Hi! I’m known in most social circles as The Catholic Traveler, but you can just call me Mountain.

I design and lead small group Catholic Pilgrimages throughout Europe and the Holy Land.

I am a convert.

I spent a decade working in the music industry. After a night out talking travel with Robert Smith of The Cure, I quit my job at a major record label, bought a one-way ticket to Rome, and started The Catholic Traveler.

Oh, and I’m the reason Chick-fil-a says “My pleasure.” True story.

My Pilgrimages

I’ve been organizing and leading my own pilgrimages for nearly 20 years.

Unlike most travel and pilgrimage companies, I travel with all my groups.

This means I only have one group at a time, and my groups get all my attention. It also means we get the best service, the best hotels, the best meals, and the best local guides.

Think about it, if a big travel company has multiple groups in the same city at the same time, how can they guarantee the best for all of them? 🤔

With all my groups, I’ve always included most meals – in great restaurants, unlimited drinks with meals, and all tips.

My pilgrimages are very popular and I have a lot of repeat travelers – on a recent pilgrimage I had five people who have traveled with me a combined total of 35 times! Once a year I offer a reunion pilgrimage just for those who have traveled with me in the past.

Many of my pilgrimages sell out pretty quickly, so I always open them up to Patrons and paid Substack subscribers first.

I occasionally work with a few select parishes, dioceses, and schools.

Traveling to Rome?

I offer private Day Tours of Catholic Rome.

I only focus on the churches of Rome – that’s my passion and I treat these tours as day pilgrimages with time for confession, prayer, and sometimes Holy Mass.

There are plenty of great tour guides who cover the museums and ancient sites. I list my favorites in The Catholic Traveler’s Guide to Rome.

My City Guides

I’ve written several free travel guides, which I update constantly, including…

Hey, aren’t you…

I am often interviewed about the Vatican, life in Rome, and all things travel.

Recently: NBC Nightly News, NBC Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, BBC World News, EWTN.

Most people remember when my goddaughter stole the pope’s “hat.”

Some may remember when I helped Pete get a ride in the Pope-mobile.

And who can forget the blackout at the Vatican when the US SWAT Team landed a helicopter in the middle of Saint Peter’s Square, there was a gunfight with the Swiss Guard, then Pope Francis was arrested and replaced with a hologram.

Media contact: +39.342.350.8915

Where to find me.

I share a lot on Instagram (47k followers)

I write on Substack (12k readers)

I am just getting started with YouTube (3k followers)

You can also find me on Facebook (213k followers)

And I mostly just lurk on Twitter (26k followers)

TCT XX designed in Rome
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