From Tourist to Pilgrim

A multilingual mini-site, entitled “From Tourist to Pilgrim”, showcasing Rome’s Papal basilicas, was recently launched to enable young people to “visit” the four churches (Saint Peter’s Basilica, Saint John Lateran, Saint Mary Major and Saint Paul outside the Walls). The result of a shared experience between a group of young professionals selected by the Dicastery for Communication, it aims to accompany the faithful “on a journey to discover their identity as “pilgrims”, beyond mere sight-seeing “tourists”.

The idea for the site arose as part of the project “Faith Communication in the Digital World”, in which 16 young professionals from 10 countries were able to discover Rome’s papal basilicas not only as architectural monuments but also as a living witness of Christian faith.

Visitors to the site can access content on the saints and artists of the basilicas who are represented as figures around a table that invites them to sit at table with them. The voices that accompany the visitors through their journey are those of people who work in these places, including art curators, excavation and restoration professionals, professors and men and women religious.

“From Tourist to Pilgrim” also takes the form of a podcast with the goal of accompanying the pilgrim step by step. Each episode is like a step on the journey, providing insights into key aspects of the Basilicas.