DAY 1: ARRIAL TO LISBON.

Depart to Lisbon, Portugal. We will be served dinner and breakfast aloft. 

 

DAY 2: LISBON.

We arrive at the Lisbon Airport where we will be met and given an orientation tour of Lisbon including Pombal square, Liberty Avenue, Rossio Square, Belem Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries on the bank of the Tagus as well as a stop at Lisbon’s Romanesque Cathedral, the Sé. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. 

 

DAY 3: LISBON / FATIMA.

This morning we drive to Fatima. Enroute to Fatima we will visit Santarem, the Church of Marvila and the site of the Eucharistic Miracle. Time for mass if available. We continue to Fatima and our hotel for dinner and overnight. Participate in the candlelight procession and evening Rosary. 

 

DAY 4: FATIMA  

Today we begin with Mass, and then we visit the Tombs of Francisco and Jacinto; the Aljustrel where the children lived; and the Valinhos, where Our Lady appeared after the children’s return from prison. Time for our own devotions. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. In the evening we join the Rosary and candlelight procession. 

 

DAY 5: FATIMA / SALAMANCA / AVILA.

This morning we drive through the countryside of Portugal to Spain. 

Continue to Salamanca for a walking tour visiting the Old and New Cathedrals. Then on to Alba de Tormes to visit the Church where St. Teresa is buried. Continue our drive to Avila—the walled medieval city. Upon arrival, enter the Convent of St. Teresa, erected in the place she was born. Also the Cathedral dedicated to San Salvador. The Ávila Cathedral is truly a cathedral-castle with battlements and sentry walks incorporated into the structure. Celebrate mass at a local church. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. 

 

DAY 6: TOLEDO / MADRID.

This morning we drive to Toledo to visit St. Tome with painter El Greco´s masterpiece “Burial of Count of Orgaz”, the remains of the Synagogue of St. Mary the White and the Gothic Cathedral with the main altar, choir, sachristy, chapter room and treasure. Celebrate a Mass in one of the Cathedral’s chapels. 

 

DAY 7: MADRID.

This morning we start our tour of Madrid. Enjoy a walking tour through the city. You will see the Royal Palace, and the Sabatini gardens that are next door. See the Royal Basilica of San Francisco el Grande Later on, you will cross over the frantic Plaza de Cibeles, with its beautiful central fountain of the Roman Goddess Cybele. Looking out over the plaza is the colossal building, the Palacio de Comunicaciones and the Royal Basilica of San Francisco el Grande. Time at leisure to sightsee on your own. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. 

 

DAY 8: ZARAGOZA / LOURDES.

This morning we drive to Zaragoza, the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the autonomous community of Aragon. The #1 Marian shrine of Spain - the Pilar Basilica - commemorates apparitions of Our Lady the Pillar to St. James in 40 AD, and here we will celebrate Mass. Then we drive to Lourdes in France. This afternoon is for personal devotions to Our Lady of Lourdes including and for those who wish, the legendary healing waters of the miraculous Lourdes spring. Then a walking tour to Boly Mill, the birthplace of St. Bernadette, the Cachot, the former jail, where she lived during the apparitions and the local parish church. Tonight, following dinner, we have the option of participating in the Torch Light Procession. 

 

DAY 9: LOURDES.

We begin this morning with Mass. After Mass, we enjoy a walking tour “In the Footsteps of Bernadette.” We visit the Cachot (former jail cell that once served as the Soubirous family’s home); the parish church; Fr. Peyramale’s Presbytery; the Hospice and the Boly Mill. Also time to visit the baths. This afternoon we are welcome to participate in the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed of the Sick. After dinner at the hotel, we return to the Sanctuary this evening for the Rosary and Torchlight Procession, (subject to seasonal schedules). Dinner and overnight at our hotel. 

 

Day 10: TOULOUSE / HOME.

We depart from Lourdes to the our homeland - the end of a most enjoyable pilgrimage.