Although the cathedral itself dates back to the eleventh century, it is said that pilgrimage along this route has occurred since the discovery of the relics of St. The Camino has attracted an immense number of pilgrims over time and drew over 325,000 pilgrims in the year 2018 (although just over thirty years earlier that number was not even close to 1,000!). His relics are located in the crypt along with those of his disciples St. James the Great, who is thought to have been the first apostle to be martyred. James, which is a network of pilgrimage routes that join together and lead to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The Cathedral of Santiago de CompostelaĪ popular pilgrimage is the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. Here are some of the top visited pilgrimages sites in the world. In addition to her major discoveries of such relics, we can also thank her for helping popularize the concept of the pilgrimage. Her son, Emperor Constantine, had given her access to the imperial treasury in order to help locate the prominent relics of Christianity, culminating in her discovery of the True Cross. Helena is among the saints who encouraged Christians to make this pilgrimage, as she herself walked the pilgrim way and helped to establish churches in the Holy Land. The concept of the pilgrimage has been in existence for many centuries, as there are surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land as early as the fourth century. It is not necessary to travel in order to bring the pilgrim spirit into our lives however, there are many important Catholic sites throughout the world that are worthy of special contemplation and attention even if it may not be possible for us to visit them ourselves. ![]() ![]() John Paul II once said, "For the Church, pilgrimages, in all their multiple aspects, have always been a gift of grace." Although it certainly is unlikely for every Catholic to make an extensive pilgrimage to a faraway place, such as Rome or the Holy Land, it is worth considering the value of pilgrimages in general and thinking about how we may incorporate them in our lives to the best of our ability.
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