YOUR TRIP INCLUDES: Round-trip air from New York to Lisbon (special Add-on Airfares from all US gateways) ALL AIRPORT TAXES & FUEL SURCHARGES! 14 nights at centrally located first class hotels as follows: (or similar)
~ 1 night: Marques de Pombal or Hotel Mundial, Lisbon, Portugal
~ 2 nights: Santa Maria Jardim, Fatima, Portugal
~ 1 night: Hotel Abba Fonseca, Salamanca, Spain
~ 1 night: Hotel Abba, Burgos, Spain
~ 3 nights: Hotel Moderne or Hotel Gaillia Londres, Lourdes, France
~ 1 nights: Hotel Mariott, Rome, Italy
~ 2 nights: Hotel Giotto, Assisi, Italy
~ 3 nights: Hotel Cicerone or Quirinale, Rome, Italy Transfers as per itinerary Breakfast and Dinner daily Wine with dinners Assistance of a professional local Catholic guide(s) Sightseeing and admissions fees as per itinerary Catholic Priest available for Spiritual Direction Mass daily & Spiritual activities Luggage handling (1 piece per person) Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents
Day 1 - USA - Lisbon Depart from New York, JFK or from your hometown for the overnight flight to Lisbon, Portugal. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.
Day 2 - Arrive Lisbon Arrive Lisbon. Meet your Priest, tour guide and fellow pilgrims.
This afternoon we will enjoy a tour of Lisbon. Sightseeing tour will include a visit of the Cathedral, St. Jerome’s Monastery, Saint Anthony's Church, Belem Quarter: Belem Tower, 25 April Bridge, Discoveries Monument. Our drive will also take us through the Basilica of the Star, Rossio Square, Commerce square and Marquee of Pomba Square.
Dinner and overnight in Lisbon.
Day 3 - Lisbon - Santarem - Fatima
After breakfast depart Lisbon for Santarem, where one of the oldest cities in the world is located. We will walk through its narrow streets to the Church of St Stephen, containing the oldest recorded Eucharistic miracle. This miracle has been on continuous display since 1269. We then continue on to Fatima, the place where the Blessed Mother appeared in 1917 to three simple shepherd children and exhorted mankind to pray for world peace. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.
Day 4 - Fatima
Six times, from the May 13 to Oct 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in the diocese of Leiria. A new church has been constructed, however just as beautiful, an older church was constructed here in 1928, and millions of pilgrims visit each year. Fatima is one of the most visited holy places for Catholics from around the world. The atmosphere of intense spirituality and the importance of Fatima have been attested to by the visits of two Popes: Paul VI and John Paul II. Touring Fatima, see the Little Chapel of the Apparitions, Basilica, the site of Francesco and Jacinta's graves, the Hamlet of Aljustrel, where the children lived, and Valinhos, the site of Our Lady's appearance after the children's return from prison. Follow the Stations of the Cross along the Via Sacra (The Sacred Way) culminating in the Chapel of Calvary, which overlooks all of Fatima. Join pilgrims from around the world in an evening candlelight procession to pray the rosary. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.
Day 5 - Fatima - Salamanca Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning departure towards the city of Salamanca. Salamanca is the most graceful city in Spain. For four centuries it was the seat of one of the most prestigious universities in the world and, despite losing this reputation in the XVII Century, it has kept the unmistakable atmosphere of a seat of learning. It is a small place, and it is given a gorgeous harmony by the golden sandstone from which almost the entire city seems to be constructed. The city’s architectural sights seem endless: two cathedrals, one Gothic, the other Romanesque, vie for attention with Renaissance palaces and gems of Plateresque decoration. The Plaza Mayor is the finest in Spain; and the surviving university buildings are tremendous throughout, all of them distinguished by the same warm stone. Today we will visit this impressive and beautiful city: The grand Plaza Mayor is the hub of Salmantine life, the vast Baroque church of La Clerecía, the Casa de las Conchas (House of Shells), named after the rows of carved scallop shells symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago which decorate its façade, the University, the cathedrals, the Roman Bridge, San Marcos and San Martin churches, etc. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight in Salamanca.
Day 6 - Salamanca - Alba de Tormes - Ávila - Burgos After breakfast in the hotel we will depart towards the village of Alba de Tormes. In Alba we will visit and celebrate Mass at the Carmelite Monastery, where Saint Teresa died in 1582 and is buried. In the little museum of the Carmelite Monastery we will be able to see the incorrupt heart and left arm of the Saint. Later on we will continue our journey to Ávila. Two things distinguish Ávila: its eleventh-century walls, two perfectly preserved kilometers of which surround the old town, and the mystic writer Santa Teresa, who was born here and whose shrines are a major focus of religious pilgrimage. Ávila’s atmosphere has changed very little since the days of Santa Teresa, the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church, to whom the city is dedicated: the Cathedral, started in the XII Century but never finished and built in three different styles: Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance; San Vicente church, the Incarnation Convent, where St. Therese became a nun and home to the most comprehensive museum dedicated to her life ; La Santa Monastery, built on the site of the house where she was born, San José Convent, the first monastery founded by the Saint, etc. After the visit departure to the city of Burgos, the historic capital of Old Castile. After dinner explore Burgos (on your own), and admire the magnificent limestone Cathedral. Overnight in Burgos.
Day 7 - Burgos - Loyola - Lourdes After breakfast depart Burgos, heading for Lourdes, France. En route stop in Loyola, the birthplace of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Here, we'll see the 17th Century Basilica dedicated to St Ignatius. Behind the sanctuary is the family home of St. Ignatius, which we'll visit during our stop. The most venerated place in this building is the room where Ignatius at age 30, was brought following his serious wounding at the Battle of Pamplona. Later we motor through the Pyrenees Mountains into Lourdes. Here, standing between the spectacular mountain-river, Gave de Pau, stands picturesque Lourdes, the birthplace of St Bernadette to whom Our Lady appeared in 1858 near the Grotto of Massabielle. Settle into your hotel, explore before dinner, followed by a candlelight procession (every evening from Apr through Oct) before retiring for the evening.
Day 8 & 9 - Lourdes After breakfast, our guided tour of Lourdes will include the sanctuary; the Basilica of St Pius X, the world's largest underground church; and the baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place. Enjoy a video presentation telling the story of Lourdes, and walk in the footsteps of St Bernadette. See Boly Mill where St Bernadette was born and the "Cachot," an abandoned prison where Bernadette's impoverished family lived. Join your prayers with those of pilgrims from around the world as you pray for the sick, drink water from the miraculous spring, pray at the Grotto and submerge yourself in the healing baths. Experience Christ's love as you walk the life-sized Stations of the Cross overlooking the holy Grotto. Kneel in the chapel built on the very rock of the Grotto in obedience to the request of the "Immaculate Conception." Attend the blessing of the sick and participate in nightly candlelight processions requested by Our Lady, and take time for private devotions. Each evening dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Day 10 - Lourdes - Rome Early morning departure Lourdes for your short flights to Rome. Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you this morning and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon for rest, relaxation, or exploration. You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy.
Day 11 - Rome - Assisi
After breakfast we depart from Rome. We drive through the Italian countryside enjoying the beautiful scenery. Upon arrival in Assisi you will have free time to rest, relax and exlore before dinner a d overnight.
Day 12 - Assisi
Visit the tomb of St Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St Francis began his ministry. Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of the saint's possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St Mary of the Angels Basilica where St Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. After stopping at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple, we go to the Church of St Clare to see the saint's incorrupt body. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. We will visit these two saints' tombs before dinner and retiring for the evening.
Day 13 - Assisi - Siena - Rome
After breakfast we are off to the beautiful town of Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine and Bernardine and one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy’s finest squares and visit the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic. We continue on to Rome for dinner and overnight.
Day 14 - Rome
This morning we depart for a sightseeing tour entitled "Christian Rome"
which includes: the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine that contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus; the Holy Stairs, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, The Basilica of the St John in Lateran, is the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377; St Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St Paul under its main altar; and the Appian Way -- the oldest road from Roman times--plus the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel; see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus; Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. We will also enjoy a visit to the Trevi fountain. Dinner and overnight.
Day 15 - Rome (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour)
Wake up in Eternal City, one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth! It is also spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world. Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (pending papal schedule). Following the audience visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest church in Christendom St Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican. Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.
Day 16 - Rome - USA
We bid farewell to our new friends and to a pilgrimage which will be in our memories and heart for a long time to come. Early departure from Rome Airport for our return flight to the USA. We fondly say, Arrivederci Italia!
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Travel Dates
Land Only (no airfare)
*Air & Land
# of Pilgrims
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