Our Lady of Guadalupe Pilgrimage Tour 2023

We had such a wonderful time on our Catholic Journeys tour of Our Lady of Guadalupe! We felt safe the whole time in Mexico. We didn’t get sick. We travelled with Jimmy and 8 others. It was extremely reverent and immersed in the Faith. We really appreciated learning more about Blessed Miguel Pro and Mexican history as well. We didn’t know anything about Catholic Journeys before, but we will go with them for any of our pilgrimages in the future.
Will and Kathy S

There had never been a pilgrimage we attended that held mass on the day of arrival and the day of departure—until then— something Nellie and I appreciated, as it immediately brought cohesion to a group of strangers and reminded us that the journey was sacred. We were not tourists!

Something else that was a pleasant surprise was SHARING on our last evening. It consolidated in our minds what impacted us most, making the journey even more memorable and meaningful.

For years now I’ve been searching for a place I can call my spiritual sanctuary. I may have found it in the form of Puebla. I can walk to church everyday, hear enough Spanish so that the words can finally come out properly from my mouth, enjoy the cafes, and embrace the country’s music. Did I tell you I like to sing and dance ( flamenco)? Just one flight from LA once a year and there I am.

The hotel, the people, the staff, the food, you— all of that is true. And Father Joe. He gave homilies that made us listen and feel. He once addressed the topic of how Catholic churches successfully sustain themselves, or fail. I say the secret is the parish priest. It’s his homilies and short confessions (he he).

This is getting to be long, so I’ll end it with a heartfelt “ thank you.”

Nels thank you for organizing France. Hopefully we will journey with Jimmy and Father Joe again!

Jimmy, please say hello to the others for us.

Cheers,
Emy & Nellie

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the most wonderful experience on our pilgrimage to Mexico! It could not have been more well-planned or inspiring! We learned so much about the beautiful country of Mexico and her wonderful people, in addition the the spiritually inspiring sites and churches we visited. It was awesome to be in the actual presence of the tilma with the miraculous image and to stand on the very places where heaven touched Earth with Our Lady’s visitations to Juan Diego and his uncle. We were incredibly touched by the visit to the Blessed Miguel Pro museum and by viewing his relics in the Sagrada Familia Church. I have never seen so many beautiful churches! The most magnificent was no doubt the Holy Rosary Chapel in the Dominican church! Below are some pictures that can only give you a slight taste of what the real experience is like!

My trip to Mexico with a congenial group of pilgrims was one of the best travel and religious
experiences of my life. The Metro Mexico City area is massive with 24 million people, but
incredibly, the city runs like a fine-tuned machine. Everywhere people are sweeping and
mopping (yes, mopping!) sidewalks and streets, so the city is immaculately clean. The weather
is perfection – with the city sitting at 7,300 feet, the air is cool and the humidity low. Mexico
City sightseeing includes the history, architecture, art and culture of pre-Mesoamerica, the Aztec
period, the Spanish Colonial period, and modern-day Mexico. The city is culturally rich and
colorful, the natural beauty is arresting, the food is delicious, the Mexican people are friendly,
and best of all are the gorgeous churches and shrines and rich religious history.
The main reason for the trip, of course, was the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Shrine
Church houses the Tilma of Juan Diego, a cloak which contains the miraculous image of Our
Lady – it is one of the most sacred relics in the world. The Shrine Church, Chapels and grounds
are gorgeous with beautiful gardens and flowers everywhere. Though there are thousands of
visitors to the Shrine daily (and Masses celebrated almost every hour), the grounds are so spread
out, it wasn’t crowded at all. I celebrated Mass on two occasions on the Shrine grounds, and as
promised, I prayed for all of you and your intentions.
An unexpected spiritual highlight of the trip was learning the story of Blessed Miguel Pro, a
Mexican Jesuit priest martyred in the 1920s during the Cristeros uprising against oppressive
restrictions against the Catholic Church by the Mexican government. The priest’s story, the
Church where his relics are housed, the film we saw about him, and the museum devoted to him
– all were unexpectedly moving. I pray to be half the priest that Father Miguel was.
All in all, the pilgrimage greatly exceeded expectations. I wholeheartedly recommend visiting
Mexico City and the Guadalupe Shrine. It is inspiring to see the devotion of Mexican families,
children, teens, young adults and the elderly to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I won’t get a
commission for saying this, but you couldn’t do better than visiting Mexico City with Catholic
Journeys of New Orleans. The hotel, Mexican tour guide, and all the details were tops.
Thank you for your prayers during my pilgrimage. Thanks to Our Lord and Our Lady for this
wonderful gift in my priesthood. God’s blessings to all, Father Joe

His Teachings Ministry groups have been going on pilgrimages with Catholic Journeys for well over 20 years because of the Excellent and Dependable service that has been given to all our groups from Jimmy and his Staff. Catholic Journeys has always given us the utmost care and vigilance in making sure our pilgrimages have always been a truly Grace-filled Lifetime Memorable Experience! Thank you JIMMY AND STAFF OF CATHOLIC JOURNEYS!