Last year, I was inspired by the Seven Churches Pilgrimage, a 16th-century Roman Holy Thursday tradition popularized by St. Philip Neri. The original pilgrimage involves a 15-mile walk to seven major basilicas in Rome to pray, reflect, and visit catacombs. Some churches in the United States now organize local versions as group or self-guided pilgrimages.

I liked the idea of the physical challenge of such a walk, but my knees are not so robust. However, I can still ride a bike, and the idea for a seven-church pilgrimage by bike came to me. I decided to make it a private pilgrimage so that I could pick whatever day suited me and would not be encumbered with all that goes into organizing a group.

The Plan

My summer was especially busy, so I decided that September would be the best month. I mapped out four churches and three chapels with the Blessed Sacrament present — at a hospital, a nursing home, and a senior living facility — and I also planned a stop at my husband’s grave, which lay between two of the locations.

My bike pilgrimage became both a physical and spiritual journey, gliding through town and resting at each location with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It took about three hours to travel and pray, covering around eight miles in total. I ended at a 5:15 p.m. Mass, then rode home to make dinner and enjoy the evening.

I planned it carefully so it would relieve stress rather than add to it, waiting for just the right day after a good night’s sleep and with good weather. At each stop, I had prayers planned, including the mysteries of the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Stations of the Cross. It became my own little pilgrimage — a chance to step away from the world and create a pathway to communion with God.

Design Your Own Pilgrimage 

I share this story to inspire others to create holy experiences close to home. I rode a bike, but pilgrimages can also be made by walking, driving, or even taking a bus. 

There are more than two dozen Marian shrines throughout the U.S. (Be sure they are Church-approved and not connected to condemned or dubious apparitions.) A few years ago, my husband and I visited the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando while he was on a work trip. Without much advertising, it consistently ranks among the most-visited places in the area, even surpassing some Disney attractions. The founder, Father Joseph Harte, believed it was a place of miracles, including many babies born to previously infertile couples.

Author Marge Fenelon made a novena of pilgrimages to nine Marian Shrines in the U.S. and wrote about it in My Queen, My Mother: A Living Novena. Readers can travel to these places themselves or vicariously explore the shrines through her book, sharing in her love for the Blessed Mother. She chronicled the history of each shrine and included prayers and meditations to help readers grow closer to Jesus through the heart of Mary.

You can also visit relics of saints at some of the shrines that house hundreds of relics of our brothers and sisters in heaven, bringing us closer to them — and to God — when we visit. 

The National Association of Shrine and Pilgrimage Apostolate (NASPA) was formed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to compile a directory of places that foster the pilgrim experience. Their NASPA Directory of Shrines and Pilgrimages is an excellent resource.

My husband and I visited some of those shrines over the years. There were always holy surprises, such as the Mother Cabrini Shrine in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado. St. Francis Cabrini stopped there while checking on Italian immigrant miners, and in 1910, she negotiated for the land to be used as a summer camp for orphaned girls from Denver. But in 1912, the sisters complained that water had to be hauled from the stream at the bottom of Mount Vernon Canyon. According to a sign at the shrine, Mother Cabrini struck a rock, and fresh spring water came forth. The spring has never stopped running, and pilgrims are still free to take their fill today.

The shrine also includes a grotto, a convent, a prayer walk with Stations of the Cross and a chapel with daily Mass. We had driven past a billboard advertising it for years on trips to visit one of our sons until we finally decided to stop. 

Check out the shrines and churches in your own area. Whenever I visit my sister Colleen in the Detroit area, we often attend Mass at some of the magnificent historic churches there. 

And if you are homebound and unable to travel, you can still create a pilgrimage experience. You might watch a documentary, or turn your home into a place of pilgrimage by moving from room to room to pray before a statue or image, or by spending time before the Blessed Sacrament at Virtual Adoration Chapels available online from around the world.

Planning a pilgrimage can infuse a spiritual boost into our lives and become part of our daily walk with God. It’s exciting to do something new, but regardless of where we go, near or far, the purpose remains the same: to grow closer to God.