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Shrines of Spain & Fatima
Proposed Itinerary Day 1 - Depart USA Board your overnight transatlantic flights from your home town. Meals are served on board.
Day 2 - Arrive Barcelona Upon arrival you will be greeted by our tour guide and driver. Transfer to our hotel where you will enjoy free time to rest and refresh before Mass. Dinner and overnight in Barcelona. Day 3 - Barcelona After breakfast you will enjoy a tour of Barcelona including: panoramic views of the Harbor area, Montjuic, Plaza de España, and Plaza de Catalunya. Afterwards, continue on a guided walk through the Gothic Quarter to visit the cathedral and to view Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, a beautiful, unfinished Roman Catholic basilica of impressive proportions. Spend the afternoon at leisure exploring the colorful markets of Las Ramblas. Dinner and overnight in Barcelona.
Day 4 - Excursion to Montserrat and Manresa After breakfast you will make your way to Montserrat, home to the dramatically set Benedictine monastery. On a rugged mountainside you will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat. Since the 12th-century, pilgrims have been drawn to the mountain to venerate the miraculous statue of the Black Madonna. According to Catholic tradition, the statue of the Black Virgin of Montserrat was carved by St. Luke around 50 AD and brought to Spain. It was later hidden from the Moors in a cave, where it was rediscovered by shepherds in 880 AD. They saw a bright light and heard heavenly music that eventually led them to the grotto and the statue. The Bishop of Manresa, present at the discovery, suggested that it be moved to Manresa, but the small statue was discovered to be so heavy it could not be lifted. Thus the Virgin had indicated her will to stay on Montserrat to be venerated there. In the 11th century, the abbot-bishop Oliba founded a monastery on the mountain of Montserrat next to one of the chapels, where the Benedictine Abbey is still preserved. Return to Barcelona for dinner and overnight. Day 5 - Barcelona - Zaragoza - Madrid After breakfast you will depart towards Zaragoza where we will visit the magnificent Basilica del Pilar, built in the place where our Lady appeared to Saint James. Tradition says that in the early day of the Church, Saint James The Greater was spreading the Gospel in Spain, but making very little progress. He was dejected and questioning his mission. About 44 AD, the Virgin Mary, who was still living in Jerusalem at the time, bi-located and appeared to him in a vision to boost his morale. In it, she was atop a column or pillar, which was being carried by angels. That pillar is believed to be the same one venerated inside the Basilica. Also visit the Cathedral of Zaragoza and do a walking tour of the city. Later you will continue the journey to Madrid for dinner and overnight.
Day 6 - Madrid & Toledo After breakfast enjoy a tour of Madrid including the Royal Palace and Plaza Mayor. Then depart for Toledo which sits on a rocky mound isolated on three sides by a looping gorge of the Río Tajo. Every available inch of this outcrop has churches, synagogues, mosques and houses heaped upon one another in a haphazard spiral, which the cobbled lanes infiltrate as best they can. Toledo is known as the City of the Three Religions or Cultures because for many centuries the Christians, the Moors, and the Jews lived together in relative equality and peace. The city surrounded by walls hides great treasures: the awesome Cathedral, the church of Santo Tomé, the Tránsito Synagogue, Santa María La Blanca Synagogue, the superb church of San Juan de los Reyes, Puerta de Bisagras, Puerta del Cambrón, Puerta del Sol, etc. Return to Madrid for dinner and overnight.
Day 7 - Madrid - Santiago de Compostela After breakfast depart towards city of Santiago de Compostela. Stop in Villafranca del Bierzo, where the group will visit the Collegiate Church of Santa María, the churches of Santiago and San Nicolas, as well as the Agua Street, full of palaces and emblazoned houses. Later we enter Galicia by Lugo, not far from Santiago. Stop in O Ce-breiro, the first village in the region of Lugo along the Route, with an altitude of 1,300 meters. A group of "pallozas" can be seen and a beautiful Pre-Romanesque temple, from the 9-10 C, containing a Chalice, the Paten of "Santo Milagro" and a precious Romanesque carving of Santa Maria la Real. Continue on to Santiago de Com-postela for dinner and overnight.
Day 8 - Santiago de Compostela After breakfast set out to join the walking pilgrims at the Monte del Gozo from which the spires of the Cathedral are first visible. The group will walk the last couple of miles of El Camino arriving at the Cathedral. Attend the International Pilgrim Mass at the Cathedral of St. James and visit the crypt where the relics of St. James are preserved. In the afternoon you will visit: Obradoiro Square, Fonseca Palace, Gelmirez Palace, Franco Street, etc. Dinner and overnight in Santiago de Compostela.
Day 9 - Santiago do Compostela - Lisbon After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your short flight to Lisbon, enjoy a sightseeing tour which will include a visit of the Cathedral, St. Jerome’s Monastery, Saint Anthony's Church, Belem Quarter: Belem Tower, 25 April Bridge, Discoveries Monument. Our drive will also take us through the Basilica of the Star, Rossio Square, Commerce square and Marquee of Pomba Square. Dinner and overnight in Lisbon.
Day 10 - Lisbon - Santarem - Fatima After breakfast depart Lisbon for Santarem, one of the oldest cities in the world. Walk through its narrow streets to the Church of St Stephen, containing the oldest recorded Eucharistic miracle. Continue on to Fatima, the place where the Blessed Mother appeared in 1917 to three simple shepherd children and exhorted mankind to pray for world peace. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.
Day 11 thru 14 - Fatima Start off your days by going to Mass at the Little Chapel of the Apparitions. While in Fatima, you will 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. Experience Christ's love as you walk and 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. Time for private devotions before dinner and overnight.
Day 15 - Fatima - Lisbon - USA You will depart for your homebound flight back to the USA.
Trip Includes
Pricing
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