History of Pilgrimages

• All major religions feature pilgrimages as a component of their respective faith journeys.
• Early Christian pilgrimages involved traveling to the Holy Land and the tombs of the first saints.
• Throughout the Middle Ages, pilgrimages were made throughout Europe to venerate the relics of saints and various holy objects.
• Pilgrimages to locations associated with miracles remain popular today.

Types of Pilgrimages

• Experience of God: A pilgrimage made to a location connected with a miracle such as Fatima or Lourdes.
• Relative of Saints: A pilgrimage made to venerate the remains or relics of a particular saint. The pilgrimage being made by the Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary community is of this variety.
• Traveling Pilgrimages: A pilgrimage in which a holy object spends a designated period of time in individual residences within a faith community (i.e. a parish). During this time groups gather for prayer and adoration with friends and neighbors.

Purpose of Pilgrimages

•  A journey made to a specific location to venerate, to fulfill a religious obligation, or to seek the intercession of God
• Spiritual experience that is both a physically and mentally challenging journey
• A penitential and sacrificial act
• Symbolic of the lifelong Christian journey that culminates with entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven

Schedule for the Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary Pilgrimage

• Depart Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary: 11:30 a.m.
• Arrive at the Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia: 2:00p.m.
• Veneration of the Relics of Saint Rita of Cascia: 2:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
• Mass celebrated by Reverend Monsignor Joseph G. Prior: 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Board buses for the return journey to Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary: 4:45 p.m.