Religious pilgrimage occupies a distinctive place within the Catholic tradition, bringing together history, theology, devotional practice, and the veneration of sacred sites and relics. For pilgrims traveling through Italy this November with Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages, the journey offers an opportunity to encounter several significant centers of Catholic devotion, including the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, the Holy Face of Manoppello, and the historic churches and basilicas of Rome. Together, these sites provide a rich context for exploring the Catholic understanding of Christ’s presence, the development of Christian devotion, and the enduring relationship between faith, sacred history, and pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage, “Journey to the Face of Christ,” is more than a tour of Italy’s churches and historic cities. It is an invitation to encounter Christ through the places where generations of Christians have prayed, worshiped, suffered, and discovered that faith is not merely an idea, but an encounter with a living Person.
And for many pilgrims, that encounter begins in Lanciano.
Lanciano is a small city in the Abruzzo region, but it is home to one of the Catholic world’s most famous Eucharistic miracles.
According to tradition, in the eighth century, a Basilian monk was celebrating Mass while struggling with doubts about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. During the consecration, the bread and wine were said to visibly become flesh and blood.
The relics of the miracle are preserved today in the Church of San Francesco. The site has been a destination of Eucharistic devotion for centuries, and the church remains a powerful place of prayer for pilgrims.
Imagine a pilgrim entering the church for the first time.
The centuries of history suddenly become personal.
Here is the story of a priest who struggled with doubt.
Here is the relic that generations of Catholics have come to venerate.
And here is the same Eucharistic faith that the pilgrim professes every Sunday:
Christ is truly present.
Perhaps the pilgrim has always believed that.
Perhaps there have been moments of uncertainty.
Perhaps faith has sometimes felt more like an act of trust than an experience of certainty.
Lanciano offers an opportunity to pause and consider the mystery at the center of Catholic life: the God who became man continues to give Himself to His people.
For some pilgrims, the visit becomes a moment of renewed Eucharistic devotion.
For others, it becomes a quiet prayer for a loved one who has lost faith.
And for still others, it is simply a chance to kneel before the mystery and say, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”
From Lanciano, the pilgrimage continues through the beautiful hills of Abruzzo toward the town of Manoppello.
There, in the Basilica of the Holy Face, pilgrims encounter one of Christianity’s most mysterious and fascinating relics: the delicate veil bearing the image known as the Holy Face of Manoppello.
The small translucent cloth has been venerated in Manoppello for centuries. According to local tradition, a mysterious traveler brought the veil to the town in the early sixteenth century and entrusted it to a local physician before disappearing. Historical records concerning the relic date back to the period when it came into the possession of the Leonelli family.
The veil’s origin and its relationship, if any, to the ancient Veil of Veronica remain subjects of historical and scientific discussion.
Yet the image itself has an extraordinary power to draw people into prayer.
And then comes one of the most memorable moments of the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims on Journey to the Face of Christ are invited to go behind the altar of the basilica, coming remarkably close—mere inches—to the original Holy Face cloth.
For a pilgrim standing there, the experience can be difficult to put into words.
The veil is astonishingly delicate.
The face appears almost transparent.
The expression is peaceful yet marked by suffering.
And because the cloth is translucent, the image can appear to change as light and perspective change around it.
The pilgrim who has just come from Lanciano may find himself thinking about the connection.
In Lanciano, he contemplated the Body and Blood of Christ.
In Manoppello, he stands before an image believed by many devotees to preserve the Face of Christ.
The two experiences lead to the same Person.
Jesus.
The Gospel of John records Philip asking Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father.”
Jesus responds:
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
Standing before the Holy Face, a pilgrim may begin to understand those words in a new way.
Christianity is not ultimately about seeking an abstract God.
It is about the God who took on a human face.
The Holy Face of Manoppello has attracted pilgrims from around the world, including Pope Benedict XVI, who visited the sanctuary in September 2006.
His pilgrimage gave worldwide attention to this remote corner of Italy and underscored the importance of contemplating the mystery of Christ’s face.
For the pilgrim following in his footsteps, Manoppello becomes more than a historical stop.
After Manoppello, the pilgrimage continues toward Rome.
By this point, something has begun to happen within the pilgrim.
The journey is no longer simply about seeing extraordinary things.
It is about learning how to see ordinary things differently.
The Eucharist is no longer simply something received at Mass.
A church is no longer simply a beautiful building.
A relic is no longer simply an artifact from the past.
Each becomes a doorway into the mystery of Christ.
And Rome brings that mystery into focus.
The Journey to the Face of Christ pilgrimage includes some of Italy’s great sacred sites, such as Assisi, Loreto, Lanciano, San Giovanni Rotondo, Manoppello, and Rome. Pilgrims will also have the opportunity to visit the Vatican, including the Scavi beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, and stay within Vatican City.
It is a journey through the history of the Church—but also a journey inward.
A pilgrim may begin the trip hoping to see the Holy Face.
He may end it by asking Christ to transform the way he sees everything else.
This November, Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages invites you to make that journey.
Come seek the Face of Christ.
Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages invites you to join us on an extraordinary adventure of spiritual renewal as we embark on a pilgrimage to Lanciano and Manoppello in November 2026. To learn more, visit our page Journey to the Face of Christ 2026
