Our Story

The story of the Pilgrims’ Center, is the story of conversion of myself, the people who have worked in our organization and those who have joined our pilgrimages.

It all started in 1983, in the remote village of Medjugorje in Bosnia Herzegovina where, after having been previously a nominal Catholic, I found God again and felt the intense desire to share this special experience with others.

Our Lady of Medjugorje's Apparition Hill

Thus, we started organizing pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Marian shrines, and other holy sites around the world. The number of people joining our pilgrimages grew beyond our expectation and before we knew it, we had become the leading organizer of pilgrimages in the Philippines.

To date, more than 30,000 people from all over the world have gone on our pilgrimages. In fact, one of them even had a late vocation and eventually became a priest! Many have experienced physical, emotional and spiritual healing, renewing their relationships with God and their loved ones and coming back home as changed Christians. Most have come back to join our pilgrimages regularly and are now part of an extended family, a community we call the Pilgrims’ Center.
After more than three decades, we have never felt more zealous in our mission to bring more people closer to God through pilgrimages.

I personally invite you to join our pilgrimages and experience God’s love and the powerful intercession of the saints and the Blessed Mother.

Ella Sanchez

Founder and President of the Pilgrims’ Center.