Travel

Paul’s travels throughout the world, including to sacred sites and on pilgrimage.

Nailing the poverty of St Francis of Assisi to the cross

A meditation on St Francis of Assisi and the spirituality of poverty — inspired by Gerard Thomas Straub’s book “The…
Pilgrimage stops: Collevalenza & Orvieto, Italy

Two pilgrimage stops on the road from Assisi to Rome — the Sanctuary of Merciful Love at Collevalenza, founded by…
Pilgrimage Stop: Assisi, Italy

Four days in Assisi with my sister — two holy doors, the incorrupt body of St Clare, the smell of…
Pilgrimage Stop: Cascia

A pilgrimage road-trip from Assisi to the Basilica of Santa Rita di Cascia — venerating the incorrupt body of St…
Pilgrimage Stop: La Verna, Italy

For two years before his death, St Francis of Assisi carried the stigmata — the crucifixion wounds of Jesus —…
Pilgrimage Stops: Venice & Florence

Venice and Florence — two-thirds of the holy trinity of Italian tourism. Beautiful, extraordinary, worth experiencing once — but if…
Pilgrimage Stop: Padova

A day in Padova — St Anthony’s basilica, the world’s oldest botanical garden, and the jewel-box Scrovegni Chapel painted by…
Pilgrimage Stop: Bologna

Bologna’s hidden saint, St Dominic’s basilica, and a 4km portico walk to a miraculous icon of the Virgin — pilgrimage…
On my way to Xavier in Malacca

En route to St Francis Xavier in Malacca — reflections on the journey and why Xavier keeps drawing me across…
Rennes, Mont St Michel and Lisieux

Archangel Michael’s island fortress, the Martin family home in Alençon and St Thérèse’s Lisieux — three sacred stops on one…
Our Lady of Chartres, France

The veil of the Virgin, the labyrinth and 900 years of pilgrimage — why Chartres Cathedral remains one of the…
Oldest shrine to Archangel Michael in Western Europe

Monte Sant’Angelo — the cave sanctuary where Archangel Michael appeared in the 5th century, and the ancient pilgrimage road that…
Mary’s house in Ephesus

Anne Catherine Emmerich described Mary’s house above Ephesus in exact detail — before it was found. A visit to the…
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

The cave where seven young Christians slept for two centuries — a rare sacred site where Christianity and Islam share…
Spiritual centre of Brasilia

Don Bosco’s prophecy, the Temple of Good Will and the quietly extraordinary spiritual life of Brazil’s planned capital. (4 min…
A Call to Loreto

Mary’s house in Nazareth, transported by angels to a hilltop in Italy — the history, the saints and the enduring…
Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Jasna Gora, Poland

The Black Madonna of Jasna Gora — why this sacred image carries the highest energy of any Marian shrine visited,…
Gyor, Hungary

Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted, the weeping icon of 1697, and an unexpected Marian pilgrimage site between Vienna and…
Did you see St Ignatius in Vienna?

Two giant Rubens paintings in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum — and why the miracles of Ignatius and Xavier deserve far more…
Memories of Loyola

The birthplace of St Ignatius of Loyola, the Chapel of the Conversion, and the relic that brought tears — a…
Mary Help of Christians and the Salesian saints of Turin

Don Bosco, Dominic Savio and the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin — a pilgrimage to the heart…
After my death I will do more

Padre Pio’s life, stigmata, miracles and his promise that his real mission would begin after his death. (3 min read)
Doing things backwards in County Clare

St Brigid’s Well, the Cliffs of Moher and the quiet spiritual geography of County Clare — where Ireland’s second saint…
Our Lady of Knock

The 1879 apparition in County Mayo — fifteen witnesses, a silent vision of light beings and angels, and the extraordinary…
The intense light of San Giovanni Rotondo

Padre Pio’s home — the incorrupt body in Enzo Piano’s extraordinary basilica, the orbs in the photographs, and the overwhelming…
Our Lady of Pompeii

The Marian shrine Padre Pio prayed to throughout his life — a painting that compels prayer, 900 documented miracles, and…
Walsingham

England’s Nazareth — the Holy House built overnight by angels, five centuries of royal pilgrims, and why Walsingham still draws…
Julian of Norwich

The mystic who wrote the first book in English by a woman — Julian’s near-death visions, her cell in Norwich,…
Canterbury’s martyr

Thomas Becket, the Archbishop who refused to bend — his murder in Canterbury Cathedral, his canonisation, and why the pilgrimage…
Meeting the beautiful saints of Montreal

The Oratory of St Joseph, St Kateri Tekakwitha, Marguerite Bourgeoys and Marguerite d’Youville — a day of guided synchronicity in…
Uniting nations?

The UN meditation room in New York, Dag Hammarskjöld’s vision, Bo Beskow’s painting and the question of whether shared silence…
Mexico’s island of women

Isla Mujeres — the temple of Ixchel, the divine feminine, and the particular magic of a small island dedicated to…
Lima, Peru

First impressions of Lima and Cusco — food, history, altitude and the beginnings of a South American adventure. (2 min…
More man love at the Merida bus stop

Merida, Quintana Roo and the warmth of Mexican men — a short, funny dispatch from the Yucatan. (3 min read)
FOR SALE: One of the seven wonders of the world

Chichen Itza — extraordinary, touristy and technically for sale — a wry account of Mexico’s most famous ancient site. (5…
My five highlights of Arizona

Sedona, the mission of San Xavier del Bac, Organ Pipe National Monument, Ajo and St Kateri Tekakwitha — five reasons…
Meeting the Virgin of Guadalupe

The tilma of Juan Diego, the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City — and the tears…
Searching for John the Baptist in Egypt

Wadi Natrun — the monastery of St Macarius and the relic of John the Baptist — a desert pilgrimage with…
Serapis Bey and the Temple of Luxor

The Temple of Luxor, the Chapel of Serapis and the ascended master Serapis Bey — a profound spiritual encounter. (9…
Aswan, Com Ombo & Edfu

The temples of Upper Egypt — Aswan, Kom Ombo and Edfu — a journey through ancient sacred architecture. (4 min…
Temple of Isis

The Temple of Isis at Philae — the goddess, the energy, and the spiritual significance of one of Egypt’s most…
St George

The chains of St George in Old Cairo — the extraordinary energy of the relic and the saint who bridges…
I am in Cairo!

First impressions of Cairo — the heat, the energy, the chaos and the wonder of arriving in Egypt for the…
Mary Magdalene in the south of France

La Sainte-Baume — the cave where Mary Magdalene spent her last years, the forest, the relic, and the crystal bowl…
Musee d’Orsay rehang

A visit to the newly rehanged Musée d’Orsay in Paris — impressionism, the new layout, and personal reflections on what…
The sweetest saint

St Thérèse of Lisieux — her life, her parents Zélie and Louis Martin, her relics, and the extraordinary sweetness of…
The spiritual and pastry pinnacles of Paris

Veneration of the Crown of Thorns at Notre Dame, the crystal reliquary, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre — and…
Crystal sound healing course

A crystal sound healing training course in Bali — learning to play the bowls, the science behind the sound, and…
Gaia and beyond

A wellness retreat at Gaia Oasis in Tejakula, Bali — crystal sound, meditation, writing and the deep rest of a…
Pigs flying over the rainbow and into the heat of Bali

A return to Bali — heat, colour and the familiar magic of the island. (2 min read)