0206AA4 - Marian Shrines Pilgrimage 12 days from Miami

Airline Name Baggage Information
American Airlines http://bit.ly/zRWIZO
TAP Portugal http://bit.ly/1rCC8Vz

Special Package with this Trip :
International departure taxes of $124 plus current fuel surcharges of $320 are included (subject to change).

Trip Details

Today we depart Miami on our overnight flight aboard a wide-bodied jet. We enjoy in-flight movies, dinner, and breakfast aloft.
This morning, we arrive in Paris where we are met and enjoy and orientation tour of the city passing by the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and travel down the famous Champs-Elysees. We then drive to the famous artistic area of Paris and walk in Montmartre and have lunch on our own. Finally, we take the funicular up and celebrate Mass at Sacré Coeur dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
This morning following Mass at the Miraculous Medal Shrine of St. Catherine Laboure, we tour the sites of Paris, including viewing most enduring symbol of the French capital, the Notre Dame Cathedral on the Ile de la Cité. While here, we also make a stop at the Holy Chapel believed to hold relics, including nails and pieces of wood from the Cross of Calvary. We will have the opportunity to enjoy the culinary delights of Paris as dinner will be on our own. Overnight at our hotel.
This morning, we transfer to the Paris rail station where we board the high-speed TGV for our ride through the French countryside and arrive in Lourdes this afternoon where after checking into our hotel, we celebrate Mass in one of the Shrine’s chapels and enjoy dinner and overnight at our hotel.
This day is spent in devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. We celebrate Mass at the Grotto with a morning orientation visit to the Shrine and a walking tour of Lourdes, visiting Boly Mill, where St. Bernadette was born, the Cachot, formerly used as a jail, where she lived during the apparitions, and the parish church. This afternoon is free for private devotions, Eucharistic Procession, the Blessing of the Sick or the legendary, healing waters of the miraculous Lourdes spring. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. In the evening, we join the pre-feast day Rosary and candlelight procession.
This morning we return to the Shrine to join in the special Feast Day activities. In addition to being the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, it is the annual observance of the World Day of the Sick. Saint Pope John Paul II began the observance of the World Day of the Sick, in conjunction with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, to raise the level of awareness of the sick and the role to which Christ calls each of us – to tend to their needs. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
This morning we depart Lourdes and traverse the Pyrenees southward entering northern Spain. We travel south to Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon. On arrival, we visit the city which was founded by the Romans. Its luxuriant vegetation, with its many cascades and grottos make it a miniature Switzerland in the middle of arid upper Aragon. This city was also the birthplace of Goya, whose works grace many of the sites we visit. The number one Marian shrine of Spain, the Pilar Basilica commemorates apparitions of Our Lady the Pillar to St. James in 40 AD, and if possible, we celebrate Mass here. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
This morning leaving the city and traveling south we reach Madrid. This afternoon we visit highlights of Madrid, capital of Spain, including the Gran Via Plaza de España, the Viaduct, Plaza Major, passing by the Bull Ring, Independence and Cibeles Squares, the University, and the Paseo de la Castellana. Later we make our way to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
This morning, we drive to lovely Avila. Our ride takes us past El Escorial and a brief stop at the Valley of the Fallen a spectacular monument to the dead of the Spanish Civil War. Avila, the birthplace of St. Teresa of Jesus, (1515-1582), one of the Church's greatest and most influential mystics. Here we celebrate Mass at the Cathedral and visit the Convent of the Incarnation, where St. Teresa lived for three decades and St. John of the Cross, her spiritual director and confessor lived for the last two years of her life. We continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
This morning, we drive into Portugal and then to Fatima. If possible, we celebrate Mass at the Church of the famous Eucharistic Miracle at Santarem. We arrive in the afternoon and the balance of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. In the evening, we join the International Rosary Procession.
This full day is devoted to visiting the Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima and nearby hamlets of Aljustrel and Valinhos. We join the English language concelebrated Mass at the Chapel of Apparitions. We visit the birthplaces of Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia, the Loca de Anjo and the Holy Way. In the evening, we join the International Rosary Procession. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
This morning, we drive south to Lisbon where we board our connecting flight back to Miami where we arrive later today with memories of a lifetime.