A Pilgrimage to New Orleans, One of America’s Great Catholic Cities, by Derek Rotty

By Derek Rotty, Catholic Exchange, Nov. 2, 2021

Derek Rotty is a husband, father, historian, theologian, & Director of Evangelization & Discipleship at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Jackson, TN. His first book, A Life of Conversion: Meeting Christ in the Gospels, is available from Our Sunday Visitor Press. …

New Orleans: Day One

A pilgrimage is one of the best ways for anyone to increase and solidify faith and hope. Every Catholic ought to make time for a pilgrimage at least once every few years.

Even if we don’t have the ability to take a “bucket-list” pilgrimage to Rome or the Holy Land (whether because of limited finances or global pandemic), there are still plenty of great options inside the United States. One of the best domestic pilgrimage sites lies in Louisiana, at the mouth of the Mississippi River. New Orleans is far more than Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, or Saints football. New Orleans is a fascinating city with a great Catholic heritage and plenty of wonderful pilgrimage sites. We should all be so blessed to meet the Lord in this city. This short article presents day one of a two-day pilgrimage to the Crescent City.

The concept of pilgrimage begins with the fact that a pilgrim is journeying toward an important destination. In our life of faith, all pilgrimages, grand or small, reflect the ultimate pilgrimage of life. We are all pilgrims toward Heaven, and we know that journeying with Jesus is the only way to get there. We must have this in our minds and hearts on every pilgrimage we take. …