Pilgrimage to Rome

Devotions

Why Rome has drawn Christian pilgrims since antiquity, its four major basilicas, and how pilgrimage there differs from the specific Seven Pilgrim Churches walk.

Pilgrimage to Rome is the journey Catholics have made since the earliest centuries to the city where tradition holds the apostles Peter and Paul were martyred and are buried, and which remains the seat of the papacy. It centers on Rome’s four major basilicas, its ancient catacombs, and, in Holy Years, the indulgenced tradition of visiting designated churches through the Holy Door. This page covers pilgrimage to Rome broadly; for the specific historic walking circuit among the city’s seven traditional pilgrim churches, see our separate page on that devotion.

Quick Facts

Category: Pilgrimages & Processions — Pilgrimages
Origin: Ancient Christian pilgrimage tradition, rooted in the martyrdom and burial of the apostles Peter and Paul in Rome
Associated saint: Varies; Sts. Peter and Paul above all
Country: Italy
Feast/observance: Varies; especially associated with the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29 and with Holy Years
Church status: A recognized and long-encouraged form of popular piety, with the major basilicas under the direct care of the Holy See
Private revelation: Not inherently dependent on private revelation

What Is This Devotion?

Pilgrimage to Rome means traveling to the city Christian tradition holds as the place of martyrdom and burial of the apostles Peter and Paul, and visiting its four major basilicas — St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls — along with its ancient catacombs and other churches connected to the early Church. This page covers pilgrimage to Rome broadly, including the basilicas, the catacombs and the pattern of Holy Year pilgrimage introduced in 1300; for the specific historic walking circuit among Rome’s seven traditional pilgrim churches, see Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.

Origin and History

Rome’s status as a pilgrim city rests on the ancient and well-attested tradition that Peter was crucified there under Nero and Paul beheaded on the Via Ostiense, both buried in the city; Christians were visiting and praying at these sites, along with the tombs of many other martyrs in Rome’s catacombs, from the earliest centuries. Pilgrimage to Rome intensified enormously with the medieval Holy Year tradition, beginning with Pope Boniface VIII’s proclamation of the first Jubilee in 1300, discussed more fully on our Catholic Pilgrimages page. In the modern era, pilgrimage to Rome has also come to include attending a papal audience and visiting the tombs of more recently canonized saints alongside the ancient basilicas and catacombs.

Catholic Theology

Rome’s importance as a pilgrim destination flows from its concrete, historical connection to the apostolic foundation of the Church and from its ongoing role as the seat of the papacy, the visible center of the Church’s unity. Visiting the basilicas and catacombs connects a pilgrim physically to that apostolic memory, consistent with the Church’s broader theology of pilgrimage as a bodily act of faith rather than an abstract idea (CCC §§1674-1676).

How to Practice It

Visit the four major basilicas — St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls — and, where possible, the ancient catacombs on the outskirts of the city.
Attend the Pope’s Wednesday General Audience if in Rome, and consider seeking sacramental confession at St. Peter’s Basilica, which maintains confessors in many languages.
During a Holy Year, learn the specific conditions attached to passing through a Holy Door for that Jubilee’s indulgence, rather than assuming the same terms apply automatically every year.
Prepare spiritually beforehand, including confession, and remember that pilgrimage supplements rather than substitutes for ordinary Sunday Mass and sacramental life at home.

Associated Prayers

When It’s Observed

Pilgrimage to Rome is not tied to a single date, though the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29 and the special observances of a Holy Year draw particularly large numbers of pilgrims.

Church Status

Pilgrimage to Rome is a recognized and long-encouraged form of popular piety, and its major basilicas hold a distinctive canonical status under the direct care of the Holy See rather than the Diocese of Rome’s ordinary parish structure alone.

Common Misconceptions

“St. Peter’s Basilica is the Cathedral of Rome.”

It is not. The Pope’s actual cathedral, as Bishop of Rome, is the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, traditionally honored as the mother and head of all churches; St. Peter’s, though the more famous and larger basilica, holds a different, though still major, status.

“Any pilgrimage to Rome automatically carries a Jubilee indulgence.”

Jubilee indulgences are tied to specific Holy Years and specific conditions set for that particular Jubilee, including sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions; an ordinary visit to Rome outside a Holy Year, or without meeting those conditions, does not carry the same indulgence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between St. Peter’s Basilica and the Cathedral of Rome?

St. Peter’s Basilica stands over the traditional tomb of St. Peter and is the most visited of Rome’s basilicas, but the Pope’s actual cathedral as Bishop of Rome is St. John Lateran.

What are the four major basilicas of Rome?

St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls are traditionally called Rome’s four major, or papal, basilicas.

Do I need special permission to attend a papal audience?

General Audiences are normally open to the public with a free ticket obtained in advance through the appropriate Vatican office or a pilgrimage group; specific arrangements can vary.

What are the catacombs of Rome?

They are the underground burial complexes used by early Christians, several of which remain open for pilgrimage visits today as sites connected to the earliest generations of the Roman Church.