Alba de Tormes, Spain The relatively unassuming Convent of the Annunciation in the picturesque town of Alba de Tormes in Central Spain is the site of the tomb of Teresa of Avila, one of only a handful of woman to be designated a Doctor of the Church and perhaps the greatest female theologian in Christian history. The convent, one of a score that she founded, unexpectedly … [Read more...]
MOTHER CHURCH OF THE JESUITS
Rome, Italy As if Rome did not already boast enough world class churches filled with the tombs of the Catholicism’s honored dead, the Eternal City is home also to the Church of the Gesu, or the Mother Church of the Jesuits. The Jesuits, the most famous post-medieval Catholic order, was the brainchild of Ignatius of Loyala. Despite his Spanish heritage, he established the … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF VILNIUS
Vilnius, Lithuania From the late Middle Ages until the early 17th century, the realm of Poland-Lithuania sprawed across Northeastern Europe. Wedged between Orthodox Russia to the East and what would become Protestant Prussia and Scandinavia, this vast kingdom and its survivor states was, and remains, a bastion of Catholicism. Its rulers became staunch defenders of … [Read more...]
PLACE DE VIEUX MARCHE
Rouen, France Throughout much of the 14th and the first half of the 15th centuries, the history of France was synonymous with the Hundred Years War. Following a series of disastrous military defeats, much of France was occupied by England and its continental allies. Initially a struggle over the monarchal succession, the war took on the tone of a religious crusade in 1429 AD … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF SAN DOMENICO
Siena, Italy Siena, one of the oldest cities in Italy, was the home town of Catherine, one of the towering female Christian figures of the Middle Ages and one of only three women to be designated as a Doctor of the Church. During her years as a Dominican disciple, she used Siena as a base for her travels throughout Italy and France, where she worked diligently to achieve … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA
Padua, Italy Italy has produced more than its share of great saints. But few have risen to the popularity of Anthony of Padua, considered to be among the greatest theologians and speakers of his age. An important disciple of Francis of Assisi in the early days of the Franciscan Order, he distinguished himself by surpassing Francis in church honors and, despite all humility, … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF TROYES
Troyes, France The magnificent Troyes Cathedral is in good company with the great cathedrals of the cities of Central France, and for this it can be somewhat overlooked. It does not have a long association as a pilgrimage cathedral. Its primary relic, that of Bernard of Clairvaux, was not interred here until the late 18th century; and it is not located along the major … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF WAWEL
Krakow, Poland The Cathedral of Wawel is the great national Catholic shrine of Poland and one of the most important and historic Catholic churches in Northeastern Europe. During the years of the Kingdom of Poland it was the country’s royal cathedral, with most of Poland’s kings coronated here and a large number buried here. Its most famous burial is Stanislaus the Martyr, … [Read more...]
ABBEY OF WESTMINSTER
London, England The cathedral of Westminster Abbey has long served as England’s royal church (its official designation is technically a ‘royal peculiar’), and has been an important place of pilgrimage since before the Protestant Reformation. The great majority of England’s monarchs were both coronated and buried here; among the latter being Edward the Confessor, who is … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF ESZTERGOM
Esztergom, Hungary Since the Middle Ages, Hungary has been the easternmost outpost of the Roman Catholic Church, jutting deep into traditional Eastern Orthodox territory. It became so thanks to the efforts of its first true king, Stephen, who dedicated his life to spreading Christianity in Eastern Europe. While his home town of Esztergom served as the national capital for … [Read more...]