Pilgrimages are an ancient practice that predates the Catholic Church. In the ancient days, the pagans believed in gods that inhabited certain parts of the world or certain places. If you wanted to ask that deity for something, you would go to the land or the place where they were to make the request. Sometimes this request was for something like a good harvest or for a child, but it was just as common for the request to be a plea to stop what was understood as divine punishment being inflicted on a person. Remember that the pagans normally saw the gods as petty, vengeful, and hateful toward humans. Outside of Judaism (and later, Christianity), nearly every creation story taught that the gods made humans to be their slaves and playthings. At the end of the journey, a religious ceremony, almost always involving sacrifice, took place.
In the Old Testament, we see the Israelites also had a concept of pilgrimage. The greatest feasts of the year, Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Booths), were pilgrimage feasts, where all capable Israelites were expected to travel to Jerusalem to worship God at the temple. (After the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 A.D., this pilgrimage is no longer obligatory.) The Israelites, like us Christians, do not understand God to be vengeful and hateful: he created us in his image and likeness! We believe that suffering is a result of sin, but God permits us to be tested in this life to prepare us for the next. (See Wisdom 3:6) With such a different understanding of God, the pilgrimage is also very different. Psalms 120-134 were prayed and sung on the journey up to Jerusalem (up is meant literally: Jerusalem is on top of a mountain), which is why they are called “Psalms of Ascent.” Unlike the pagan pilgrimages, these pilgrimage festivals primarily gave thanks to God for his goodness to his people and for the blessings of the harvest that had just taken place.
Pilgrimages are not necessary for the faith of Catholics. St. John Chrysostom explains that, there was “need for none to cross the seas or fare upon a long journey; let each of us at home invoke God earnestly and He will hear our prayer.” But even though they are not necessary, they can have great spiritual fruit. We understand God to love us as the children of Israel did, but we do not have pilgrimage feasts as they did. Our pilgrimages are not to taken to appease an angry deity; however, many people do make pilgrimage to ask for some gift or favor from God. Others make pilgrimage in thanksgiving to God. Sometimes they were undertaken as penance for sin. For example, the Inquisitions would sometimes impose a pilgrimage on a person for grave crime. The oldest and most famous pilgrimage sites for Catholics are: Rome to see the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul, Jerusalem to see the lands where Christ walked, and Compostela in Spain to see the tomb of St. James the Greater.
Every 25 years(ish), our Church celebrates a jubilee year. During jubilee years, the Holy Doors at the four great basilicas in Rome are opened and pilgrims are invited to come to Rome to walk through these doors. Throughout the world, many other churches are designated as pilgrimage sites for those who cannot make the journey to Rome. This year, 2025, is a jubilee year. The Holy Doors in Rome are open, and many churches across the country are pilgrimage sites too. In the USA, there are many beautiful places we can visit on pilgrimage. You can find a list of some here: catholicshrines.org/jubileeofhope
I will be joining Bishop Kemme and many others from our diocese on pilgrimage over the next two weeks, culminating with a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica where we will walk through the Holy Doors. I will be praying for all of you and for St. Joseph Parish as we visit various holy sites, and I ask that you keep us in your prayers as well.
Fr. Matt