The One Pilgrimage Every Catholic Should Make in a Lifetime - Steve Ray - 09/16/2026

Steve Ray — author, filmmaker, Catholic convert, and certified Holy Land guide — joins Deacon Mark Campbell just back from two September pilgrimages, one through the Catholic heritage of Ireland and another to Lourdes, Fatima, and sites across Portugal, Spain, and France. Steve shares that after 21 years of leading trips, including 100 groups through the Holy Land alone with the same Catholic Nazarene guide, recovery from jet lag now takes about a week instead of two days.Steve unpacks what a pilgrimage actually is: the word "pilgrim" means a sojourner or foreigner traveling in a strange land, and the practice predates Christianity — the Holy Family went up to Jerusalem annually for the festivals, and Psalms 120 through 134 were sung on the ascent. A vacation is for rest and enjoyment; a pilgrimage is a search for God, where you leave your comfort zone, set down the phone, and encounter Scripture as something that happened in real space and time. Steve describes reaching under the altar at Calvary to touch the rock where the cross stood, entering the tomb and finding it still empty, and telling pilgrims that when the priest emerges after consecrating the Eucharist inside the Holy Sepulchre, they'll watch Jesus come out of the tomb again.Asked which single pilgrimage matters most, Steve's answer is immediate: Rome, Poland, Fatima, and Lourdes are all sacred, but there is only one Holy Land, made holy because God himself came down and got his feet dirty. He describes praying every mystery of the Rosary at the place it happened, buying olive-wood rosaries in Bethlehem and touching them to each holy site to bring home to friends, and the Vatican permission that lets Franciscans use site-specific readings — so Mass at Capernaum ends with Jesus' Bread of Life discourse read within sight of the synagogue where he preached it. That moment, Steve says, is what turned one self-described "reluctant pilgrim," dragged along as payback for a fishing trip, into a man walking out of Mass with tears in his eyes.Upcoming trips include a sold-out Saint Paul Mediterranean cruise in October following ten biblical sites through Turkey and Greece, plus Jordan and Israel, a Rhine River cruise through four European countries, and a saints-and-shrines tour of Italy from Milan to Rome. Find every itinerary and brochure at CatholicConvert.com — click the "start a pilgrimage here" banner at the top of the page.Heard on the Catholic Morning Show, weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio. More at IowaCatholicRadio.com.#SteveRay #HolyLandPilgrimage #Pilgrimage #CatholicConvert #Jerusalem #HolySepulchre #CatholicTravel #CatholicPodcast Credits: Produced, Edited, and Mixed by Ayden Pugh, Alexia Baker, and Brady Grimm. ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Catholic Morning Show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you never miss an episode — and if this one was worth your time, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating. It takes ten seconds and it's the single best way to help more people find the show. 🎧 LISTEN LIVE Catch The Catholic Morning Show live, weekday mornings on Iowa Catholic Radio. Listen Live · Program Schedule · Our Stations LINKSYou can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok! More on our website.If you would like to support Iowa Catholic Radio you can donate Here! More from Iowa Catholic Radio:Sunday Dive with Katie PatrizioMan Up! with Joe StopulosCatholic Women Now with Chris Magruder and Julie NelsonThe Uncommon Good with Bo Bonner and Dr. Bud MarrBe Not Afraid with Fr. Fabian Moncada and Fr. Bruce RiebeBe Not Afraid en Español con el P. Fabián MoncadaMaking it Personal with Bishop William JoensenFaith and Family Finance with Gregory WaddleThe Great Men of the Bible with Joe Stopulos Liturgy & DevotionsThe Daily Gospel Reflection with Fr. Nick SmithThe Daily Mass from St. Francis of AssisiThe Daily Mass from St. Pius XThe Daily Mass from St. TheresaSunday Mass from the Basilica of Saint JohnWant to support your favorite show? Click Here Iowa Catholic Radio - Connecting People to Christ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.