10 DAY FATIMA, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA AND LOURDES
*** DAILY MASSES INCLUDED ***
DAY 1: NORTH AMERICA / LISBON. Depart North America for our overnight flight to Lisbon, Portugal. We will be served dinner and breakfast aloft.
DAY 2: LISBON / FATIMA. 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. 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.
DAY 3: FATIMA. Today our morning is devoted to visiting the Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima and the birthplaces of Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia to whom the Virgin appeared for the first time on May 13th, 1917. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. In the evening we join the Rosary and candlelight procession.
DAY 4: FATIMA / SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA. This morning we depart Fatima and drive north to Santiago de Compostela. We drive through the city of Coimbra with a stop for lunch on our own before we continue on to Spain. Upon arrival we check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 5: SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA. We will have a full day of sightseeing in the city of Spain’s patron Saint. The name “Compostela” from the Latin “field of the star,” was named after the tradition of St. James (Santiago), the Patron Saint of Spain. This city has been the third major site visited by Christian pilgrims and visitors (after Jerusalem and Rome) and is the present capital of Galicia. We will delight in our walking tour of this medieval city on labyrinthine cobbled streets. Santiago remains virtually intact, since no man or natural upheavals have produced any damage to the city. It’s a true national monument with its buildings built with practically indestructible granite stone. We will visit the Plaza del Obradoiro and the great Cathedral that dominates the town. Its main entrance is two stories above the plaza. The statue of St. James smiles benignly down upon the faithful. The towers soar into the sky. The Portico de la Gloria, designed by Maesto Mateo and completed in 1188, is the finest example of a Romanesque sculpture and where we will celebrate Mass. Inside the Cathedral are more pieces of priceless architecture, statues and religious treasures. A statue of St. James towers above and is surrounded by an elaborate display of drapery and sculpture. There will be time to browse through the quaint narrow streets and plazas, admiring such buildings as the Neoclassical Rajoy Palace, now the city hall, the Romanesque Colegio de San Jeronimo, and the utterly stunning Parador de Los Reyes Católicos – all buildings which surround the other three sides of this magnificent plaza. Dinner is at our hotel.
DAY 6: SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA/ LA CORUNA/ OVIEDO / COVADONGA. We begin with Mass, then depart for Santiago and enjoy a scenic ride through the region of Galicia. En route we will stop at the coastal town of La Coruna and the University town of Oviedo. We continue to Covadonga and arrive in time for dinner at our hotel.
DAY 7: COVADONGA: VISIT OF THE SHRINE. Covadonga combines the history of the Spanish Christians first victory over the Moors with the beauty of one of Spain’s most dramatic National Parks. It is the scene of the Spanish Christian army’s first victory against the Moors. One of the town’s important monuments is t of La Santa Cueva, a cave shrine containing the sarcophagus of Pelayo, king of the Visigothic Christians, and an enormous neo-Romanesque basilica commemorating the Christianization of Spain. In Spain, there are more than 15 Virgenes de la Cueva. Among the best known ones there is Nuestra Señora de Covadonga which we visit here. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 8: COVADONGA / SAN SEBASTIAN / LOURDES. After breakfast, we journey to the beautiful seaside city of San Sebastian on the Gulf of Vizcaya. After lunch on our own, we continue to Lourdes. Dinner is at our hotel.
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: LOURDES / TOULOUSE / U.S.A. Early departure from Lourdes to Toulouseto the airport for our flight to the United States - the end of a most enjoyable pilgrimage.