Proposed Itinerary
Day 1: USA - Lisbon - Board your overnight transatlantic flights to Lisbon. Dinner and breakfast are served on board.
Day 2: Lisbon - Arrive in Lisbon, after an orientation drive through Lisbon, Our main focus is on St. Anthony. Despite what might be assumed from his name, Saint Anthony was born and grew up in Lisbon. Today the birth site of this religious scholar, friend of Saint Francis of Assisi, is a place of veneration for the devoted. Traditionally, the invocation of his name is considered the best means of locating lost objects. Dinner and Overnight in Lisbon.
Day 3: Santarem - Fatima - Today we drive to the town of Santarem, one of the oldest cities in the world. We will walk through its narrow streets to the Church of St Stephen, containing the oldest recorded Eucharistic miracle. In this city on the banks of the Tajo River and less than forty miles from the Portuguese capital, believers venerate the bleeding host. Despite almost eight hundred years since the desecration of the Holy Form, fresh blood flows from the wound, attracting thousands of devotees from around the world. See the 750-year-old Holy Miracle of Santarem, a relic of the Bleeding Host. Stolen by a woman in payment to a sorcerer, the host began to emit a brilliant beam of light and then to bleed. Reverently returned to the church of St Stephen, this miracle has been on continuous display since 1269. In the early afternoon, we drive to nearby Fatima, the place where the Blessed Mother appeared in 1917 to three simple shepherd children and exhorted mankind to pray for world peace. After settling into your hotel, you may relax or participate in a candlelight procession or relax.
Day 4: Fatima - Six times, from the May 13 to October 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three novices belonging to the diocese of Leiria. A basilica was constructed in 1928, and millions of pilgrims have visited the site, one of the most popular 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. Each morning we celebrate Mass at the Little Chapel of the Apparitions. Touring Fatima, we see the 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. Don't forget your white handkerchief for the Adeus farewell, when pilgrims wave a loving farewell to the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.
Day 5: Fatima – Coimbra - Alba de Tormes – Avila - After breakfast depart for Avila, making two stops along the way. The first stop will be in Coimbra, where you will visit the Carmelite Convent which was the last earthly home of the Fatima Visionary, Sister Lucy, and the Convent of the Poor Clare’s to see the Silver coffin that holds the incorrupt body of St. Elizabeth of Portugal. You will make a second stop in Alba de Tormes, where St. Theresa of Avila is buried. Continue on to Avila for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Avila - Burgos - Here atmosphere has changed very little since the days of St. Theresa, to whom the city is dedicated. St. Theresa the great mystic, was the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church. In Avila we will visit: the Cathedral, which contains many of St. Theresa relics; The crypt of the Convento of La Santa, built on the site of the house where she was born, is home to the most comprehensive museum dedicated to her life, and La Encarnacion Convent, the first convent she found. Dinner and overnight in the city of Burgos, the historic capital of Old Castile. After dinner explore Burgos (on your own), admire the magnificent limestone Cathedral .
Day 7: Burgos - Loyola - Lourdes - Mass at the Santa Maria Cathedral. Leave Burgos, heading to Lourdes. En route stop in Loyola, the birthplace of St Ignatius, 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, delight in the scenery as 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 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. During your stay in Lourdes you may celebrate daily Mass, and Mass at the Grotto on Sunday, 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, 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. Time for private devotions before dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Lourdes - USA - You will depart for your homebound flights back to the USA.
Price available on request