Depart USA for your overnight flight to Europe. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.

Welcome to London, England! Upon your arrival, you will collect your luggage and meet with the guide and driver who will accompany the group throughout your stay. After check-in at the hotel, you will have the afternoon free to have lunch on own, browse, shop, or pray and reflect. Later in the evening, you will attend a private Mass at St. Etheldreda’s Church in Ely Place. This church is the oldest Catholic Church in England and served as a safe-haven for Catholics who continued to celebrate the Mass despite the Catholic persecution in the 17th century. At this church you will find the shrine to St. Etheldreda, an incorrupt saint, who lived a life of austerity and saved many through her powerful intercessions from Heaven. After Mass, you will return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Following a full breakfast at the hotel, you will explore the magnificent city of London by enjoying a full day sightseeing tour. Your tour will begin at one of the world’s great churches. Inspired by Gothic architecture, the Westminster Abbey contains numerous paintings, stained glass, pavements, textiles and artefacts. The Abbey is also the resting place to many monarchs and therefore is held as one of the most momentous locations in the United Kingdom. The tour will continue to Buckingham Palace, bought by George III in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte, but did not receive a sovereign resident until Queen Victoria in 1837. Over time, the structure transformed from a house into a palace, undergoing numerous renovations. Today, it is the official residence and administrative headquarters of the British Monarch. Outside of the palace, you will become entranced by the immaculate precision of the drill and band during the Changing of the Guard. Following this event, your group will have some free time to eat lunch on your own before attending a private Mass at the ever famous, Westminster Abbey. Following Mass, you will visit the Anglican Cathedral dedicated to the great spreader of the Gospel, Paul the apostle. St. Paul’s Cathedral is the highest point in the City of London, and was re-constructed after the Great Fire of London (1666). Experience the crypt in the lower level of the Cathedral where is the resting place of many noteworthy figures such as, Lord Nelson, Arthur Wellesley (First Duke of Wellington), and architect of St. Paul’s, Sir Christopher Wren. See the numerous chapels and monuments constructed in memory of the notable of England. The last component of your tour will include Piccadilly Square, Regent Street, and Trafalgar Square. Piccadilly Square is considered the “Times Square” of London, where tons of locals and tourists congregate to enjoy all of the shopping and entertainment that London has to offer. It is a roundabout that centers the five major streets in the city of London, one of which is Regent Street. Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in the West End of London and is known for its urban design. Also, you will experience Trafalagar Square, the spirited open space where Londoner’s enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s Eve and other celebrations. This square is also home to many political demonstrations and sports event gatherings. Lastly, after the fun-filled, busy day, you will proceed to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning, after breakfast you will depart for a full day excursion to Cambridge and Walsingham. In Cambridge, you will visit Kings College, founded by King Henry VI in 1441. The college chapel is noteworthy for being the greatest example of Gothic architecture, and their chapel’s choir is world renown. Following the visit to the college, you will have lunch as per your own arrangement and after, the tour continues to Walsingham. At Walsingham, you will see the Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham which was established in 1061. According to the text of the Pynson Ballad, after much prayer, Our Lady led Richeldis de Faverches to Nazareth and saw the house where the Annunciation occurred. Faverches felt Our Lady’s call to replicate the house in the town of Walsingham. Following the arrival at Walsingham, your group will attend private Mass at the Slipper Chapel (on premises of the shrine). The Slipper Chapel is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint of pilgrims to the Holy Land. This chapel is of importance to the Catholic faith because it was used as a poor house after the Reformation. Your day will culminate as you board the bus and head back to London for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Following breakfast, you will board the bus that will bring your group to the Heathrow Airport for your return flights home. You will bid farewell to your new friends and to a Pilgrimage which will be in your memories and hearts for a long time to come.