Why do Catholics take pilgrimages?
Pilgrimages are a part of the faith life in many religious traditions, including Catholicism. Different from religious or other tourism, pilgrimages are as much about the one making the journey as they are about the final destination. Typically, pilgrims head to places that are crucial to the stories of their religion, or to sites tied to key people within a religious tradition. Places of miraculous healing, holiness and miracles are frequent destinations: think Lourdes, Fatima or the Holy Sepulchre. Participants in Catholic pilgrimages leave room for the Holy Spirit to transform them along their travels.
