Make your way to your local airport, where you will board your overnight flight(s). Your meals will be served on board.

Upon landing at Lisbon Portela Airport, head to baggage claim and collect your luggage. Proceed to the arrival hall, where you will be greeted by your tour guide and/or driver. Board the bus and begin a panoramic sightseeing tour of Lisbon. We will stop at St. Jerome’s Monastery, built to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for guiding Vasco da Gama on his voyage that linked Europe and Asia. Continue to drive by the Belem Quarter, which contains the iconic entryway to the Lisbon harbor, the Belem Tower. This important historic structure has many beautiful sculptures, such as depictions of St. Vincent and Our Lady of Safe Homecoming. The next stop is St. Anthony’s Church, built upon the site of Saint’s birth; it is here that we will celebrate Mass. Although the patron Saint of lost things is known as St. Anthony of Padua (Italy), he was born in Lisbon, Portugal. This Church is built upon St. Anthony’s birth site and is also where Saint John Paul II visited in 1982. After Mass, we will drive to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Today, we will travel north to the old city of Santarem. We will attend Mass at the Church of St. Stephen, which holds a 13th-century Eucharistic Miracle. Continue to Fatima and visit the Hamlet of Aljustrel, the home of the three shepherd children. Visit the Parish Church and Fatima Parish Cemetery. Continue to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Today will be a memorable experience as you pray and meditate upon one of Our Blessed Mother’s apparition sites. Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children: Lucia (age 10), Jacinta (age 7), and Francisco (age 9). These apparitions occurred monthly from May until October of 1917. Historically, as the entire world was in turmoil, Our Lady’s most prominent message was to pray for world peace. The destruction of the world at that point in history was also mentioned by Our Lady, particularly in her second secret to the children. Our profoundly reflective day begins with a visit to the Little Chapel of the Apparitions. This simple yet modern chapel is where the Virgin Mary first appeared on May 13, 1917. Next, you will see the stunning neoclassical church, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. This Sacred space contains the tombs of Blessed Francisco, Blessed Jacinta, and Sister Lucia. View the monument that commemorates the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the square. In honor of Our Lady’s requests to pray the Rosary, the Basilica also features fifteen altars each dedicated to a mystery of the Rosary. Visit the Museum with the “Fatima: Light and Peace” exhibition. Continue with a visit to the Holy Trinity Basilica. After free time for lunch, we will experience Christ’s unconditional love by participating in the Stations of the Cross along the Via Sacra. The “Sacred Way” marks the path taken by the shepherd children of Fatima to their first apparition with Our Lady. It is composed of fifteen small chapels commemorating the Passion of Our Lord. The fifteenth station, the Resurrection, can be found close to the Chapel of Calvary, dedicated to St. Stephen, King of Hungary. Ending the day with a visit to Valinhos, the site of Our Lady’s August 1917 apparition and the first and third apparition of the Angel. Your night will conclude with private devotions and a candlelight procession, as requested by Our Lady in 1917. Enjoy dinner and a comfortable night’s rest in Fatima.

This pilgrimage is designed for those who would like to spend more time in Fatima for prayer and reflection. Spend the day in Fatima at your leisure. Dinner and overnight.

Following breakfast, transfer to Lisbon airport for short flight to Toulouse. Upon arriving in Toulouse airport, make your way to the baggage claim area and collect your luggage. Proceed to the arrivals hall, where you will be greeted by your tour guide and/or driver. Embark on a scenic drive to Lourdes. Check in to your hotel and relax or explore before dinner. Following dinner, you will have free time to pray the Rosary and to attend the candlelight procession (April – October only). During these processions, pilgrims join in praying the Holy Rosary. Following this prayerful experience, you will return to your hotel for an overnight.

Over the next three days, you will stay in a small town in the Pyrenees Mountains. During your time in Lourdes, you will pray and meditate at the site of Our Lady’s apparitions. Our Lady first appeared to Bernadette in 1858 and announced herself as “The Immaculate Conception” near the Grotto of Massabielle. During the first two apparitions, little Bernadette prayed the Rosary with Our Lady and left without exchanging words. During the following apparitions, Our Lady emphasized God’s love for us and the necessity of performing acts of penance for sinners. Throughout your time in Lourdes, you will have the opportunity to attend Mass at the Grotto, where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette. Watch a video presentation that explains the story of Lourdes. Wash your hands, wash your face, and drink the water of the miraculous spring. Finish with a short prayer: “Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. St. Bernadette, pray for us. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Experience Christ’s unconditional love as you meditate upon the “life-size” Stations of the Cross that overlook the Grotto of Massabielle. In Lourdes, you will walk in and meditate upon the footsteps of St. Bernadette. Your group will have the opportunity to see Boly Mill, the birthplace of St. Bernadette, and the “Cachot,” an abandoned prison where Bernadette’s impoverished family lived. Each evening, following dinner, you can attend the candlelight procession and pray the Rosary before a restful overnight.

You will have an early morning transfer from Lourdes to board your flight(s) to Medjugorje. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your tour guide and/or driver, who will take you on the 2.5 hour drive to the village of Medjugorje. Dinner and overnight.

The most beautiful features of Medjugorje are its simplicity and peace. A local guide will accompany your group throughout your stay in the village.

Some activities that will accompany you in your spiritual journey:

Attend Daily Mass: Each morning at 10:00 AM, your group will assemble at St. James Church for Mass (English-speaking). At the end of each Mass, regardless of language, there is a blessing of the religious articles that you have with you.

On Feast Days, and Sundays, English Mass is at 12 PM.

Climb Apparition Hill: This mountainous hill is where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. At the base of this hill is a Blue Cross, where it is said Our Lady appeared to the children while they hid from the communist police in the early days of the alleged apparitions. While climbing, your group is invited to recite the Rosary, pausing five times for each decade. At the top of the hill, you will witness the exact location of the first alleged apparition of Our Lady to the visionaries. Enjoy private time for prayer.

Climb Mt. Krizevac (Cross Mountain): In 1933, the villagers built a 30′ high cross atop a mountain to commemorate Jesus’ passion and death on the cross. Your group will have the opportunity to climb this mountain and venerate that very cross. While climbing, your group is invited to pray the Stations of the Cross (to meditate on Jesus’ suffering on the Road to Calvary), pausing fifteen times for each Station.

Apparitions: Each evening at 5:00 PM (or 6:00 PM depending on Daylight Savings Time), your group can join the villagers and fellow pilgrims of Medjugorje at either St James Church or Apparition Hill to commemorate the time Our Lady appears to the Visionaries. There you can pray the Rosary, as you all await that time: 5:40 PM (or 6:40 PM during Daylight Savings Time).

*Afterward, Croatian Mass is held at St. James Church and all may attend. It is simultaneously broadcasted by radio in order to translate the services from Croatian into many languages. Following the Croatian Mass, there is a Blessing of the Sick.
**For details about the Visionaries, please visit: http://www.206tours.com/visionaries

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Our Lady has always called us to be close to her Son. You will have the opportunity to adore the Blessed Sacrament at the altar outside of St. James Church. Adoration is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Veneration of the Cross is held on Fridays inside the church. Additionally, there is an Adoration Chapel on the grounds of St. James Church, where Adoration is held in the afternoon hours.

Visit the Community of Cenacolo:
Pilgrims will have the opportunity to visit the Community of Cenacolo, founded by Sr. Elvira Petrozzi, for young men and women who have taken the wrong path and are on the road to recovery. You will be able to listen to their inspirational testimonies about their journeys back to Jesus Christ.

Prayer at the Statue of the Risen Christ: The bronze statue of the Risen Christ is located on the grounds of St. James Church. Many pilgrims sit and pray on the benches surrounding this peaceful statue. This statue miraculously seeps droplets of water out of Christ’s right knee.

* Please be advised that there will not be a spiritual director with you throughout your stay in Medjugorje. Daily Mass in English and English confessions are available at St. James Church in Medjugorje.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, your group will leave by motor coach for Dubrovnik, Split or Sarajevo Airport for your return flight(s) home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
Occasionally local religious and national holidays, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of events or the missing of certain events/places. Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of events and places to be visited.