Planning can begin before a priest is involved. Many group pilgrimages start with a lay organizer, and a priest is invited once the purpose and rough dates are clear. Major shrines publish their own schedules of public Masses and confessions, some in English; check the shrine’s schedule for your dates, because times change by season and feast.
Parish & private groups · YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED
Do you need a priest to go on a Catholic pilgrimage?
No. A pilgrimage is a journey of prayer to a holy place, and a person, a family, or a group can make one without a priest traveling with them. Pilgrims without a chaplain attend the public Masses celebrated at the shrines they visit and go to Confession where a shrine offers it. Only a priest can celebrate Mass (canon 900), so a group that wants its own daily Mass and Confession along the way needs a priest with it.
Related questions, answered
Can a group start planning a pilgrimage before it has a priest?
Yes. The purpose, the destination, the season, and the likely size of the group can all be worked out first, and most priests want to know those things before they answer an invitation. If no priest is able to travel, the group can still go and attend the public Masses at the shrines on its route.
This question may be part of your discernment
- Eucharistic PilgrimageA Eucharistic pilgrimage is a journey ordered to Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist: to the Mass, to adoration, and to the places where the Church's faith in that presence has been prayed, defended and handed on.
- Our Lady / Rosary PilgrimageA Rosary pilgrimage is a journey to the places where the Church learned to pray the Rosary, made in order to contemplate the life of Jesus Christ with His Mother and to bring that prayer home.
- Vocation & Discernment PilgrimageA pilgrimage made to listen for God's call, whether to marriage, priesthood, consecrated life or a major decision, in the places where saints heard and answered theirs.
Sources & further readingCode of Canon Law, canons 879–958 (the Eucharist; canon 900)Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: shrines and pilgrimagesBold Pilgrim: Lead a pilgrimage
Official sources cover institutional information. Suggested pacing and itinerary choices are planning guidance. Check current arrangements for your travel dates.