Fatima & Lourdes

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 and enjoy an orientation drive through Lisbon, highlighted with Mass and a visit to the birthsite of Saint Anthony. Dinner and Overnight in Lisbon.

Day 3 - Santarem - Fatima - Drive to the town of Santarem, one of the oldest cities in the world, where you will have Mass and visit the Church of St Stephen, which contains the oldest recorded Eucharistic Miracle. 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 afternoon, you 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. Tonight you may participate in a candlelight procession. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.

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. See the basilica was constructed in 1928 and contains Francesco and Jacinta’s graves, and celebrate Mass at the Little Chapel of the Apparitions. Visit 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. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.

Day 5 - Fatima - Coimbra - Alba de Tormes - Avila - Depart to Avila making 2 stops enroute; the first in Coimbra, to visit the Carmelite Convent the last earthly home of Sr. Lucia, the third visionary. Continue to the Convent of the Poor Clare’s to see the Silver coffin that holds the incorrupt body of St. Elizabeth of Portugal. On the way to Avila we make another stop in Alba de Tormes, where St. Theresa of Avila is buried. Arrive Avila in time for dinner and overnight.

Day 6 - Avila - Burgos - St. Theresa, the great mystic was the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church. In Avila, visit the Cathedral, which contains many of St. Theresa’s relics and the crypt of the Convento of La Santa, which is built on the site of the house where she was born and is home to the most comprehensive museum dedicated to her life. Also visit La Encarnacion Convent, the first convent she founded. In the afternoon, travel to Burgos, the historic capital of Old Castile. Dinner and overnight in Burgos.

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. See the 17th Century Basilica dedicated to St Ignatius and visit his family home which contains the place referred to as the Room of the Conversion. Later, travel through the Pyrenees Mountains into Lourdes, the birthplace of St Bernadette, and where Our Lady appeared in 1858 near the Grotto of Massabielle. After dinner, enjoy a candlelight procession. Overnight in Lourdes.

Day 8 & 9 - Lourdes - See a video presentation telling the story of Lourdes and enjoy a guided tour of Lourdes which will include the sanctuary; the Grotto, where Our Lady appeared under the title of the Immaculate Conception; the Basilica of the Rosary, the Basilica of St Pius X, the world’s largest underground church; Boly Mill where St Bernadette was born and the "Cachot," an abandoned prison where Bernadette’s impoverished family lived; and the baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place.Dinner and overnight in Lourdes.

Day 10 - Lourdes - USA - Early departure for USA.

 
Tour Features

• Round trip airfare from New York

• Accommodations in Superior Tourist and/or First Class Hotel, twin-bedded rooms with private facilities

• Breakfast and dinner daily

• Transfers between airport and lodging with porterage at hotels

• Assistance of Multi-lingual Tour Escort

• Sightseeing as specified in itinerary

• Welcome Packet / Document Portfolio

• Daily Mass and all spiritual activities coordinated

Pricing

Click here to register on-line

Post optional Tour: Paris, Nevers, & Lisieux

Additional $1599 per person in double occupancy

Day 9 -Lourdes & Paris
After breakfast leave on the one-hour flight to Paris. Upon arrival you will met by our guide and transfer to the hotel, and continue touring Paris. Upon arrival Mass at the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal (subject to change as for some groups this may happen on the last day). Our sightseeing tour includes some of the most beautiful and important churches in the world such as Notre Dame Cathedral and Scare Cour, see the sights as the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triomphe, and drive through the Champs Elysees. Enjoy other sights on this mostly panoramic tour. Return to the hotel for little relaxing, dinner and overnight.

Day 10 - Paris - Excursion to Nevers
Leave by motor coach for Nevers by way of the picturesque Loire Valley. After taking the veil in 1867, St Bernadette lived for 12 years as a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Nevers. Throughout her life she suffered from and eventually died of asthma at the age of 35. See St Bernadette's incorrupt body at the convent of St Gildard, miraculously preserved since her death in 1879. Dinner and return to the hotel in Paris.

Day 11 - Paris - Excursion to Lisieux
After breakfast we travel northwest by motor coach to the town of Lisieux, the home of St Therese whom Pope Pius X called "the greatest saint of modern times." Her extraordinary love for God and service to humanity come alive as you visit the Basilica Cathedral of St Peter, and Les Buissonets, her family home. On display are relics, clothing, and personal objects belonging to the "little flower." View the statue depicting the Virgin Mary who smiled at St Therese during an ecstacy before curing her illness. Combine your prayers in the Carmel Chapel with those of the Carmelite sisters, just as St Therese did before her death in 1897. Return to Paris for dinner and overnight.

Day 12 - Paris - USA
Just before our flight and on route to the airport, transfer to the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal to celebrate Mass. View the incorrupt body of St Catherine Labouret whose guardian angel led her to the chapel where the Blessed Virgin displayed a vision of the miraculous medal and later the green scapular. The Virgin promised bountiful graces for all who wore these. Transfer to the airport for your return flights to the United States.

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