Planning pilgrimage trips from Rome? Choose Assisi for the lives of St Francis and St Clare, Florence for Catholic sacred art, or Medjugorje for a stay centred on prayer. Assisi and Florence can work as separate day trips when your trains fit the visit. Medjugorje deserves several nights: the seasonal direct flight to Mostar is short, but airport journeys, transfers and the parish programme make it a different kind of journey.
You can visit Fatima from Lisbon in a day. A direct coach is usually the simplest public transport option because it arrives in the pilgrimage town. A private transfer gives more control over an early departure. Trains require an additional road journey: the station called Fátima is outside the town. If you are joining our morning walking pilgrimage, plan to reach Aljustrel at 08:45, rather than assuming that arrival at the Sanctuary is sufficient.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.
To visit Luisa Piccarreta’s Corato, plan time for Santa Maria Greca, where her remains rest, and contact the Luisa Piccarreta Association in advance about a guided Casa Museo visit. Allowing a morning gives space for historical context, prayer and questions rather than a brief stop at a doorway. Keep any museum appointment separate from general church access, and describe Luisa accurately as a Servant of God whose cause remains in progress.
Featured photograph: Patrick Nouhailler, CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped, resized and converted to WebP; the adapted photograph is shared under the same licence.
A Puglia pilgrimage linking St Michael’s sanctuary, Padre Pio and Luisa Piccarreta’s Corato works well over two days when travel is arranged in advance: Monte Sant’Angelo in the first morning, San Giovanni Rotondo that afternoon, and Corato the following morning. Allow an additional arrival night if you cannot comfortably reach the first meeting point. This guide explains the planning decisions behind that sequence, including worship, appointments and the journeys between towns.
Apparition Hill in Medjugorje, also called Podbrdo, is a place of Rosary prayer, with the Blue Cross prayer area near its foot. Visit with time for reflection and footwear suited to steep, uneven ground. The hill, the Blue Crosses and Cross Mountain are not interchangeable names: understanding the different places will help you choose a visit that matches your intentions and walking ability.
Plan your first pilgrimage to Medjugorje around prayer, realistic walking and enough unhurried time. Begin with the parish of St James, leave room for Mass and personal reflection, and choose hill visits that suit your abilities. Three days provide a useful framework for combining an orientation, Apparition Hill and a visit to Široki Brijeg, with travel days and accommodation arranged around them.
Updated and verified: 24 August 2026 · Official Vatican links and practical details can change, so always recheck the Holy See calendar before travelling.
The two most reliable ways to see Pope Leo XIV in Rome are the Wednesday General Audience and the Sunday Angelus in St Peter’s Square. General Audiences usually require a free ticket; the Sunday Angelus normally does not. Papal Masses and special celebrations offer further opportunities, but dates, venues and ticket arrangements vary.
This Catholic guide explains how to see Pope Leo XIV, how to request official tickets without paying a fee, what each event is really like, and how to plan a visit responsibly. It also introduces Robert Francis Prevost—Chicago-born missionary, Augustinian friar, Bishop of Rome and the first pope from the United States—and the Roman churches that illuminate his office and vocation.
Where Are the Popes Buried? A Catholic Guide to the Papal Tombs of Rome
- Christian articles, Destinations, Pilgrimage
- Early Christianity, Major Basilicas, Papal Tombs, Pilgrim, Popes, Rome
Where are the popes buried? Most of the surviving papal tombs are in Rome, above all in St Peter’s Basilica. Yet the burial places of the successors of St Peter form a sacred map extending across the Eternal City—from the Vatican Grottoes to St John Lateran, St Mary Major, St Lawrence Outside the Walls, San Clemente and the ancient catacombs.
Updated 20 August 2026
A Catholic pilgrimage to Assisi brings pilgrims into the city shaped by St Francis, St Clare and centuries of Franciscan prayer. The basilicas, medieval streets, convents and sacred places are not simply reminders of two admired historical figures. They bear witness to lives transformed by Jesus Christ and to a Catholic vocation of poverty, penance, charity and fidelity to the Gospel.
Assisi can be encountered in one focused hour, several hours or a full day. The right choice depends upon whether the principal desire is to pray at the tomb of St Francis, understand the city connected with Francis and Clare, or make a fuller Catholic pilgrimage through the places that formed their lives.
Updated 20 August 2026
The four Major Basilicas of Rome are St Peter’s Basilica, the Archbasilica of St John Lateran, St Mary Major and St Paul Outside the Walls. Together they stand at the heart of Catholic Rome, joining the tombs of the Apostles, the Cathedral of the Pope, the Church’s devotion to Our Lady and the living pilgrimage tradition of the Eternal City.
For Catholic pilgrims, these are not simply four famous churches to place on a sightseeing list. Each basilica expresses a distinct part of the Church’s history and identity. Visiting all four creates a coherent pilgrimage through apostolic memory, sacred relics, Catholic worship, mosaics, architecture and the continuity of the Church in Rome.
Updated 20 August 2026
San Clemente in Rome is one of the clearest places in the city to encounter the continuity of Catholic history. Near the Colosseum, a twelfth-century basilica stands above a fourth-century church and first-century Roman buildings. Descending through the complex is therefore not simply an archaeological experience: it is a journey from imperial Rome, through the age of the early Church, into the public and enduring worship of Catholic Rome.
The Basilica of St Clement matters because its layers bring together apostolic memory, persecution, pagan Rome, Christian freedom, sacred art and the veneration of saints. Few churches allow pilgrims to see so vividly how the Catholic faith took root in Rome and remained present through the centuries.
Looking for a Traditional Latin Mass in Rome? Start with Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, served by the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, and the Institute of Christ the King’s Rome apostolate, whose published services are currently at the Immacolata dei Miracoli. The SSPX also publishes a timetable for its chapel in Via Urbana. At Sant’Anna al Laterano, Crucis Tours has locally confirmed Sunday Mass at 16:00. Other churches often included in Rome Latin Mass lists need a fresh check before you plan around them.
Looking for Mass in English in Rome? St Patrick’s, San Silvestro in Capite, Santo Spirito in Sassia and several other churches publish regular English-language services. Some options are seasonal, while the English Mass near St Peter’s tomb is monthly. Start with the timetable below, then check the church’s own notices for your travel date.
Rome, often called the Eternal City, has long been a destination for Christian pilgrims seeking spiritual renewal and a connection to the faith’s earliest roots. One of the most historically significant pilgrimage traditions in Rome is the 7 Pilgrim Churches route, popularized in the 16th century by St. Philip Neri. This sacred journey involves visiting seven of the city’s most important churches, each holding deep religious and historical significance.
In this article, we’ll explore the origins of the 7 Pilgrim Churches of Rome pilgrimage, the life of St. Philip Neri, the churches included in the tradition, and how the practice has evolved in modern times.