Anyone who’s taken a family vacation can relate to Steve Gureghian’s words: “Always a crisis, always an adventure.”

Mr. Gureghian, however, speaks exponentially. He’s a tour executive who organizes pilgrimages involving scores (and sometimes hundreds) of travelers at a time.

His company, George’s International Tours, has directed thousands of pilgrimages since it opened for business in Jerusalem some 85 years ago. “We’re the oldest continually operating Christian touring company in Jerusalem,” Mr. Gureghian said.

George’s International Tours is arranging the Cincinnati Archdiocese’s 2016 Pilgrimage to Italy Oct. 17-29, which as of today had sold 99 out of 100 bookings. The company handled previous archdiocesan-sponsored pilgrimages to the Holy Land (2014) and to Marian sites in western Europe (2012). George’s will also be in charge of an archdiocesan Marian pilgrimage set for 2017, the 100^th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima.

“We develop itineraries, book hotels, book flights,” Mr. Gureghian said. “It’s kind of ‘one-stop shopping’ with us.”

His great-uncle, George Garabedian, established the company in 1931. It remains a family business, with Mr. Gureghian overseeing North American operations from his San Diego office while two of his cousins run operations from the head office in Jerusalem. “We’re kind of like the triad,” said Mr. Gureghian, who’s been with the business for 24 years.

About 80% of George’s tours are Catholic. Most of the company’s pilgrimages are organized at parish levels, but some involve hundreds of travelers. Among the largest were a Holy Land tour led by the World Methodist Council, and another by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that included a choir performance at Caesearea on the Israeli coast.

Mr. Gureghian thinks the archdiocesan trip’s 100-person limit provides a good size. “Sometimes big pilgrimages lose the spiritual aspect,” he said. He coordinates pilgrimage plans with Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr and the Stewardship Department.

His North American office oversees about 120-150 pilgrimages a year, but “in Jerusalem we may have 100 groups a month,” he said.

China has been a growing source of business, as travel restrictions on pilgrims from the world’s most populous nation have eased.

“I call myself a crisis manager more than a tour operator,” Mr. Gureghian said. “But you feel good at the end of the day because you’re making dreams come true.”

Photos: Immediately above, a Lourdes procession from the archdiocese pilgrimage in 2012. Atop article: Aqueduct at Segovia, Spain. Descending: Pilgrims at Segovia; the Blessed Virgin Mary depicted at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. All photos courtesy of Helen Fahey.