You Don’t Need a Passport to Go on Pilgrimage

There’s a Holy Highway closer than you think.

When we hear the word pilgrimage, our imaginations have a tendency to travel a long way from home.

Rome. Assisi. Lourdes. Fatima. The Camino.

Wonderful places. Holy places. Places we would gladly visit.

But what if pilgrimage could also begin on a Saturday morning with a cup of coffee, a full tank of gas, and a Catholic church 45 minutes down the road?

That’s one of the ideas behind a new direction we’re taking here at Catholic Roads.

We’re calling them One-Day Pilgrimages.

No passport required.

No airline tickets.

No reservations at a hotel overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Just a willingness to get out of the house, travel somewhere nearby, pray intentionally, meet a few people, discover something interesting—and pay a little more attention to what God has placed along the road.

Life Is a Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage has become increasingly important to us at Catholic Roads because we believe that life itself is a pilgrimage.

Isaiah speaks of a road called the Holy Highway:

“A highway will be there, called the holy way…” — Isaiah 35:8

That image has captured our imagination.

There is a road.

There is a destination.

And God is encountered along the way.

Here in South Carolina, we understand trails.

We have barbecue trails, history trails, nature trails, antique trails and all sorts of other trails encouraging us to get off the interstate and discover something we might otherwise miss.

So we thought…

Why not a Eucharistic Trail?

From Tabernacle to Tabernacle

That’s what we hope to begin exploring here on Catholic Roads.

Our Eucharistic Trail isn't necessarily one prescribed route on a map. It's an invitation to travel around the Carolinas—and eventually perhaps beyond them—visiting Catholic churches and communities along the way.

We like to describe it simply:

From Tabernacle to Tabernacle.

Every Catholic parish gives us a destination.

Maybe there’s a daily Mass.

Maybe Eucharistic Adoration is scheduled.

Maybe there’s a beautiful old church, an interesting cemetery, a shrine or some Catholic history waiting to be discovered.

Or maybe there is simply a quiet church and a Tabernacle.

That's enough.

Go inside.

Spend a little time with Jesus.

Pray for the priest.

Pray for the deacons.

Pray for the seminarians who may someday serve there.

Pray for the people who call that parish home.

And while you're at it, pray for the town and community surrounding it.

That's where the pilgrimage begins.

But it's certainly not where the adventure has to end.

Shrines! Wines! And Interesting People!

We have developed a rather unusual way of describing our One-Day Pilgrimages:

Shrines! Wines! And Interesting People!

The Shrines are pretty easy to understand.

Catholic churches. Tabernacles. Chapels. Shrines. Cemeteries. Monasteries. Sacred art. Catholic history. Places that cause us to slow down, become quiet and remember why we're traveling in the first place.

Then there are the Wines.

Don't get too hung up on the grape!

For us, "Wines" represents some of the good things waiting to be discovered around the places we visit.

Maybe it's a great little restaurant.

A historic downtown.

A museum.

A coffee shop.

An antique store.

A beautiful park.

Some unusual local attraction.

A piece of history we didn't know existed.

Or maybe—occasionally—it actually is a winery!

The point is simple.

After visiting the sacred place, we go out and explore the community around it.

We pay attention.

We discover.

We enjoy.

And that inevitably leads us to the third part:

Interesting People.

Oh, does the Catholic Church have interesting people!

We don't have to get very far down the hierarchy before we reach the deacons—and things are already getting interesting.

There are priests and deacons, sisters and seminarians, parish secretaries and musicians, ushers and volunteers, longtime parishioners and newcomers.

There are people with remarkable stories of faith.

And then there are all the people we meet outside the parish—the restaurant owner, waitress, shopkeeper, historian, artist, farmer or fellow sitting at the next table.

Pilgrimage creates encounters.

And sometimes the person you weren't planning to meet becomes the person you remember most.

Holy Spaces

This new direction also gives us an opportunity to use art differently.

We've begun creating what we call Saltwater Colors—our digital interpretation of plein-air watercolor painting.

These aren't intended to be architectural drawings of churches.

We want to capture something of the experience of seeing a parish church: its personality, its setting and the feeling of arriving there.

We hope these paintings might encourage people to become curious about Catholic parishes beyond their own.

Perhaps you'll see one and think:

I've never been there.

And perhaps the next thought will be:

Maybe I should go.

That's exactly what we're hoping for.

Smiling Faces

We also intend to continue drawing caricatures of the wonderful characters we encounter along Catholic Roads.

Especially our priests, deacons, religious and seminarians.

But there is something more behind those drawings than simply making people smile.

We want them to encourage prayer.

See a face. Learn a name. Say a prayer.

Imagine occasionally encountering the caricature of a priest you've never met.

Now you know his name.

You know the parish where he serves.

And for ten seconds, perhaps you pray for him.

That may seem like a very small thing.

We don't think it is.

Multiply those little prayers across parishes and communities and suddenly caricature art becomes something more than entertainment.

It becomes an invitation to pray for one another.

And Yes… There Will Be Cartoons

Lots of them, we hope.

Catholic life is filled with wonderful material for humor.

Second collections.

Parish festivals.

Confession.

Choirs.

Ushers.

Church bulletins.

Coffee after Mass.

Priests.

Deacons.

Especially deacons.

We're not interested in making fun of the Catholic Church.

We laugh because we love the Catholic Church.

Families laugh together.

And Catholics share experiences that Catholics everywhere immediately recognize.

Sometimes a cartoon, joke or little piece of Catholic trivia reminds us that this enormous worldwide Church is also a family.

A wonderfully imperfect, occasionally hilarious, grace-filled family.

Smiling Faces. Holy Spaces. Palmetto Places.

Those three little phrases may tell you quite a bit about where Catholic Roads is headed.

Holy Spaces will introduce us to churches, shrines, Tabernacles and sacred places.

Smiling Faces will introduce us to priests, deacons, seminarians, religious, parishioners and some of the fascinating people we meet along the way.

And Palmetto Places will take us outside the church doors to discover the towns, restaurants, history, culture and unexpected treasures surrounding them.

All of it connected by the road.

The Holy Highway.

Your Pilgrimage Doesn't Have to Be Complicated

Perhaps this is the most important part.

We want to encourage busy Catholics to rediscover pilgrimage without making it another complicated thing they have to squeeze into an already crowded life.

A One-Day Pilgrimage doesn't have to cost much.

It doesn't require vacation time.

It doesn't require elaborate planning.

And you don't need a passport.

Pick a Catholic church somewhere nearby that you've never visited.

Look at the Mass schedule.

See what's interesting around town.

Invite your spouse.

Take the children.

Call a friend.

Or go alone.

Visit the Tabernacle.

Pray.

Explore.

Eat something good.

Talk to somebody.

Notice things.

Then come home.

That's a pilgrimage.

And If You Never Go…

That's okay too.

We understand that many people who travel Catholic Roads with us online may never physically visit the places we're exploring.

So we'll bring some of the pilgrimage to you.

We'll paint the churches.

We'll draw the people.

We'll tell their stories.

We'll find the humor.

We'll share the history.

We'll introduce you to some wonderful little towns and some remarkable Catholic communities.

And perhaps you'll encounter the caricature of a priest 150 miles away whom you've never met.

You may never visit his parish.

But now you know his face.

You know his name.

And maybe you'll say a prayer for him.

Something happened.

The road connected two people who otherwise would never have known each other.

And perhaps that's part of pilgrimage too.

Come Ride With Us

We don't know everywhere this road is going to take us.

That's part of the fun.

But over the coming weeks and months, Catholic Roads will be traveling the Eucharistic Trail, visiting parishes, creating Saltwater Colors, drawing caricatures, meeting interesting people, finding good food, telling stories and undoubtedly getting ourselves into a few situations that eventually become cartoons.

And we'll share those adventures here.

Maybe they'll inspire you to plan a One-Day Pilgrimage of your own.

Maybe they'll help you notice Catholic life happening right around you.

Or maybe you'll simply travel along with us from wherever you happen to be.

Either way, you're invited.

Because sometimes the most meaningful discoveries happen when we simply learn to notice.

And there just might be a Holy Highway closer than you think.

Welcome to Catholic Roads.

Shrines! Wines! Interesting People!

Smiling Faces • Holy Spaces • Palmetto Places

We'll see you on the road.

Our Story

That’s our story and we’re sticking to it!

One-Day Pilgrimages, Eucharistic Trail, Catholic Roads, Catholic Life, Carolina Catholics, Holy Highway, Catholic Humor

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