Marian Pilgrimage with FR. BENJIE LEDESMA

Arrive in Rome in the afternoon. Celebrate private Mass at one of the Churches. Proceed to hotel for check-in. Have dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Then have a full-day guided tour to visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Visit also the St. Peter Basilica, destination of all Catholics coming from all over the world. View of Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Monument Vittorio Emanuelle II, Circus Maximus. Photo stop of Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Have dinner at a local restaurant. Return to hotel for overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Then have a full-day guided tour to visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Visit also the St. Peter Basilica, destination of all Catholics coming from all over the world. View of Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Monument Vittorio Emanuelle II, Circus Maximus. Photo stop of Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Have dinner at a local restaurant. Return to hotel for overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Have the morning free at leisure. Then we will have a half-day guided tour to visit the Major Basilicas: Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica Basilica San Paul Outside the Walls, the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, and The Holy Steps. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, we will have a long-distance drive to San Giovanni Rotondo. Upon arrival, have a half-day 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. Check-in, dinner and overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, have a long-distance transfer to Lanciano to visit San Francesco Church at Lanciano where the Flesh and Blood of Christ is still miraculously preserved today in a monstrance that all can see and venerate. Continue for a long-distance drive to Cascia for a quick visit to the Basilica and Sta. Rita Chapel. Then have a short distance transfer to hotel in Assisi for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, we will have a half-day guided tour of Assisi which includes visit to Santa Maria Degli Angeli Church, the Santa Chiara Church, the Lower (Inferiore), Upper (Superiore). Have private Mass at St. Francis Basilica. Visit also to San Damiano Monastery. Proceed to Florence. Have a half-day guided tour to visit the Florence Cathedral (Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore). Photo stop of Piazza Michelangelo, Giotto’s Bell Tower, Florence Baptistery and Duomo complex. Transfer to hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, we will have a short distance drive to Pisa. Have some photo stop of the Leaning Tower, Square of Miracles, The Baptistry, and The Duomo. Continue on to Nice - a city in southern France on the Mediterranean coast. View the Massena Square, Promenade des Anglais, and Place Garibaldi. Check-in at hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

After breakfast and check-out, have a long-distance drive to Barcelona passing Montpellier. Transfer to hotel in Barcelona for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, celebrate private Mass. Have a long-distance transfer to Madrid via Zaragoza. Check-in, dinner and overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, have a half-day guided tour of Madrid with visit to the Royal Palace. View of Cibeles Fountain, Alcala Gates, Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Plaza de Espana and Prado Museum. Then transfer to Avila to visit St. Theresa Convent. Check-in, dinner and overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, have a long-distance drive to Fatima. Transfer to hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight. In the evening, you may wish to participate at the Candle Light Procession and Rosary.

Breakfast at hotel. Drive to Lisbon for a half-day guided to tour to visit Lisbon Cathedral and the Church of St. Antonio Lisboa. View of Belem Tower, Monument to the Discoveries, Baixa, Praca do Comercio and Suspension Bridge. Return to Fatima. Have a half-day guided tour to visit the Our Lady of Fatima Basilica. See the house of Francisco and Jacinta. Return to hotel in Fatima for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, have a long-distance drive to Salamanca and celebrate Mass. Transfer to hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, 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 hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at hotel. Have a private Mass at Chapel Lourdes. Morning is free for private devotion. You may bathe in the Healing Waters and witness the blessing of the sick. Walk the Way of the Cross. In the afternoon, have a half-day guided tour to visit the Sanctuaries in Lourdes. See also St. Bernadette’s house in Massabielle and the cachot where she stayed with her family. Back to hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Transfer to Lourdes train station to take a 2nd class TGV train going to Paris, the heart of Europe’s most romantic city. Transfer to hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we will visit the Miraculous Medal Church at Rue de Bac where the incorruptible body of St. Catherine de Laboure lies and where the heart of St. Vincent de Paul is kept. We will also visit St. Vincent de Paul Church nearby. Afterwards, we will have a half-day sightseeing guided tour of Paris which includes view of the Place de la Concorde, the Avenue des Champs Elysees (view point), Arc du Triomphe Memorial, Les Invalides and Seine River banks. View also of the famous Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum. Then have a one-hour Bateaux Parisien cruise. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.

Have breakfast at the hotel. Then drive to Lisieux and have a half-day guided tour to visit the Holy sites of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, which includes St. Therese House (the Maison Buissonet) and the Chapelle de Sainte Therese in Lisieux. Drive back to Paris. Have dinner at a local restaurant before returning to hotel for overnight.

Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Celebrate private Mass at one of the Catholic Churches. Then have a short visit Sacre Coeur. Rest of the day is free at your own leisure for last minute shopping before transfer to Paris airport to catch flight to Manila.

“Home Sweet Home”!!!