Churches and other religious/spiritual sites are some of the world’s most important attractions for travelers. The are typically the focal point of a city or village and reflect the culture and values of the region. Churches, especially, are significant architecturally and represent the best efforts of a community to express itself. Lee & I have been to hundreds of churches in our travels. Many of these have become unforgettable memories of a particular place. To actually rank these sites is virtually impossible. How can you choose between amazing sights such as Hagia Sophia, the Pantheon, and Mont-St-Michel? Therefore, I will present my favorite 150 spiritual places in installments of five (5), listed alphabetically. Many of my choices are World Heritage Sites and deserve to be preserved forever. Many are simply charming or may hold some special historical significance. Peruse the list and compare your list to mine. Obviously I have not been to all the spiritual places on Earth, but most of these would probably make the all-time list of the majority of world travelers.

Installment 24 — #’s 116-120

116. St Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA — This beautiful church is the focal point of Jackson Square, the loveliest square in the French Quarter.

St Louis Cathedral

117. St Mary’s Church, Krakow, Poland — This church on Krakow’s main square was the scene of an important event in Poland’s history, the invasion of the Mongols. The event is reenacted daily when a bugler begins his song and then stop abruptly, similar to the time in the 13th century when his warning notes were stopped by an arrow to the throat. The altarpiece of the church is particularly lovely.

St Mary’s Church Altar

118. St Mary’s Church, Newport, Rhode Island, USA — This Catholic Church near Newport’s famous waterfront was the setting for the wedding of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953.

St Mary’s Church, Newport

119. St Nicholas Church, Prague, Czech Republic — This beautiful church is found at one corner of Prague’s Old Town Square, one of the loveliest squares in Europe.

St Nicholas Church

120. St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, New York, USA — This celebrated church on Fifth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan continues to be a major tourist attraction for visitors to the Big Apple.

St Patrick’s Cathedral