Trier, Germany The Cathedral of Trier was the first major church to be established in what is now Germany, and is the oldest standing cathedral in Europe east of France. Once the most important Christian center in the Rhine region, the Archbishops of Trier were among the most powerful and influential outside of Italy. In early centuries the Cathedral of Trier was a major … [Read more...]
ANCIENT CHURCHES OF SALZBURG
Salzburg, Austria The city of Salzburg was probably the first place north of the Alps to receive Christianity, and was a major early gateway for the spread of faith into Germanic Europe. The city boasts a phenomenal collection of Christian sites, both ancient and famous, which collectively make for a worthy pilgrimage destination. St. Peter’s Church was founded in … [Read more...]
ANCIENT CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS OF RAVENNA
Ravenna, Italy The city of Ravenna in Northern Italy is famous for its place in Christian history, not for its association with any great Catholic saints. But this unlikely former capital of Roman Empire is home to over half a dozen essentially intact churches and other Christian sites which date back to the 5th and 6th centuries. This amazing collection of churches from the … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF SAINT-PIERRE-AUX-NONNAINS
Metz, France Of all of the great Catholic pilgrimage destinations in northwestern Europe, few have a history that can compare with the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-Aux-Nonnains. One of the only fully intact Roman-era buildings in Europe still standing, the basilica has served as a spa, a Benedictine chapel, a royal mausoleum, a church, a warehouse and a concert hall. It is also … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
Mexico City, Mexico The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most important and popular Marian Shrines in the Americas, second only to the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparaceda in Brazil. But it does not stand in the shadow of its rival, and is probably the most visited church in Spanish speaking countries. It is claimed that in December of 2009, the Basilica of Our … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR
Zaragoza, Spain St. Mary Major in Rome may be the most important of all Marian shrines, and Lourdes may be the most famous; but it is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza that can boast being the oldest church in the world devoted to the Virgin Mary. Dating as far back as the 1st century AD, it commemorates Mary’s miraculous appearance to James the Greater … [Read more...]
BASILICAS OF ST. MARY MAJOR & OUR LADY OF DIVINE LOVE
Rome, Italy Rome is home to a number of churches which are classified as Marian shrines; two of these, the Basilica of St. Mary Major and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love, are among the most important Catholic churches in the world. Although ranked after St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s and St. John’s Basilicas, both of the churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary are among the … [Read more...]
ST. PETER’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Drogheda, Ireland Oliver Plunket is the most famous of all Irish-born saints. His martyrdom was certainly one of the best known, as he was the last Catholic to be killed for his faith in England, which is saying something considering that religious persecutions had been ravaging the British Isles for well over a century. His shrine in Drogheda is the most important saintly … [Read more...]
CHURCH OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
Rome, Italy As if Rome did not already boast enough world class churches filled with the tombs of the Church’s honored dead, the Eternal City is home also to the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martin. Ironically, St. Ignatius is not buried here, but at the Mother Church of the Jesuits, also in Rome. However, Robert Bellarmine, one of his most important successors … [Read more...]
CONVENT OF ST. DOMINIC
Lima, Peru Lima in Peru was one of the great cities of the old Spanish Colonial Empire in the Americas. Not surprisingly, it is home to many old and beautiful churches. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Lima was also home to a woman named Rose, the first Catholic saint to be born in the New World. The site of her tomb in the city’s Convent of St. Dominic became one of the … [Read more...]