Pilgrimage Sites in Portugal
Discover 7 sacred destinations in Portugal
The Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fátima in 1917. The sanctuary raised on that hillside is now among the most visited Catholic shrines in the world. Portuguese pilgrimage did not begin there: Santarém preserves a Eucharistic Miracle dated to 1247, and the clifftop sanctuary at Nazaré marks the place where Dom Fuas Roupinho was saved from riding over the precipice in 1182 after invoking Our Lady of Nazaré.
The north carries the older weight. Braga is called the Portuguese Rome for the density of its sanctuaries. Coimbra keeps the incorrupt body of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, the Holy Queen, in a silver reliquary at the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova. At Balasar pilgrims come to Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa, the Eucharistic mystic who took no food but Holy Communion in the last thirteen years of her life. Lisbon, where St. Anthony of Padua was born, is the usual point of arrival — and the starting point for the Camino Português Central and its coastal variant, which carry pilgrims north to Santiago.
Balasar
Shrine of Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa, the Eucharistic mystic who lived solely on Holy Communion for the last thirteen years of her life.
Braga
Braga, known as the 'Portuguese Rome,' is home to magnificent sanctuaries and churches that have attracted Catholic pilgrims for centuries.
Coimbra
Resting place of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, the 'Holy Queen,' whose incorrupt body lies in a silver reliquary at the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova.
Fátima
Fátima is one of the world's most important Catholic pilgrimage sites, where the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.
Lisbon
Lisbon offers rich Catholic heritage as the birthplace of St. Anthony of Padua and gateway to Portugal's spiritual traditions, featuring sacred sites from ancient cathedral to modern sanctuaries.
Nazaré
Atlantic clifftop pilgrimage site where Dom Fuas Roupinho was saved from plunging over the precipice in 1182 after invoking Our Lady of Nazaré.
Santarém
Santarém is home to the famous Eucharistic Miracle of 1247, one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in Portugal.