Join  Father Thomas Joseph St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Carver, MN on a Pilgrimage to..

Fatima, Salamanca, Burgos, Lourdes  & Medjugorje

November 2-13, 2009    $3,359 per person from Minneapolis

YOUR TRIP INCLUDES:

Round-trip Air from Minneapolis

10 nights centrally located four star hotels (or similar)
    2 night  (Nov 3-5)      Fatima (Portugal) – Santa Maria Jardim

                1 night  (Nov 5-6)      Salamanca (Spain) – Hotel Abba Fonseca

                1 night  (Nov 6-7)      Burgos (Spain) – Hotel Abba

                3 night  (Nov 7-10)    Lourdes (France) – Hotel St. Sauveur

                3 night  (Nov 10-13)  Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) – Modern home/hotel with private bath          

Tour escort throughout

Breakfast and Dinner

Wine and mineral water with dinners in Fatima and Spain

American Buffet Breakfast in Lourdes

Wine with Dinners in Medjugorje 

Transfers by air-conditioned motorcoach as per itinerary

Guided Tours and Admission fees

Mass daily & spiritual activities

Luggage handling (1 piece per person)

Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents

Not Included: Airport Taxes, Security Fees & Fuel Surcharges – approx $600 and subject to change until ticketed. Lunches,  Travel Insurance optional at $165. Tips to your guide & driver ($ 6-8 per day). Items of a personal nature.

Sample Day by Day Itinerary:

Day 1, (November 2, Monday) , Minneapolis - Lisbon 

Board your overnight transatlantic flight to Lisbon. Dinner and breakfast are served on board.

Day 2, (November 3, Tuesday), - Arrive Fatima     

Meet your tour guide upon arrival and transfer to Fatima. Dinner and overnight.

Day 3, (November 4,  Wednesday), Fatima    

Six times, from the May 13 to Oct 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in the diocese of Leiria. A new church is under construction, however just as beautiful, an older church was constructed here in 1928, and millions of pilgrims visit each year. Fatima is  one of the most visited holy places for Catholics from around the world. The atmosphere of intense spirituality and the importance of Fatima have been attested to by the visits of two Popes: Paul VI and John Paul II. 

Touring Fatima, see the  Little Chapel of the Apparitions, Basilica, the site of Francesco and Jacinta's graves, the Hamlet of Aljustrel, where the children lived, and Valinhos, the site of Our Lady's appearance after the children's return from prison. Follow the Stations of the Cross along the Via Sacra (The Sacred Way) culminating in the Chapel of Calvary, which overlooks all of Fatima.

Day 4,( November 5, Thursday),  - Fatima – Alba de Tormes – Salamanca

After breakfast depart for Salamanca. On the way we stop in Alba de Tormes, where St. Teresa of Avila is buried. Arrive in Salamanca with free time for exploration before dinner and overnight.

Day 5,  (November 6, Friday),  - Salamanca - Avila – Burgos

After breakfast we depart for Avila. Here atmosphere has changed very little since the days of St. Teresa of Jesus, to whom the city is dedicated. St. Teresa the great mystic, was the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church. In Avila we will visit: the Cathedral, which contains many of St. Teresa relics; The crypt of the Convento of La Santa, built on the site of the house where she was born, is home to the most comprehensive museum dedicated to her life, and La Encarnacion Convent, the first convent she found.  Afternoon departure to the city of Burgos, the historic capital of Old Castile. After dinner explore Burgos (on your own), and admire the magnificent limestone Cathedral.

Day 6, ( November 7, Saturday),  - Burgos - Loyola  -Lourdes      

 After breakfast depart Burgos, heading for Lourdes, France. En route stop in Loyola, the birthplace of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Here, we'll see the 17th Century Basilica dedicated to St Ignatius. Behind the sanctuary is the family home of St. Ignatius, which we'll visit during our stop. The most venerated place in this building is the room where Ignatius at age 30, was brought following his serious wounding at the Battle of Pamplona.  Later we motor through the Pyrenees Mountains into Lourdes. Here, standing between the spectacular mountain-river, Gave de Pau, stands picturesque Lourdes, the birthplace of St Bernadette to whom Our Lady appeared in 1858 near the Grotto of Massabielle. Dinner and overnight. 

Day 7, 8 ( November 8, 9, Sunday, Monday )  - Lourdes

After breakfast, our guided tour of Lourdes will include the sanctuary; the Basilica of St Pius X, the world's largest underground church; and the baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place. Enjoy a video presentation telling 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 your prayers with those of pilgrims from around the world as you pray for the sick, drink water from the miraculous spring, pray at the Grotto and submerge yourself in the healing baths. Experience Christ's love as you 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." Attend the blessing of the sick and participate in nightly candlelight processions requested by Our Lady, and take time for private devotions. Each evening dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day 9, (November 10, Tuesday),  - Lourdes - Medjugorje     

Early morning departure from Lourdes for your flights to Medjugorje.  Upon arrival, you'll be greeted by a tour guide and/or driver who will then take you on the 2 1/2 hour drive by private coach to the village of Medjugorje. Guide will be with your throughout your stay. Once there, you'll meet your fellow pilgrims and your spiritual leader and be introduced to your host family in whose modern and comfortable house you will be staying for the next four nights.

Days 10 to 11, (November 11-12, Wednesday, Thursday) - Medjugorje 

Experience the beauty and peace of this simple village. During your stay in Medjugorje you will have the opportunity to share faith with pilgrims from all over the world. Our local guide will accompany us throughout your stay.

Here are some of the activities you'll be sharing with our fellow pilgrims: Each morning at 10am we assemble at St James Church for the English-language Mass (Feast days and Sundays English Mass is at Noon). Follow the path up Apparition Hill where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. Touch and pray before the cross that commemorates the spot where Mary first appeared to the visionaries.  

Each evening at 5pm , we will join the villagers and pilgrims to pray the rosary. The apparition takes place at 5:40pm and then stay on for Croatian Mass. Don't miss on Saturdays Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and on Fridays Veneration of the Cross in the Church. Each evening during Croatian Mass, there is the Blessing of the Sick and blessing of the items you have with you.

Our guide will arrange meetings with the visionaries at their own homes provided that they are in Medjugorje during your trip, and pending their availability. We will have the opportunity to climb Krizevac Mountain, where in 1933 the villagers built a 30' high cross on the anniversary of Jesus' crucifixion. Visit and pray at "Blue Cross", which is a place of great healings and graces- a very special place at the base of Apparition Hill. 

Day 12, (November 13, Friday) - Medjugorje -  Minneapolis     

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, we leave by motor coach for the airport and our for return flights home.

 For more information contact:  Fr. Thomas Joseph – motchamaryjoseph@gmail.com 

      Pat Duda  parkpoint1@mchsi.com   tel.  563 355 4311

Or to book contact:  Kristin Shea from 206 Tours  

kristin@206tours.com   tel. 800-206-8687