Pilgrimage to France, Spain, and Portugal with Ryan Scheel, Ryan DellaCrosse and Fr. Michael Nixon

We depart Newark on an overnight flight to Toulouse, France. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flight. Enjoy the journey ahead as we look forward to our incredible pilgrimage through France, Spain, and Portugal. Quotes for add-on flights and optional Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request.

This morning, we arrive in France and are greeted by Select International’s Tour Manager, who will accompany us for the entire journey. Our first stop is the magnificent Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, where we celebrate Mass at the tomb of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Doctor of the Church whose philosophical and theological genius continues to guide Catholic thought. We also visit La Maison Seilhan, the house given to St. Dominic when he founded the Order of Preachers in this very city. Following lunch at leisure, we depart for Lourdes, the town made holy by the apparitions of Our Lady to young St. Bernadette Soubirous beginning in 1858 near the Grotto of Massabielle. After settling into our hotel, we walk to the Shrine Complex. In the evening, we join pilgrims from around the world for the beloved Candlelight Procession and Group Rosary. Dinner and overnight in Lourdes. Meals: D

Over the next two days, we immerse ourselves fully in the graces of Lourdes. We celebrate Mass at the Grotto of Massabielle, the very rock where Our Lady appeared eighteen times to Bernadette and identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. We view a presentation on the story of Lourdes and walk in the footsteps of St. Bernadette, visiting Boly Mill, where she was born, and the “Cachot,” the abandoned prison where her impoverished family lived. We join our prayers with those of thousands of pilgrims as we drink water from the miraculous spring and, if we choose, submerge ourselves in the healing baths. We walk the life-sized Stations of the Cross set on the hillside overlooking the holy Grotto, and we kneel in the chapel built on the very rock of the apparitions. Evenings are free for the optional Blessed Sacrament Procession. As darkness falls, we process together by candlelight in the great torchlight procession and pray the Rosary as one with the universal Church. Overnight in Lourdes. Meals: B, D

We depart Lourdes and cross the Pyrenees into Spain, heading for Zaragoza, the proud capital of the ancient Kingdom of Aragon. We celebrate Mass and sit in quiet prayer in the magnificent Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, which enshrines the column on which tradition holds the Virgin Mary appeared to St. James the Apostle during his apostolic mission in Spain, the very encounter that inspired the great Camino of Santiago de Compostela. As a sign of our devotion to the pilgrimage, we venerate the ancient pillar (el Pilar) where Our Lady once stood. After a walk through this charming city, resplendent with iconic Mudéjar architecture, we enjoy lunch on our own and then visit the Cathedral of La Seo, the Cathedral of El Salvador, to marvel at its extraordinary collection of Flemish tapestries. The afternoon is free to explore the old quarter of Zaragoza or visit the Goya Museum, dedicated to the great Spanish master Francisco Goya, who was born in this very city. Dinner is at leisure this evening. Overnight in Zaragoza. Meals: B

This morning we depart Zaragoza and travel west toward Ávila, the magnificent walled city dedicated to St. Teresa. Along the way, we stop in Spain’s celebrated Rioja wine region for a memorable winery lunch with a tasting of the area’s renowned wines, one of the great sensory pleasures of northern Spain. We arrive in Ávila in the afternoon, a city whose atmosphere has changed very little since the days of its great mystic and Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Ávila, the first woman to receive that distinction. Settle into our hotel and enjoy dinner together this evening. Overnight in Ávila. Mass will be celebrated. Meals: B, L, D

This morning we drive the ancient pilgrimage route known as “From the Cradle to the Grave,” linking the cities of Ávila and Alba de Tormes and following in the very footprints of the Restless Saint. In Alba de Tormes, the seat of the noble House of Alba, we visit the site where St. Teresa breathed her last on October 4, 1582. We celebrate Mass at the Convent of La Anunciación (The Annunciation), which reverently keeps her sepulcher along with the great relics of her incorrupt heart and left arm. After this profoundly moving visit, we return to Ávila and spend the afternoon at leisure exploring the walled city on our own: its cobblestone streets, massive medieval ramparts, and the deep spiritual calm that St. Teresa herself once called home. Dinner and overnight in Ávila. Meals: B, D

Today we journey to Salamanca, Spain’s oldest college town and one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. We arrive in La Dorada, the Golden City, whose very nickname comes from the warm amber glow of its sandstone buildings in the afternoon sun. At its heart stands one of the world’s oldest universities, founded in 1134, along with the grand Plaza Mayor, two magnificent cathedrals, the House of Shells, and a wealth of medieval, Gothic, and Baroque architecture. We celebrate Mass at the magnificent cathedral. Don’t miss the opportunity to sample freshly made churros served with thick hot chocolate at the beloved Valor café. Lunch is on our own today. In the afternoon, we visit the crypt of La Santa Convent, built on the site of the house where St. Teresa was born; La Encarnación Convent, where she became a nun and which houses the most comprehensive museum dedicated to her life; the Cathedral; and the Cuatro Postes, four ancient columns commemorating the seven-year-old Teresa, who convinced her brother to run away with her to seek martyrdom in the land of the Moors, only for their uncle to catch them at this very spot and bring them home. Dinner and overnight in Ávila. Meals: B, D

Today we continue our journey through Spain and cross the border into Portugal. Along the way, we stop in Áveiro, charmingly known as the Venice of Portugal for the painted boats that glide along its canals, for lunch and a welcome break. Late in the afternoon, we arrive in Fátima, one of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in the world, made holy by the apparitions of Our Lady to three shepherd children, Lúcia, Francisco, and Jacinta, beginning on May 13, 1917. Dinner and overnight in Fátima. Mass will be celebrated. Meals: B, D

We begin the day with Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima. Afterward, we visit the parish church in Aljustrel, where the three young visionaries were baptized, then walk to their childhood homes in the same hamlet. We travel to Valinhos, the site where Our Lady appeared to the children in August 1917, and visit the outdoor Stations of the Cross erected by American pilgrims and the beautiful Shrine of the Crucifixion, built on the highest point of the hillside by Hungarian refugees as an act of faith and thanksgiving. This evening, we participate in the moving Candlelight and Blessed Sacrament Procession, joining thousands of pilgrims from around the world as darkness falls over the great esplanade. Dinner and overnight in Fátima. Meals: B, D

Following breakfast, we depart for Santarém, where we venerate one of the most remarkable Eucharistic miracles in history, the Miracle of the Eucharist, in which a consecrated Host is said to have transformed into living flesh and blood in the 13th century. We then continue to Lisbon, one of Europe’s most beautiful and storied capital cities, draped across seven hills above the broad River Tagus. We have free time at leisure to explore Lisbon on our own, to wander its historic Alfama quarter, ride its iconic trams, or simply take in the soul of this ancient city. This evening, we gather for a special farewell dinner at a local brewery. Overnight in Lisbon. Mass will be celebrated in Santarem. Meals: B, Special Farewell Dinner

Today marks the end of our pilgrimage. We say farewell to a journey through France, Spain, and Portugal that will remain with us forever, in our hearts, our prayers, and the quiet ways our faith has been deepened and renewed. We are transferred to Lisbon airport for our return flight home. Meals: B