Top Ten Holy Places on Earth

First a monument springs up, then a shrine with statues and flowers and an altar for an impromptu Mass. Then it becomes a chapel or a small church, then, by some kind of momentum of grace, it may blossom into a basilica or a cathedral.

What makes a place holy?

Once we begin to grasp the meaning of the line in John’s Gospel, ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ then we are at the beginning of the answer to why certain places are more holy than others. With the Incarnation of Christ, Jesus entered into space and therefore space can become holy. Wherever Jesus of Nazareth walked, wherever he was taken and wherever he appeared then that place is holy. This is why we call the land that he lived in, the Holy Land.

The next thing that makes a place holy is where his witnesses, apostles, martyrs and saints walked or where they met Jesus especially at the end of their life. Where they are laid to rest or where their body is buried marks a sort of supernatural portal. When they came, the place changed. It became holy because they brought the presence of Christ with them and it remains in their bones.

Oftentimes places are holy because God revealed himself and his mercy in that spot through a miracle. The residual effects of that event, or what we call the fruits, are usually seen well into the future, whether it be conversions or healings or rapid growth of the Church. People, even non-Catholics, are drawn to those sites because they want to be closer to holiness.
Every pilgrim is saying by his act of moving his body toward that site that he too desires to be, with each grueling step, more holy.

When we enter any church building that has been consecrated or set apart for the purpose of true worship we are on a mini-pilgrimage crossing the threshold that separates the sacred and the profane. We leave the world and all the noise, the grime, the foulness and fallenness to enter into God’s presence, his house.

Even when we are in a church interior we notice the separation of the sanctuary from the nave. This is done by using an altar rail or an elevated platform with three steps. As we approach, our eyes are drawn to the little light in a glass container (usually red), the sanctuary lamp next to the tabernacle. The flame flickers and dances around as if to say, ‘Yes! He’s really here, Jesus is present’.

We then drop to one knee and sign ourselves slowly and deliberately as if to say to Jesus, ‘I see you. Thank you for welcoming me into your holy presence’. Aside from spending time with Jesus in your local Catholic parish church which we should do regularly…

Here are what I believe are the top ten holiest places on earth…

10. El Camino, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where many pilgrims in our time have found faith again.

9. St. Francis and St. Clare Sites, Assisi, Italy, where the Franciscan Order began and where the love between Francis and Clare was turned outward to revitalize the Church.

8. Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Namugango, Uganda, the heart of African Catholicism where there is a current explosion of Catholic Faith.

7. Basilica of Our Lady of Guadelupe, Mexico City, Mexico, where the Tilma of St.Juan Diego is kept.

6. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Turin Italy, where the Shroud of Turin is kept.

5. Lourdes Shrine, Lourdes, France, where Mary appeared to Bernadette and where countless pilgrims have been healed by the holy water spring.

4. Fatima Shrine, Fatima, Portugal, where Mary appeared to the three children and where the Miracle of the Sun occurred.

3. St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, where Peter’s bones and the tombs of many great Saints are located.

2. The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, where Mary said to the Angel Gabriel ‘Let it be…’ and the Incarnation of Jesus began in her womb.

1. The church of the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem, is the place where Jesus died on the cross and where he rose from the dead. It is here, from where our salvation flows.