A first pilgrimage should answer the questions a first-timer has: what a pilgrimage is, what happens each day, and why this place. Rome answers all three. Beneath St. Peter’s lies the tomb venerated as Peter’s, with the bones that Pope Francis described in 2019 as bones that “can quite reasonably be considered those of the Apostle Peter.” St. Paul Outside the Walls holds Paul’s tomb, the catacombs hold the first Christians, and the general audience gathers the universal Church in one square. Assisi, about 175 km (110 miles) north, slows everything down: the tomb of St. Francis, the San Damiano crucifix, the Porziuncola in the valley, and streets that go quiet when the day visitors leave.
The common mistake on a first pilgrimage is to see too much too fast. Six cities in ten days, with a new hotel most nights, leaves little time to pray anywhere. Nine or ten days including flights, spent in two places, with one visit in the morning and one in the afternoon, is a better shape. Two things are worth arranging early: tickets for the general audience, which are always free and requested from the Prefecture of the Papal Household, and the Scavi tour to Peter’s tomb, which must be booked in advance with the basilica and admits only small groups.
Rome is not the only good beginning. Someone whose prayer is the Rosary should start with Lourdes or Fátima, both level and gentle on the legs. Someone who thinks best while walking should look at the Camino from Sarria, five or six days on foot. For Catholics in the United States, the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City is the closest of the great shrines. It also helps to know, before you leave, why you are going; it changes what you see.