APRIL 13 – 28, 2023
ITINERARY: LISBON / FATIMA / BARCELONA / MONTSERRAT / LOURDES / PARIS / ROME / SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO / ASSISI
APR 13 CHECK-IN AT NAIA 3 AT 2000HRS / DEPARTURE FROM MANILA TO LISBON, PORTUGAL
APR 14 LISBON / FATIMA
Upon arrival in Lisbon, we will have a short visit to Jeronimo’s Monastery and the Church of St. Antonio Lisboa. Have a view of Belem Tower, Monument to the Discoveries, Baixa, Praca do Comercio and Suspension Bridge. Then drive to Fatima. Proceed to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
APR 15 FATIMA
Have breakfast at the hotel. Commence a half-day guided tour which includes visit of the Lady of Fatima Basilica, the house of Lucia and the house of Francisco and Jacinta. Celebrate private Mass. Afternoon is free at leisure for your private devotion. In the evening after dinner, you may wish to participate at the Candlelight Procession and evening Rosary. Overnight at the hotel.
APR 16 FATIMA / LISBON / BARCELONA (fly)
After breakfast and check-out at the hotel, drive back to Lisbon airport to catch your flight to Barcelona. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
APR 17 BARCELONA / MONTSERRAT / BARCELONA
After breakfast, drive to Montserrat to see Monastir de Montserrat, a Benedictine abbey located on the mountain. Have a guided tour to visit the Royal Basilica, one of Spain’s most important pilgrimage sites for hundreds of years, due to its famous 12th century Romanesque carving of the Virgen Moroneta, the Black Virgin. Return to Barcelona. Then visit the Basilica De La Sagrada Familia; view of the Plaza Espana, Plaza Reial, Plaza Cataluna, Olympic Stadium, Monument Christopher Columbus, Arch of Triumph. Have dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel for overnight.
APR 18 BARCELONA / LOURDES
Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Have a long distance drive to Lourdes. – one of the great pilgrimage shrines in the world, where in the Grotto of Massabielle, a beautiful lady revealed herself to a young sick child named Bernadette, that she is the Immaculate Concepcion. Check-in at the hotel for dinner and overnight.
APR 19 LOURDES
Breakfast at the hotel. Concelebrate Mass at the Grotto of Lourdes. Then we’ll have a half-day guided tour on foot to the Sanctuaries in Lourdes; the Boly Water-mill (St. Bernadette’s birth place). Walk the Way of the Cross, pray the rosary, drink the Holy Water, visit the Miraculous baths (if open) in your free time in the afternoon. You may also join the pilgrims around the world for a torch light procession and Rosary in the evening. Have dinner and overnight at the hotel.
APR 20 LOURDES / PARIS (train)
After an early breakfast and check-out at the hotel, we will transfer to Lourdes train station to take a 2nd class TGV train going to Paris. Rest of the time is free at your own leisure. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
APR 21 PARIS
After breakfast, we will celebrate Mass at Miraculous Medal Church at Rue de Bac. This is where the incorruptible body of St. Catherine de Laboure lies and where the heart of St. Vincent de Paul is kept. Have a guided tour of the Miraculous Medal Church, the Church of St. Vincent de Paul. Continue our tour of this breathtakingly beautiful city that includes a view of the famous Eiffel Tower (photo stop). Then visit to Sacre Coeur Basilica. View of the Place de la Concorde, Arch de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs Elysse viewpoint, Les Invalides, Louvre Museum and Seine river banks. Have dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel for overnight stay.
APR 22 PARIS / ROME (fly) / SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO
Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Proceed to Paris Airport for your flight to Rome. Upon arrival in Rome, we will proceed for a long distance drive to San Giovanni Rotondo. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
APR 23 SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO / ASSISI
After breakfast and check-out, have a guided tour to visit the Shrine of St. Padre Pio, which centers on his tomb inside the Church of Our Lady of Grace (Santa Maria delle Grazie). Here you can also see his cell, his confessional, the crucifix from which he received the stigmata, and nearly everything he owned or touched, carefully preserved and labeled. Then continue on our long distance drive to Assisi. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
APR 24 ASSISI / ROME
After breakfast and check-out, we will have a half-day guided tour on foot of Assisi which includes a visit to Santa Maria Degli Angeli Church, the Santa Chiara Church, the Lower (Inferiore), Upper (Superiore). Visit also to San Damiano Monastery. Then have a long distance drive back to Rome. Rest of the time is free. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.
APR 25 ROME
Breakfast at the hotel. We will have a half-day guided tour to see the Classical Rome: View of the Arch of Constantine, Monument Vittorio Emanuelle II, Circus Maximus; the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and at the Piazza Navona. Visit the Pantheon Church. Rest of the time is free at leisure and for souvenir shopping. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
APR 26 ROME
After an early breakfast (or bring your boxed breakfast), we will attend the General Papal Audience. Then have a guided tour to visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel; entrance to the St. Peter Basilica, destination of all Catholics coming from all over the world. Have dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel for overnight.
APR 27 ROME / MANILA
Breakfast and check-out. Have a half-day guided tour to visit the Major Basilicas: San Giovanni in Laterano Church, the St. Mary Major’s Basilica, and the St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica. Transfer to Rome airport to catch your flight back to Manila.
APR 28 MANILA
HOME SWEET HOME!!!