Sunday, June 21, 2026

The Holy Sites of Christianity: A Guide to the Great Sacred Places

The Old City of Jerusalem
Source: Pixabay

From the empty tomb in Jerusalem to the great pilgrim shrines of Europe, Christianity has gathered around a network of sacred places for nearly two thousand years. This guide is the home page for our growing series on the holy sites of Christianity – their history, the devotions that draw pilgrims, and practical advice on visiting, including where to stay on a budget. Each site below links to a complete series of its own.

The Holy Sites

More sacred sites – including Bethlehem, the Vatican, Nazareth, Santiago de Compostela, Lourdes and Fatima – are being added to this series.

A Faith of Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage has been part of Christian life since its earliest centuries. Believers travel to walk where Jesus walked, to honour the apostles and saints, and to visit places linked to visions of the Virgin Mary. Whether in the stone lanes of Jerusalem’s Old City or at a modern shrine welcoming millions a year, the journey itself – the prayer, the waiting, the shared devotion – is as much a part of the experience as the destination.

  • Vatican City and St Peter’s Basilica, Rome – the seat of the pope and the largest church in Christianity, with the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums.ure style=”text-align:center;”>The Old City of Jerusalem
    Source: Pixabay

    From the empty tomb in Jerusalem to the great pilgrim shrines of Europe, Christianity has gathered around a network of sacred places for nearly two thousand years. This guide is the home page for our growing series on the holy sites of Christianity – their history, the devotions that draw pilgrims, and practical advice on visiting, including where to stay on a budget. Each site below links to a complete series of its own.

    The Holy Sites

    More sacred sites – including Bethlehem, the Vatican, Nazareth, Santiago de Compostela, Lourdes and Fatima – are being added to this series.

    A Faith of Pilgrimage

    Pilgrimage has been part of Christian life since its earliest centuries. Believers travel to walk where Jesus walked, to honour the apostles and saints, and to visit places linked to visions of the Virgin Mary. Whether in the stone lanes of Jerusalem’s Old City or at a modern shrine welcoming millions a year, the journey itself – the prayer, the waiting, the shared devotion – is as much a part of the experience as the destination.

  • Santiago de Compostela, Spain – the tomb of the apostle Saint James and the goal of the Camino, one of the three great pilgrimage cities of Christianity.ure style=”text-align:center;”>The Old City of Jerusalem
    Source: Pixabay

    From the empty tomb in Jerusalem to the great pilgrim shrines of Europe, Christianity has gathered around a network of sacred places for nearly two thousand years. This guide is the home page for our growing series on the holy sites of Christianity – their history, the devotions that draw pilgrims, and practical advice on visiting, including where to stay on a budget. Each site below links to a complete series of its own.

    The Holy Sites

    • The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem – the traditional site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and for many the holiest place in Christianity.
    • Lourdes, France – the Marian sanctuary where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858, now one of the world’s great places of healing pilgrimage.
    • The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem – built over the cave revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the town of the Christmas story.

    More sacred sites – including Bethlehem, the Vatican, Nazareth, Santiago de Compostela, Lourdes and Fatima – are being added to this series.

    A Faith of Pilgrimage

    Pilgrimage has been part of Christian life since its earliest centuries. Believers travel to walk where Jesus walked, to honour the apostles and saints, and to visit places linked to visions of the Virgin Mary. Whether in the stone lanes of Jerusalem’s Old City or at a modern shrine welcoming millions a year, the journey itself – the prayer, the waiting, the shared devotion – is as much a part of the experience as the destination.

  • Fatima, Portugal – the Marian sanctuary marking the 1917 apparitions to three shepherd children, one of the most visited shrines in the Catholic world.
  • Vatican City and St Peter’s Basilica, Rome – the seat of the pope and the largest church in Christianity, with the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums.ure style=”text-align:center;”>The Old City of Jerusalem
    Source: Pixabay

    From the empty tomb in Jerusalem to the great pilgrim shrines of Europe, Christianity has gathered around a network of sacred places for nearly two thousand years. This guide is the home page for our growing series on the holy sites of Christianity – their history, the devotions that draw pilgrims, and practical advice on visiting, including where to stay on a budget. Each site below links to a complete series of its own.

    The Holy Sites

    More sacred sites – including Bethlehem, the Vatican, Nazareth, Santiago de Compostela, Lourdes and Fatima – are being added to this series.

    A Faith of Pilgrimage

    Pilgrimage has been part of Christian life since its earliest centuries. Believers travel to walk where Jesus walked, to honour the apostles and saints, and to visit places linked to visions of the Virgin Mary. Whether in the stone lanes of Jerusalem’s Old City or at a modern shrine welcoming millions a year, the journey itself – the prayer, the waiting, the shared devotion – is as much a part of the experience as the destination.

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