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You’ve heard of Pokémon GO, the viral game where you walk around collecting Pokémon from real locations. It’s a lot of fun, and kids love it.
But what if we could take that same spirit of discovery and apply it to holy places? What if our “Gotta catch ‘em all” attitude was for Catholic sites?
That’s the idea behind Catholic Go, the new first-of-its-kind platform to help Catholics “go” and discover the hidden places of grace, specifically in the United States.
Catholic Go helps you find sacred sites, historic churches, shrines, relics, and places of pilgrimage across the United States.
We at Aleteia love this idea. Visiting a beautiful holy place for prayer is the perfect destination for a pilgrimage, or a wonderful addition to a family vacation day, and Catholic Go makes it easy.
So far, Catholic Go is a website, but there is an app in development. Besides Catholic sites, the guides also mention nearby ice cream shops, coffee shops, breweries, and playgrounds. So whether you’re using Catholic Go with a group of friends or your kids, you can find a fun stop nearby to extend your trip.
All about Catholic Go
Christian and Darcie Nielsen, whose life of ministry work spans 17 years, are the creators of Catholic Go. The platform’s technology backbone was engineered by Maximilian Guilbert, Chief Product Developer, a specialist in AI platform engineering and infrastructures.
Features of Catholic Go include the following:
- Interactive mapping tool to explore lesser-known and celebrated Catholic sites
- Curated pilgrimage guides featuring seasonal destinations and insider recommendations
- Community reviews and contributions that blend professional storytelling with user voices
- Partnership opportunities for shrines, parishes, dioceses, and Catholic-owned businesses to be featured
A conversation with the founders
Aleteia had the chance to learn more about Catholic Go directly from founders Christian and Darcie Nielsen. Here’s our conversation.
What inspired you to make Catholic Go?
Catholic Go was born from the belief that pilgrimages can be local and deeply enriching parts of our faith journey.
We experienced this personally as visiting shrines, historical churches, and other holy sites has been an integral part of our own story. Once we started to take our faith more seriously as young adults, we thought, “why wouldn’t we visit the grave of a Blessed nearby?”
Having lived in the Boston area for many years, we were continually surprised to discover shrines, churches, and history of the faith through these visits. For example, the St. Therese of Lisieux Shrine in Burrillville, Rhode Island, was founded on August 23, 1923, just four months after she was beatified, making it the first shrine in the world dedicated to her.
We went there a couple times a year, prayed through the grounds, and asked her intercession. This was often after we had gone to a family event nearby. We couldn’t find many people who had ever even heard of the shrine!
Why would you recommend using Catholic Go?
Catholic Go is a great resource for anyone who loves curiosity, exploration, and discovering our faith in new places.
People should use Catholic Go to plan and track pilgrimages, receive exclusive discounts near pilgrimage sites, and be part of a growing movement that will also bless these places of grace!
There will be trip planning features to help make visits easy and exciting for the whole family—including nearby ice cream shops and playgrounds.
Who is the target audience for Catholic Go?
Catholic Go creates awareness and inspiration, aiming to encourage couples, families, and young adults to experience, document, and share their journeys while offering a chance to unplug from daily life and remember that we are all pilgrims on the journey to the homeland.
In other words, this fun and clever guide is for all of us — just like the Church itself. Add Catholic Go to your list of great resources next time you're planning a vacation or even a quick day trip. It's sure to enhance your trip and foster a new love for the holy places God has given us.
