Encounter Christ Where He Walked
Holy Land Pilgrimage
The Gospel is not just a story — these are real places you can still walk today
Jerusalem
30+ Years Guiding Catholic Pilgrims
Daily Mass at Sacred Sites
Your Safety, Our Responsibility
Catholic & Christian Guides
Catholic Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
The Story You Know.
The Ground That Changes You.
The Ground That Changes You.
You have heard this story your entire life. The stable in Bethlehem. The hillside in Galilee. The garden at Gethsemane. The hill called Calvary. You know where these things happened.
What you don't yet have is the ground under your feet.
A Holy Land pilgrimage doesn't just add new information to what your faith already holds — it adds place. The ground where Mary said yes. The shore where the disciples were called. The tomb that is empty. Once walked, these are not sites you visited. They are places you have been. And they make the Gospel impossible to read the same way again.Tekton Ministries has guided Catholic pilgrims to the Holy Land for 30+ years. Our pilgrimages include daily Mass at the sacred sites, Catholic and Christian guides with deep scriptural knowledge, and an itinerary paced for prayer — not tourism.
Upcoming Holy Land Pilgrimages
Choose Your Pilgrimage
Pilgrimages depart from multiple U.S. cities. All include daily Mass, two meals per day, and full logistics support.
The Tekton Difference
What Makes a Tekton Pilgrimage Different
Over thirty years of Catholic pilgrimage leadership, built around one conviction — a pilgrimage is not a tour.
Daily Mass at the Sites
Every pilgrimage includes Mass celebrated at a sacred site or church in the Holy Land — often the very places Scripture describes. Not in a hotel chapel. At the places themselves.
Paced for Prayer, Not Tourism
Our itineraries allow time to sit, reflect, pray, and let each site settle in. You won't be rushed from one location to the next. A pilgrimage that moves too fast is still tourism.
Guides with Biblical Depth
Our Jerusalem-based partners — serving Christian pilgrims since 1925 — provide guides with a century of on-the-ground knowledge. Franciscan guides are available on request, offering expert commentary on the life and ministry of Christ at the very sites where it unfolded.
Your Safety Comes First
Our Jerusalem-based partners have maintained a presence in the Holy Land since 1925. Our team monitors conditions in real time and adjusts itineraries as needed — your pilgrimage does not proceed unless we are fully confident it is safe.
"
“Being in the Holy Land has strengthened my faith and given me a different perspective on the gospel stories. Now I can say, ‘I was there and felt the presence of Jesus in every step along the way.’ Everything was absolutely inspiring, and such wonderful friendships were made as we walked together!”
Patsy M.
Holy Land Pilgrim from Rosebud, TX
Where Scripture Becomes Geography
The Sites of the Holy Land
Every stop on a Tekton pilgrimage is a place where something eternal happened. Select any site to explore what you will encounter there.
Bethlehem
Where Christ called the Twelve and performed his first miracles
Church of the Nativity
Church of the Nativity
The oldest surviving church in the Holy Land, built by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century. Pilgrims descend into the Grotto of the Nativity where a 14-point star marks the precise spot where Jesus was born. (Matthew 1:18–23, Luke 2:11–14)
Shepherds Fields
Visit the land where shepherds "kept watch over their flock" when an angel first announced the birth of Jesus. We reflect here on why Christ chose to identify himself as "the Good Shepherd." (John 10:11)
Grotto of St. Jerome
In a cave beneath the Church of the Nativity, St. Jerome spent 30 years translating the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin — giving the Church the Vulgate Bible that every Catholic still hears at Mass.
Church of St. Catherine
The parish church for Bethlehem's Catholics, built adjacent to the Church of the Nativity. St. Catherine of Alexandria was martyred by Emperor Maximian — angels are said to have carried her body to Mount Sinai.
What Pilgrims Say
Returned by a Different Way
Hear From Those Who Made the Journey
"My favorite time on the pilgrimage is celebrating Mass each day. Celebrating Mass in the Grotto of the Apostles was particularly blessed and unforeseen. The manifestation of the Spirit was apparent."
Fr. David W.
Pilgrim Leader from Havana, Illinois
"After experiencing the Holy Land where Jesus walked, whenever I hear the Gospels I will be able to picture exactly where He walked."
Mary L.
Pilgrim from Lincoln, NE
Destination Spotlight
Discover the Holy Land — through the eyes of a Tekton pilgrimage
Pilgrim Stories
The Holy Land: The Experience of a Lifetime
Why Tekton
Thirty Years of Holy Land Expertise
These are not features a pilgrimage operator invents — they are the things that only come from thirty years of walking this ground with Catholic pilgrims.
-
Mass at the actual sites Daily Mass celebrated at a sacred site or church in the Holy Land — the Cenacle, the Grotto, the shores of Galilee. Not in a hotel ballroom.
-
Catholic & Christian guides with scriptural depth Our guides don't recite historical facts — they open Scripture at the sites where it was written. Every pilgrimage is accompanied by a Catholic priest.
-
Meet the living Church of the Holy Land On request, your pilgrimage can include a visit to a Christian school or hospital — a chance to meet the families whose faith has kept these communities alive for centuries. You don't just walk where Christ walked; you meet the people still gathering in his name there.
-
Safety without compromise Our Jerusalem-based partners have maintained a presence in the Holy Land since 1925. Our team monitors conditions in real time so your itinerary can be adjusted if needed — your pilgrimage does not proceed unless it is safe.
-
Itineraries paced for contemplation Time to sit, pray, journal, and let each site settle in. We build silence into the schedule — because a pilgrimage that moves too fast is still tourism.
-
Spiritual preparation — six months before departure Your pilgrimage begins before you board the plane. Richard Sontag's 18 years leading the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land shaped Tekton's conviction that pilgrims who arrive prepared receive more deeply. Explore A Pilgrim Heart Retreat →
-
Everything handled — you just pray Travel, accommodations, two meals daily, transfers, luggage — we plan it all so that your only task on pilgrimage is to be present. Your Israel travel guide is included.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Rooted in the Land
Our Unique Holy Land Relationships
A Tekton pilgrimage is built on connections that go far deeper than logistics. These are the relationships — spanning over three decades on the ground — that make the difference between a tour and a genuine encounter.
Current Partner · Jerusalem
Our Jerusalem Partners
Serving Christian pilgrims since 1925
Our on-the-ground partner in the Holy Land is a Jerusalem-based family business that has spent a century perfecting the art of organizing Christian pilgrimages. Founded in 1925 by a native of Jerusalem whose passion for the Holy Land was legendary, the company has passed through three generations — each one deepening the relationships, the local knowledge, and the commitment to serving pilgrims well.
This is not a vendor relationship. These are people who have given their family's legacy to serving pilgrims in the land where our faith began. When you travel with Tekton, you travel with partners who have 100 years of on-the-ground knowledge — relationships with local religious leaders, vetted hotels, a private fleet of modern coaches, and the kind of institutional trust that can only be built over generations.
This is not a vendor relationship. These are people who have given their family's legacy to serving pilgrims in the land where our faith began. When you travel with Tekton, you travel with partners who have 100 years of on-the-ground knowledge — relationships with local religious leaders, vetted hotels, a private fleet of modern coaches, and the kind of institutional trust that can only be built over generations.
- A Jerusalem family business founded in 1925 — a century of Christian pilgrimage expertise
- Three generations of leadership, each building on the last
- Family hotel ownership in Jerusalem and Bethlehem
- Private fleet of over 20 modern coaches of varying sizes
- Franciscan guides available on request for expert commentary on the life and ministry of Christ
- Optional visits to Christian schools and hospitals — a chance to meet the local families whose faith has kept these communities alive for centuries
Exclusive Access
Private audiences with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of Terra Sancta
Through a century of relationships in the Holy Land, our Jerusalem partners can arrange a private meeting with the most senior Catholic leaders in Jerusalem — access no individual pilgrim, and few tour operators, could arrange independently.
18 Years of Leadership · Washington, D.C.
Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land
Preserving the Christian presence in the Holy Land
As founder of Tekton Ministries, Richard Sontag spent 18 years in leadership of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land — an organization dedicated to keeping Christians in the land where Christianity began. Today, less than 1.5% of the Holy Land's population is Christian. Due to severe political and economic hardships, hundreds of Christian families leave each year. FFHL works to reverse that tide through education, humanitarian aid, and the preservation of holy shrines.
Those 18 years gave Richard something no travel background can provide: a deep personal knowledge of the Holy Land's people, its Christian communities, and the fragile but resilient faith that has persisted there for two millennia. When you walk the Via Dolorosa or enter the Grotto of the Nativity with Tekton, you are walking with an organization who spent nearly two decades ensuring that the communities who have kept these places alive are still there to receive you.
Those 18 years gave Richard something no travel background can provide: a deep personal knowledge of the Holy Land's people, its Christian communities, and the fragile but resilient faith that has persisted there for two millennia. When you walk the Via Dolorosa or enter the Grotto of the Nativity with Tekton, you are walking with an organization who spent nearly two decades ensuring that the communities who have kept these places alive are still there to receive you.
- FFHL's mission: safeguarding the Christian presence in the land where our faith was born
- Funds educational scholarships, humanitarian aid, and maintenance of holy shrines
- Supports the Custody of the Holy Land — the Franciscans who maintain Christian access to the sacred sites
- Richard's 18 years of FFHL leadership brought deep relationships with the Holy Land's local Christian communities
Why It Matters
Less than 1.5% of the Holy Land's population is Christian today
Due to political and economic hardship, hundreds of Christian families leave the Holy Land every year. When you travel with Tekton, you travel with a founder who spent 18 years working to keep them there — and a pilgrimage that helps sustain the communities who still gather at these sacred sites.
Common Questions
Holy Land Pilgrimage Questions
Answers to common questions
Read Before You Go
Begin Your Pilgrimage
Come and See.
Join thousands of Catholic pilgrims who have stood where Scripture happened — and returned to their ordinary lives unable to read the Gospel quite the same way again.