Rome: Relics of Christ Tour – Catholic Via Crucis｜Italy

Encounter some of Rome’s most important relics traditionally associated with Jesus Christ on a Catholic walking pilgrimage combining sacred history, art and prayer.

The Via Crucis—the Way of the Cross—invites pilgrims to contemplate Christ’s Nativity and Passion through the relics preserved in Rome’s living churches. Venerate wood traditionally associated with the Holy Crib, the Column of the Flagellation, the Holy Stairs, and relics of the True Cross, a Holy Nail, thorns from the Crown of Thorns and the Titulus.

Visit two of Rome’s four Major Basilicas and several remarkable churches, including St Mary Major, Santa Prassede, St Alphonsus Liguori, the Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs, St John Lateran and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. At St Mary Major, encounter the Holy Crib and the ancient Marian icon Salus Populi Romani. Santa Prassede preserves a column associated by tradition with Christ’s scourging, while St Alphonsus is home to the original icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

At the Holy Stairs, learn why pilgrims have climbed the marble steps on their knees for centuries and discover the significance of the Sancta Sanctorum. St John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome and Mother Church of the world, preserves the reliquaries of the heads of Sts Peter and Paul and part of the table traditionally associated with the Last Supper. Santa Croce preserves Rome’s principal collection of Passion relics, traditionally including fragments of the True Cross, a Holy Nail, thorns and part of the inscription placed above Christ.

Your expert Catholic guide carefully distinguishes ancient tradition from what can be documented historically, while explaining the devotional meaning of the relics and the sacred art surrounding them. The experience leaves room for questions, prayer and reflection; it is more than a checklist of churches.

This is an approximately three-hour walking tour of about 2–3 km. The churches remain active places of worship, so access and the order of visits can occasionally change because of liturgies or other church events. Shoulders and knees must be covered. The Holy Doors remain visible outside Jubilee years but are normally closed; the next Jubilee of the Redemption is anticipated in 2033.