Most Catholics have never been on a pilgrimage. They've attended Mass, gone to Confession, prayed at home and in pews. But traveling specifically to a holy place — not as a tourist, but as a pilgrim, intentionally and prayerfully — can feel unfamiliar. What does it involve? What's the difference between a pilgrimage and just visiting a nice church?
This guide answers those questions.
What Is a Catholic Pilgrimage?
A pilgrimage is a journey made to a holy place for a spiritual purpose. When you travel to see beautiful architecture or to visit a city, you're enriching yourself. A pilgrimage involves an element of gift — something you're bringing to the holy place, or something you're asking to receive there. It might be a petition, a thanksgiving, an act of reparation, or simply a desire to be close to something sacred.
The Church has always taught that pilgrimage has value because human beings are embodied creatures. Traveling to a holy place — the discomfort of the journey, the arrival, the act of kneeling in a place where countless others have knelt — engages something in us that sitting at home and praying cannot.
Pilgrimage is physically enacting the spiritual journey.
Setting Your Intention
Before you choose a destination, spend time with this question: what are you bringing to this holy place?
Common purposes
- Petition — asking for something: healing, clarity, intercession for a loved one
- Thanksgiving — expressing gratitude for something received
- Penance — doing something physical as reparation or penance for sins
- Devotion — honoring a particular saint or Marian title
- Faith deepening — seeking grace during a dry period or crisis
- Seeking — you feel called, even if you don't know exactly why
Write your intention down before you go. It will shape how you prepare and how you experience the journey.
Choosing a Destination
The right first pilgrimage destination is one that is accessible to you and connected to a saint, Marian title, or devotion you already love — or want to love.
For first-time pilgrims in America
- The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC — The largest Catholic church in North America. Accessible by Metro. An excellent first pilgrimage for those who want to encounter the full breadth of American Catholicism. Visitor guide →
- The National Shrine of a saint you're devoted to — If you've prayed to a particular saint, find their shrine and go there. The personal connection matters.
- A Marian shrine — Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI; Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI (the only approved Marian apparition site in the US); Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL.
- The California Missions — The oldest Catholic sites in the US, accessible and beautiful.
How to Prepare Spiritually
Begin weeks in advance.
- Set your intention. Write it down. Keep it before you throughout your preparation.
- Go to Confession. Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before your pilgrimage. This has been the practice of Catholic pilgrims throughout history.
- Pray a novena. Begin a nine-day novena to the saint or Our Lady associated with your destination, starting nine days before you depart.
- Learn the story. Read about the saint or the Marian apparition associated with your destination. The more you know, the more you'll receive when you arrive.
- Fast. Consider fasting on the day of your pilgrimage, or for a period beforehand.
- Tell someone your intention. Ask a family member or friend to pray for you on the day of your pilgrimage.
What to Bring
Devotional
- Rosary
- Prayer book or breviary
- Written list of your intentions
- A journal
- A saint medal associated with your destination
Practical
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Water and a small snack
- Cash (for candles, donations, the gift shop)
- A modest scarf or wrap (for covering shoulders if needed)
Leave at home: your phone on active distraction mode. Take it for photos and maps, but consider putting it on airplane mode while at the shrine.
When You Arrive
At the entrance: Pause. Recall your intention. A simple prayer: Lord, I have come. I am here. Whatever you have for me, I receive it. Bless yourself with holy water if available.
At Mass: At the Offertory, offer your intention with the priest's offering. When you receive Communion, ask specifically, with whatever trust you can manage, for what you came to ask.
At Confession: If the shrine offers Confession, go — even if you went recently.
At the shrine or chapel: Approach slowly. Kneel or bow. Bring your intention to mind. Pray in your own words, or use a traditional prayer. Remain in silence for a few minutes before leaving.
Votive candles: Lighting one is an ancient practice — an act of prayer that continues to burn after you leave. Leave a donation.
Relics: If relics are displayed, you may touch or kiss them through glass. You're not praying to the relic; you're honoring the saint through it, the way you might kiss a photo of someone you love.
The Journey Home
The pilgrimage isn't over when you leave.
- Journal that night. Write down what you noticed, what you felt, what you prayed. Don't try to interpret it yet. Just record it.
- Continue any novena you started before the pilgrimage.
- Watch for answers. Not magical thinking — attentiveness. Pilgrims throughout history have noted that the weeks after a pilgrimage are often marked by unusual grace or movement in the very area they prayed about.
- Come back. Most pilgrims who make one pilgrimage make others. The desire tends to grow.
Common Questions
Do I have to be Catholic?
Most shrines welcome visitors of any background respectfully. For the sacraments, you'd need to be Catholic. But the experience of visiting a holy place is open to everyone.
What if I'm not very devout?
You don't have to be particularly devout. The whole point is to go to a place where God has been known to be close and to stand there, honestly, with whatever faith you have. That honesty is itself a form of prayer.
What if nothing happens?
Sometimes a pilgrimage is simple and quiet. That's okay. The act itself has value.
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."
— Psalm 84:5