The
Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
2696 The most appropriate places for prayer are personal or family oratories, monasteries, places of pilgrimage, and above all the church …]
2691 …] Pilgrimages evoke our earthly journey toward heaven and are traditionally very special occasions for renewal in prayer.
Pope Clement XIV states in his 1774 encyclical
Salutis Nostrae:
- …] the Church has always regarded the ancient custom of making pilgrimages as very beneficial. The troubles and weariness incurred in the course of pilgrimage make reparation for past sins and strengthen the desire of repentance.
Pope Benedict XIV states in his 1749 encyclical
Apostolica Constitutio:
- …] Let us condemn the ridiculous opinion of those who say that these pilgrimages are altogether necessary for the attainment of eternal salvation. …] For We do not insist on the necessity of sacred journeys, but simply recommend them as beneficial. …]
The document linked above contains a brief history and defense of Pilgrimages.
The following isn’t a Church document, but Fr. John Hardon’s
Modern Catholic Dictionary states:
PILGRIMAGE. A journey to a sacred place undertaken as an act of religious devotion. Its purpose may be simply to venerate a certain saint or ask some spiritual favor; beg for a physical cure or perform an act of penance; express thanks or fulfill a promise. From the earliest days pilgrimages were made to the Holy Land, and later on to Rome, where Peter and Paul and so many Christians were martyred. From the eighth century the practice began of imposing a pilgrimage in place of public penance. As a result, during the Middle Ages pilgrimages were organized on a grand scale and became the object of special Church legislation. In modern times, besides Rome and the Holy Land, famous shrines such as Lourdes, Fátima, and Guadalupe draw thousands of pilgrims each year from the Catholic world.
