Christians believe that Jesus visited Jerusalem at Passover time and spent the week leading up to his death there. Christian pilgrims visit Jerusalem, therefore, to remember key events in Jesus’ final week, known as Holy Week .

A pilgrimage is a sacred journey, undertaken for a spiritual purpose. Pilgrims are different from tourists: they travel for spiritual reasons, not just to relax or for fun. Pilgrimage is a search for meaning, purpose, values or truth (and in this sense, like life).

It is divine guidance that assists us in our mission and prepares us for higher and higher levels of spiritual perception. Perceiving this assistance is another form of experiencing the Divine and the spiritual progress that we are making.

A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life.

A person on a pilgrimage is called a pilgrim. Pilgrimage is not compulsory in Christianity, but many Christians choose to undertake journeys to holy sites to: deepen their connection with God.

It is easy to think that ‘old’ traditions such as pilgrimage are outdated and not very relevant today, but they are still hugely important to people around the world for many reasons. Pilgrimages have a religious and spiritual purpose and they can represent important and memorable achievements in people’s lives.

Most pilgrims aim to strengthen their faith and explore the meaning of life through their journey. An exhibition in Cologne shows how pilgrimages are booming worldwide – and why they’re not just a spiritual experience.

Christians born and raised in England may choose to go on a local pilgrimage. This helps Christians feel united in their beliefs. Christians come to Walsingham to remember the vision of Mary given to Richeldis. Pilgrims feel that worshipping in this place of spiritual importance can help them to develop spiritually.

In Western Christianity, the prie-dieu has been historically used for the purpose of private prayer and many Christian homes possess home altars in the area where these are placed. In Eastern Christianity, believers often keep icon corners at which they pray, which are on the eastern wall of the house.

As of 24 April 2013, the greatest distance claimed for a “round the world” pilgrimage is 64,752 km (40,235 miles) by Arthur Blessitt (USA), who has been walking on a mission since 25 December 1969.

Many modern pilgrims remove their shoes at the Slipper Chapel and walk the last mile, called the “Holy Mile”, into Walsingham barefoot. Each year on 8 September, on the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham is carried for several miles in a procession which begins at the Slipper Chapel.

Our Lady of Walsingham is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Roman Catholics, Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and some Anglicans associated with the Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England.

The history of Walsingham and its pilgrimages began in the 11th century with the visions of the Virgin Mary by the lady Walsingham, Richeldis de Faverches. She requested that a replica of the Holy House at Nazareth be built at Walsingham.

Sir Francis Walsingham ( c. 1532 – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her “spymaster”.

United Kingdom

• St Albans Cathedral, England.
• St Andrews Cathedral, Scotland.
• St Andrews, Scotland.
• St David’s, Wales.
• Struell Wells, Northern Ireland.
• Walsingham, England.
• Waltham Abbey, England. Medieval site of the Holy Cross of Waltham.
• Winchester Cathedral, England. Associated with Saint Swithun.

Walsingham is a major centre of pilgrimage. In 1061, according to the Walsingham legend, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, Richeldis de Faverches, had a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she was instructed to build a replica of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth in honour of the Annunciation.

The world’s most beautiful holy places and pilgrimage sites

• Lumbini, Nepal. Lumbini, Nepal (Shutterstock)
• Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba in Mecca (Shutterstock)
• Western Wall, Israel. Praying at the Western Wall (Shutterstock)
• Vatican City.
• Golden Temple, India.
• Bethlehem, Palestine.
• Badrinath, India.

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima

Jerusalem

These are nine of the most important religious sites on Earth.

• Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City (Catholicism)
• Western Wall, Jerusalem (Judaism)
• Great Mosque of Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Islam)
• Shrine of Baháʼu’lláh, Acre, Israel (Baháʼí Faith)
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem (Christianity)

Mecca is considered the holiest city in Islam, as it is home to the Kaaba (‘Cube’) and Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām (The Sacred Mosque). Only Muslims are allowed to enter this place. The area of Mecca, which includes Mount Arafah, Mina and Muzdalifah, is important for the Ḥajj (‘Pilgrimage’).