Essay:Important Christian Cities

Symbolic places

• Bethlehem (West Bank) was the birthplace of Jesus
• Jerusalem (Israel - East Jerusalem) is considered a Holy place by Christians for its association with Christ and the Crucifixion
• Nazareth (Israel) was a small village in biblical times. It was the early home of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 2:23)

Important places

• Mexico City (Mexico) is the most populated Christian city in the modern world
• Vatican City (Vatican) is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church

Major pilgrimage sites

• Međugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) - Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary from 1981 up to the present time.
• Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida (Brazil) - one of the largest churches in the world and receives about 8 million visitors per year.
• Lourdes (France) - associated with Marian apparitions receive over 5 million pilgrims a year, making Lourdes the second most visited Christian pilgrimage site in Europe after Rome.
• Paris (France) - the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, and Basilica of Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre
• Basilica of St. Thérèse (Lisieux) - in Normandie (France). The second pilgrimage site in France after Lourdes with over 2 million visitors per year.
• Cologne (Germany). Shrine of the Three Kings.
• Máriapócs (Hungary)
• Bethany (Israel), site of the resurrection of Lazarus
• Jerusalem (Israel), site of the Passion (The Via Dolorosa) and Resurrection of Jesus.
• Mount Tabor (Israel), site of the Transfiguration
• Nazareth (Israel), hometown of Jesus
• Sea of Galilee (Israel), site of Jesus' early ministry.
• Mount Carmel (Israel)
• The House of Peter in Capernaum (Israel)
• The Jesus trail (Israel)
• Vatican City (Vatican) - Location of Saint Peter's Basilica, relics of various saints, relics of the Passion, important churches and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Rome (Italy) - on roads such as the Via Francigena. Site of the deaths of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and other early martyrs.
• Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church (Italy) - the Padre Pio shrine located in San Giovanni Rotondo of southern Italy; also Pietrelcina as the birthplace of Padre Pio
• Basilica of St. Francis (Italy) - in Assisi; also church of Saint Clare
• Loreto (Italy) - in the Marche; home of the Basilica della Santa Casa
• Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico) - one of the largest churches in the world and receives about 20 million pilgrims per year. It can accommodate 40,000 people for a mass.
• Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa (Poland), where the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is housed permanently. It receives about 4.5 million pilgrims a year.
• The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń in Licheń Stary (Poland), the home of the image of Our Lady of Licheń, known as the Sorrowful Queen of Poland. This expansive complex receives well over a million pilgrims a year.
• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima (Portugal) - is one of the largest Marian shrines in the world. Our Lady of Fátima is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary according to her apparitions to three shepherd children at Fátima on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917. Fátima, Portugal, receives about 4-5 million pilgrims a year.
• Sanctuary of Christ the King (Portugal) - is a famous Catholic monument and shrine dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, place of many pilgrimages.
• Balazar (Portugal) - an important pilgrimage destination since the 20th century due to Alexandrina Maria da Costa, died 1955, who gained fame as a Saint, beatified by Pope John Paul II.
• Santiago de Compostela (Spain) - in Galicia on the Way of St James (Galician: O Camiño de Santiago). This famous medieval pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James is still popular today.
• San Sebastián de Garabandal (Spain) - a rural village were occurred the apparitions of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Michael the Archangel.
• Sanctuary of Chandavila (Spain) - a Marian shrine dedicated to the famous apparitions of Our Lady of Sorrows in La Codosera.
• Sanctuary of Our Lady of Covadonga (Spain) - a significant Marian shrine.
• Constantinople (today Istanbul) (Turkey). Former capital of the Byzantine Empire and the see of one of the five ancient Patriarchates and first among equals among the Patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Hagia Sophia, former cathedral and burial place of many Ecumenical Patriarchs.
• House of the Virgin Mary located in Ephesus (Turkey). The former home of the Virgin Mary until her Assumption/Dormition currently a shrine. It was blessed and declared a place of pilgrimage by Pope John Paul II.
• Antioch (Turkey). Early Center of Christianity and official seat of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Home to many old Christian churches.