Emmaus where Jesus appeared to two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus and built a big church on the site.
• Sepphoris, the site of the home of Anne and Joachim, parents of Virgin Mary
• Mar Saba, the most important and largest monastery in the Holy Land and the resting place of Saint Sabas which was also the monk who built this monastery.
• Mount Carmel, site of Elijah's famous challenge to the prophets of Baal.
• The House of Peter in Capernaum.
• Magdala the birthplace of Mary Magdalene
• Bethsaida - the birthplaces of many of Jesus' Apostles - Philip, Andrew, Peter (John 1:44; John 12:21), and perhaps also James and John.
• Burqin Church, According to Christian tradition, Jesus had passed through Burqin on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth and as he was passing by the village he heard cries for help from ten lepers who were isolated in quarantine. He encountered them and passed his hand on their faces and then they were immediately cured. Since this "miracle", the church became a station for many Christian pilgrims. This is also one of the world's oldest churches.
• Jacob's well in Nablus.
• The Jesus trail.
• Beit Jimal Monastery, The Christian tradition believes that Rabban Gamliel I was buried here, as were St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr and Nicodemus, the monastery located near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh
• Caesarea Maritima
• Caesarea Philippi
• Qasr al-Yahud - the Baptismal site that located just on the western side of the Jordan River near Bethany Beyond the Jordan, you can also find many abandoned Christian monasteries, only the Greek Orthodox monastery re-opened. the site located near Jericho in the Jordanian border
• Deit Hijla Monastery - located on the site where Mary, Joseph and Jesus used to rest during the Flight to Egypt. also the place of the Laura of Saint Gerasimos. near Jericho and Qasr al-Yahud.
• Jericho - the site of the Mountain of Temptation and of the Sycamore Tree of Jesus.
• Deir Rafat - Monastetry which located on hill in the Elah Valley, very beautiful landscape.
• Monastery of St. John in the Wilderness - a pastoral monastery near Ein Karem, which honors John the Baptist's activity in the Judean Desert but was not built there because the danger of it, one of the caves also used to be in use by John the Baptist.

Jordan

There are five official Christian pilgrimage sites in Jordan certified by the Holy See.^[1]

• Bethany Beyond the Jordan, this site has been recognized as the real (and only true) site where Jesus was baptized by all the major traditional Christian Churches.
• Mukawir, the Herodias fortress where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded.
• Mount Nebo, traditional site of the death of Moses.
• Our Lady of the Mount Church in Anjara.
• Mar Elias Church in Ajloun.

Western Christianity

Sites associated with Western Christianity (Roman Catholicism, including sites now in Protestant parts of Europe).

Austria

• Mariazell. Marian Shrine to Austria and Hungary

Belgium

• Banneux - Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1933
• Beauraing - Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1932 .

Bosnia-Herzegovina

• Međugorje - Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary from 1981 up to the present time.

Czech Republic

• Infant Jesus of Prague
• Velehrad
• Stará Boleslav

Finland

• Kirkkokari, the only Roman Catholic pilgrimage site in Finland.

France

• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. A very important marian apparition shrine to Catholics.
• Cathedral of Chartres.
• Conques.
• Issoudun.^[2]
• 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.

• 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.

Germany

• Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen.
• St. Maria in der Kupfergasse, Cologne
• Kevelaer
• Wittenberg. Church of Martin Luther and center of the Protestant Reformation.
• Cologne Cathedral. Shrine of the Three Kings.

Hungary

• Máriapócs^[3]

Ireland

• Croagh Patrick mountain in County Mayo, associated with Saint Patrick and Reek Sunday
• Glendalough, County Wicklow, associated with Saint Kevin
• Knock Shrine, Knock, County Mayo, site of an 1879 apparition of the Virgin Mary
• St. Patrick's Purgatory, County Donegal, another site associated with Saint Patrick

Italy

• Padua, St Anthony, relics
• Sacri Monti, the Sacred Mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy.
• Turin Cathedral, the home of the Shroud of Turin.
• St. Peter's Basilica, the place of many burials since that of Saint Peter

• Vatican City - location of Saint Peter's Basilica, relics of various saints (such as John Paul II), relics of the Passion of Christ, and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church
• Rome - the site of the deaths of early martyrs (Colosseum), the sanctuaries of many saints, such as Ignatius of Loyola, and papal basilicas with important relics
• Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church - the shrine of Saint Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo in Apulia; also Pietrelcina as the birthplace of Padre Pio
• Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi; also the church of Saint Clare
• Loreto in the Marche; home of the Basilica della Santa Casa
• Lanciano in Abruzzo - the site of the famous Eucharistic miracle
• Venice - the shrine of Saint Mark the evangelist and patron saint of Venice
• Padua - the sanctuary of St Anthony of Padua
• Monte Cassino - the shrine of Saint Benedict
• Amalfi near Naples - the sanctuary of Saint Andrew
• Salerno in Campania - the shrine of Saint Matthew
• Pavia near Milan - the tomb of St. Augustine of Hippo at the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro

Lithuania

• Divine Mercy Sanctuary (Vilnius) with the first Divine Mercy image,
• Hill of Crosses, near Šiauliai,
• Žemaičių Kalvarija, Samogitia,
• Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, Vilnius,
• Šiluva.

Netherlands

• (Heilige Stede)Holy Site, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Kapel in 't Zand, Roermond of Limburg
• Lourdesgrot or Lourdes Grotto, a 1:13 scale replica of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes of Massabielle, France found in the Lourdeskapel (Scheveningen), The Hague-Scheveningen, Netherlands

Norway

• Nidaros, Trondheim. Shrine of St. Olav. 4th most visited pilgrimage site in Middle Ages.

Poland

• Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, where the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is housed permanently. It receives about 4-5 million pilgrims a year.
• The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń in Licheń Stary, the home of the miraculous image, known as the Sorrowful Queen of Poland (Bolesna Królowa Polski). This developing complex receives over a million pilgrims a year.
• Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Kraków-Łagiewniki, the global center of Divine Mercy, with the most poular version of Divine Mercy image, as well as the grave of saint Faustina Kowalska. It receives millions of pilgrims from all around the world.
• Góra Świętej Anny
• Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
• Matka Boska Kębelska in Wąwolnica
• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ludźmierz in Ludźmierz
• Sanctuary of St. Hedwig in Trzebnica
• Supraśl Lavra
• Święta Lipka
• Wambierzyce

Portugal

• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima - is one of the largest Marian shrines in the world. Our Lady of Fátima is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary according to her apparitions to three shepherd children at Fátima on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917. Fátima, Portugal, receives about 4-5 million pilgrims a year.
• Sanctuary of Christ the King - is a famous Catholic monument and shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, place of many pilgrimages.
• Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Ermesinde - an important pilgrimage destination to visit the tomb with the incorrupt body of Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart.
• Balazar - an important pilgrimage destination since the 20th century due to Alexandrina Maria da Costa, died 1955, who gained fame as a Saint, beatified by Pope John Paul II.

Spain

• 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.
• San Sebastián de Garabandal - a rural village in Cantabrian mountains were occurred the famous apparitions of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Michael the Archangel.
• Sanctuary of Chandavila - a Marian shrine dedicated to the apparitions of Our Lady of Sorrows in La Codosera, province of Badajoz.
• Sanctuary of Onuva - a Marian shrine dedicated to the apparitions of Our Lady of Graces occurred near La Puebla del Río, province of Seville.
• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Umbe - a Marian shrine dedicated to the apparitions of Our Lady of Sorrows in Umbe, near Bilbao, Biscay.
• Sanctuary of the Holy Christ of Agony - shrine with the Miraculous Crucifix where Jesus Christ appeared alive on the Cross, situated in Limpias, Cantabria.
• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Covadonga - a significant Marian shrine situated in the Peaks of Europe range of mountains, Asturias.
• Ávila, the birthplace of Saint Theresa of Jesus and first foundation of a convent of Discalced Carmelite nuns.
• Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza. It's reputed to be the first church dedicated to Virgin Mary in history.
• Basilica of Caravaca de la Cruz, situated in the region of Murcia.
• Montserrat, Catalonia. The Virgin of Montserrat is housed permanently in the Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat.
• The Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe situated in Guadalupe, Cáceres.
• The Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana located in Cantabria.
• The Way of Saint James. The Way of Saint James is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.

Romania

• Miercurea Ciuc, Transylvania. Whit Sunday gathering of (mostly ethnic Hungarian) Catholics.

Slovakia

• Shrine of Our Lady of Litmanová, a Marian apparition.
• Turzovka - place of Marian apparitions.
• Levoča
• Šaštín
• Marianka

Switzerland

• Einsiedeln

UK

• Bardsey Island, Wales. Numerous relics of local saints, including Saint Cadfan
• Bromholm Priory, England. Claimed to possess a piece of the True Cross
• Canterbury Cathedral, England. Associated with Saint Thomas Becket
• Glastonbury, England. Saint Joseph of Arimathea
• Holywell, Wales. St Winefride's Well is alleged to be the oldest continuously operating pilgrimage site in Great Britain
• Lindisfarne, England. Saint Cuthbert's remains were removed in 875, and were finally transferred to Durham Cathedral in 1104
• St Albans Cathedral, England. Associated with the country's first martyr, Saint Alban
• St Andrews Cathedral, Scotland. For the recently revived pilgrimage tradition here see The Way of St Andrews
• St Andrews, Scotland. It is said that Saint Andrew was given, by God, directions to the location of St Andrews
• St David's, Wales. Pilgrimage site since canonisation of the saint in the twelfth century
• Struell Wells, Northern Ireland. Traditionally associated with Saint Patrick
• Walsingham, England. Virgin Mary apparition site

Eastern Christianity

Sites associated with Eastern Christianity in Eastern Europe and the Near East (excluding the Holy Land proper).

Armenia

• Etchmiadzin (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin). Etchmiadzin is the spiritual and administrative centre of the Armenian Apostolic Church

Bulgaria

• Rila Monastery - largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.

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
• Monastery of Saint Anthony, a Coptic Orthodox monastery/cathedral located in the Eastern Desert. It is a very important model for many monastics.

Greece

• Mount Athos. Orthodox monastic centre.
• Tinos.
• Patmos. island of Revelation.
• Saint Nicholas of Spata Road to Saint Nicholas.

India

• Goa. St. Francis Xavier
• St. Thomas Mount. Place where St. Thomas was martyred.
• Vailankanni. 16th-century Marian apparition site.
• Thodupuzha. Divine Mercy Shrine of Holy Mary :- Marian apparition site.
• Shrine of the Infant Jesus, Nashik, Mahrashtra

Romania

• Iași, where over 1 million pilgrims from all over Romania and neighboring Orthodox countries supposedly queue to touch the relics of Saint Paraskevi

Russia

• Diveyevo Monastery, the main shrine of St. Seraphim of Sarov
• Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the main shrine of St. Sergius of Radonezh
• Pokrovsky Monastery, the main shrine of St. Matrona of Moscow
• Valaam Monastery, the main pilgrimage centre in the North-West of Russia

Serbia

• Djunis monastery near Kruševac is the most visited shrine in Serbia, dedicated to the Theotokos

Syria

• Saidnaya
• Soufanieh Marian apparition in a suburb of Damascus

Turkey

• House of the Virgin Mary. Pope John-Paul II declared the Shrine of Virgin Mary as a pilgrimage place for Christians.^[4]
• Constantinople. Present city, Istanbul; The world-wide capital of the Greek Orthodox Church and home to many of the oldest churches in the world. It is home to the Church of St. George, Istanbul seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople leader of the Greek Orthodox Church.

• 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.
• House of the Virgin Mary located in Ephesus. The former home of the Virgin Mary until her Assumption/Dormition currently a shrine. It was blessed and declared a place of pilgrimage by Pope John Paul II.
• Antioch. Early Center of Christianity and official seat of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Home to many old Christian churches.

Ukraine

• Pochayiv Lavra
• Holy Mountains Lavra
• Kiev Monastery of the Caves

New World

Pilgrimage sites in parts of the world reached by Christianity in the early modern or modern era, including the Americas and Southeast and East Asia.

East and Southeast Asia

Japan

• Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument, Site of the execution of twenty-six Japanese Christians in 1597.

Indonesia

• Sendangsono. Central Java; The first native java baptized by Rv. Van Lith, SJ

Malaysia

• St. Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam, mainland Penang state

Philippines

• National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. One of the most venerated Marian images in Asia.
• Our Lady of Manaoag is one of the Philippines' most widely visited Roman Catholic Pilgrimage sites and the patroness of the sick, the helpless and the needy.
• Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga City is the patroness of ailments, moreover, the whole Southern Luzon. It is considered to be the one of the largest Marian pilgrimages 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

Latin America

Brazil

• Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida - one of the largest churches in the world and receives about 8 million visitors per year.

Costa Rica

• Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels - the pilgrims walk from all around the country with the goal of arriving on 2 August to the Basilica in Cartago, that date is the feast day of the feast day of Our Lady of the Angels of the Portiuncula (on which the Portiuncola Indulgence could be gained) and a national holiday due to the pilgrimage.

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.
• Zapopan
• San Juan de los Lagos

North America

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.

USA

• National Shrine of The Divine Mercy (Stockbridge, Massachusetts) dedicated to Divine Mercy
• 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^[5]
• The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania
• The Black Madonna Shrine in Eureka, Missouri
• El Santuario de Chimayo, New Mexico
• Mission San Xavier del Bac, in Tucson, Arizona

References