Pilgrimage Chaplains

Mass and confessions

The chaplain celebrates Mass for the group each day, in the churches and at the shrines Canterbury has arranged in advance, and hears confessions along the way. We book the times and the altars with each shrine before the group travels, so the priest arrives to a schedule rather than to arrangements he has to make himself.

The spiritual arc of the trip

A pilgrimage is not a tour with a Mass added to it. The chaplain sets its rhythm: morning prayer on the coach, the Rosary on the way to a shrine, a homily that belongs to the place the group is standing in, and the quiet at the end of a long day. The itinerary and the guides are ours. That part is his.

Groups that have no priest of their own

Some groups travel without one: a parish between pastors, a lay organisation, a family, a group whose priest cannot be away in the weeks that suit everyone else. Canterbury needs chaplains for exactly those pilgrimages, and matching them with priests who want to travel is why this page exists.

Tell us when you could travel

Write to us with the months you could be away, the places you would most like to see, and your diocese or community. We hold that against the groups we are building and come back to you when one of them fits.How a pilgrimage works →

When you are ready, bring your own

Many priests travel once as chaplain and then bring their own parishioners the year after. There is no obligation and no timetable; the invitation is simply open. When you want it, we build the pilgrimage around your parish and your dates, and you lead it.Parish pilgrimages →

Your celebret and faculties

Shrines and parishes abroad will normally ask a visiting priest for a celebret or a letter of good standing from his bishop or superior before he celebrates Mass there. Ask your chancery for one in good time, and tell us which shrines are on the itinerary so we can confirm what each of them asks for.Common questions →

You travel free

A priest who serves as chaplain to a group that has no priest of its own travels free. The terms are written on the proposal from the start rather than discovered later.How the free place works →

You are there as a priest, not a tour leader

A Canterbury tour manager travels with the group for the whole pilgrimage, with a local guide at each site. The luggage, the coaches, the hotel desks and the timings are ours. You are free to be a priest to the people you are travelling with.What a pilgrimage is like →

A different kind of group?

We build the same trip for a diocese, a school, a youth group, a lay organisation, or a seminary or religious community. We also build pilgrimages to mark a priest’s anniversary. Tell us what the group is and we will build around it.

Tell us the months you could be away.

Write to us with the weeks you have free and the places you would most like to see, and we will tell you when a group we are building fits them.

Do I need to bring a group with me?

No. This page is for priests who would like to travel without organising anything themselves. Tell us when you are free and we will match you with a group that needs a priest. If you would rather bring your own parishioners, that is a parish pilgrimage, and we build those too.

Does the chaplain really travel free?

Yes. A priest who serves as chaplain to a group that has no priest of its own travels free. The terms are written on the proposal from the start.

Is there a discount if I travel as a pilgrim rather than as chaplain?

Yes. Priests receive 20% and seminarians 10% off the base cost of any Canterbury pilgrimage, group trip or open departure. The base cost is the double-occupancy price. We ask for a celebret or a letter of good standing, or for a seminarian the equivalent letter from his seminary. Discounts do not combine: one discount applies per pilgrim.

Does this apply to deacons and religious?

The complimentary chaplain place exists so that a group without a priest has Mass each day, so it is for a priest. Deacons and religious are very welcome on any Canterbury pilgrimage, and a deacon travelling with a group serves it as he would at home, but the clergy discount is for priests and seminarians.

How far ahead should I tell you?

As early as you can. Groups are built eight to thirteen months out, so a priest who tells us in the spring which weeks he has free the following year is the easiest one to place.