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YOUR TRIP INCLUDES:
 Round-trip
air from New York
(special
Add-on Airfares
from all
other US gateways)
AIRPORT TAXES,
SECURITY FEES & FUEL SURCHARGES INCLUDED
13 nights at
centrally located three and four-star hotels as follows:
(or similar)
~
1 nights: Hotel Mundial, Lisbon, Portugal
~ 2 nights: Santa Maria Jardim, Fatima, Portugal
~ 1 night: Hotel Monterrey, Salamanca, Spain
~ 1 night: Hotel Abba, Burgos, Spain
~ 3 nights: Hotel Padoue or Gallia Londres,
Lourdes, France
~ 3 nights: Hotel Cicerone or Quirinale, Rome
~ 2 nights: Hotel
Jolly Ligure or Starhotel Majestic, Turin
Breakfast
and dinner daily
Farewell dinner
with wine
Papal Audience (if available)
Professional
local tour
guide
Sightseeing
and admissions fees as per itinerary
Tickets to visit
to the Shroud of Turin
Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach
Catholic Mass daily
Portage of luggage (1 piece per person)
Not Included: Lunches
not specified,
Travel Insurance optional at $99-$225. Tips to your guide & driver
(Euro 6-8
per day). Items of a personal nature.
Sample Day-by-Day
Itinerary:
Day 1: Depart USA
Board your overnight transatlantic flights from your home town. Meals
are served on board.
Day 2: Arrive Lisbon
Arrive Lisbon. Meet your Priest, tour guide and fellow pilgrims. After
an orientation drive through Lisbon, we stop and visit St. Anthony's
Church. Despite what might be assumed from his name, Saint Anthony was
born and grew up in Lisbon. Traditionally, the invocation of his name is
considered the best means of locating lost objects. 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 is under construction, 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 se 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 April through October) 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
Travel by
flight(s) 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
(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 (time permitting). 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 12:
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 for your last evening
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