Pilgrimage to France, Spain, and Portugal with Fr. Peter Sutinga

Depart on an overnight flight to Lisbon. Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane. Quotes for add-on flights and optional Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request. We work with group airfares (minimum of 10 passengers) that do not allow seat selection. If you wish to reserve specific seats on the flights, we recommend purchasing your own airline tickets and the land-only option with us.

Welcome to Lisbon! We meet our driver and the Select International English-speaking tour manager and board our deluxe motor coach for a panoramic city tour of Lisbon. We continue to drive to St. Stephen’s Church in Santarem to celebrate Mass and venerate the Miracle of the Eucharist. Continue to Fatima for dinner and overnight. **This day’s itinerary is dependent on flight arrival.

Today we visit the Basilica and the tombs of Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia and the Little Chapel of the Apparitions. We drive to the hamlet of Aljustrel, where the children lived, and Valinhos, the site of Our Lady’s appearance. In the afternoon, pray at the stations of the Via Sacra. This evening, join the spectacular Candlelight Procession. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.

After breakfast, we depart for Ávila, stopping in Salamanca along the way, one of Spain’s foremost cultural centers, a great university city, and a showcase of intricately sculpted Renaissance architecture in golden stone. Visit the Plaza Mayor, which is regarded as one of the most attractive squares in Spain, and the majestic Cathedral where we celebrate Mass. We arrive in Ávila, the City of Kings and of Saints, completely encircled by 11th-century walls. This is the birthplace of St. Teresa, one of the greatest mystics and the patron of the Avila Institute. We visit the Museum and celebrate Mass at the Convent of La Encarnación, where St. Teresa entered religious life. In the museum, we see various relics and the stairs where Teresa encountered the Child Jesus. Dinner and overnight in Ávila.

The walled city of Ávila is the home of St. Teresa, one of four female Doctors of the Church. We visit the Cathedral, which contains many of St. Teresa’s relics, the crypt of the Convento of La Santa, built on the site of the house where she was born and home to the most comprehensive museum dedicated to her life, and the Convent of San Jose, the first convent that she founded. We also visit Los Cuatro Postes; tradition says that it was built to commemorate the place where Francisco de Cepeda, little Teresa’s uncle, found the saint and her brother Rodrigo while fleeing from the land of Moors. This spot provides a spectacular view of the city walls. In the afternoon we drive along the pilgrimage route “From the cradle to the grave” which links the cities of Ávila and Alba de Tormes, which many pilgrims walk as they are walking in the footprints of the Restless Saint. In Alba de Tormes, the origin of the Noble House of Alba, we see where Saint Teresa died on October 4, 1582. Our visit includes Mass at the convent of La Anunciación (TheAnnunciation), which keeps her sepulcher, as well as the great relics of her heart and left arm. We return to Avila for dinner and overnight.

This morning we depart early, stopping in Valladolid, where we visit the Convent La Concepción del Carmen, which houses the cell of St. Teresa and the original handwritten version of “The Way of Perfection”, as well as the largest collection of her handwritten letters. We continue to Burgos. Upon arrival, we have a walking tour of the Old Quarter, the Arco de Santa Maria, the Burgos Cathedral, and the exterior view of the Carmelite Convent of San Jose and Santa Ana. Mass will be celebrated in the Burgos Cathedral before the group settles into the hotel for dinner. Overnight in Burgos.

After breakfast and check-out, we drive through the Rioja wine region on our way to Zaragoza. We stop in Logroño, where we can see the Co-Cathedral of Santa María de la Redonda, a twin-towered 16th-century cathedral featuring a small painting of the Crucifixion attributed to Michelangelo, and celebrate Mass. After lunch on our own, we continue to Zaragoza. We settle into our hotel for dinner and overnight in Zaragoza.

Zaragoza, the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon, is another of the jewels of northern Spain, little-known to Americans. We begin our day with Mass and quiet prayer in the Basilica that enshrines the pillar on which tradition says the Virgin Mary appeared to St. James, son of Zebedee, during his apostolic mission in Spain, which led to the famous Camino of Santiago de Compostela. As a sign of fulfillment of our pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Pillar, we can kiss the venerable column (Pillar) where Our Lady once stood. After a walk through this charming town, resplendent with iconic buildings, and lunch on our own, we visit the Cathedral of El Salvador to see the incredible collection of Flemish Tapestries. We then have free time to explore the Old Quarter of Zaragoza on our own or visit the Goya Museum to see the artworks by the great Spanish master Francisco Goya, who was born in Zaragoza. Tonight, we enjoy a traditional dinner from this region, accompanied by local wines from the renowned Rioja wine region. Overnight in Zaragoza.

After checking out of the hotel, we drive through the majestic Pyrenees Mountains to the magnificent mountaintop Hermitage of Our Lady of Torreciudad, considered the most beautiful Marian Shrine in Spain since the 11th century. We celebrate Mass. After our included lunch today, we continue driving through the breathtaking Pyrenees Mountain Range to Lourdes. Dinner and overnight in Lourdes.

Over the next two days in Lourdes, we have the opportunity to attend Mass at the Grotto, watch a video presentation on the story of Lourdes, and walk in the footsteps of St. Bernadette. See Boly Mill, where St. Bernadette was born, and the “Cachot,” an abandoned prison where Bernadette’s impoverished family lived. Join our prayers with those of pilgrims from around the world as we pray for the sick, drink water from the miraculous spring, or submerge ourselves in the healing baths. Experience Christ’s love as we walk the life-sized Stations of the Cross overlooking the holy Grotto. Kneel in the chapel built on the very rock of the Grotto in obedience to the request of the “Immaculate Conception.” Evenings are free for the optional Blessed Sacrament Procession before dinner. Our role in the universal church will take on new meaning as we join the candlelight procession and the group rosary. We have a Farewell dinner with wine. Overnight in Lourdes.

Today marks the end of our pilgrimage. We say farewell to a country and a trip that will last in our memory forever. We are transferred to the airport for our return flight home. Meals: B