Three friends. One mountain.
A shared calling.

The Church That Started It All

If you've never seen Madonna della Corona, it's hard to describe. A sanctuary carved into a sheer cliff face, 774 meters above the Adige Valley in northern Italy. To reach it, you climb. To leave it, you descend through forest trails that wind down the mountain, giving you time to think.

That's where we were—three friends on a trip through Italy, walking down from one of the most breathtaking places any of us had ever seen. The conversation started simply enough: "How many churches have you visited in your life?"

None of us knew. We'd been to dozens, maybe hundreds, across different countries and different seasons of our lives. But when we tried to list them, we couldn't. Names blurred together. Locations were lost somewhere in our camera rolls. The stories we'd heard from priests and parishioners had faded.

"There should be a way to remember these places," someone said. "Not just photos—something that captures why they mattered."

What We're Building

Sacred Steps isn't trying to be another social media app. We're not interested in likes or followers or going viral. We're building something quieter—a tool for people who believe that some places are holy, and that remembering them is a form of prayer.

When you check in to a church on Sacred Steps, you're not performing for an audience. You're making a mark on your own map, adding a chapter to your own story. Years from now, you'll be able to scroll back and see every place you've been, every moment of encounter.

We think St. Carlo Acutis would have loved this. He understood that technology could be a bridge to the sacred, not a distraction from it. That's the spirit we're trying to honor.

Our Mission