Marian Pilgrimage with FR. LEONARD HERNANDEZ

Arrival in Paris in the afternoon. Proceed to the hotel for check-in. Have dinner and overnight at the hotel.

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. Then have a short visit to Sacre Coeur. Afterwards, we will have a half-day sightseeing guided tour of Paris which includes views 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 late in the afternoon, we will have a one-hour Bateaux Mouches Cruise. Have dinner at a local restaurant. Return to the hotel for overnight.

Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Transfer to Paris train station to take a 2^nd class TGV train going 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. Have some free time. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Have a private Mass at Chapel Lourdes. Have a half-day guided tour on foot to visit the Sanctuaries in Lourdes. Afternoon 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.  Back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, have a long-distance drive to Salamanca. Check-in at the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, have a guided tour to visit the Salamanca Cathedral New & Old Cloister and Museum (UNESCO listed). Photo stops of University of Salamanca, Plaza Mayor, Old Cathedral (Catedral Vieja), New Cathedral (Catedral Nueva) and Palacio de Monterrey. Have a long-distance drive to Fatima. Transfer to the hotel for check-in and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Have a half-day guided tour to visit the Our Lady of Fatima Basilica. See the house of Francisco and Jacinta, and the house of Lucia. Rest of the time is free on your own for your private devotions. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, we will have a long-distance drive to Avila to visit St. Theresa Convent. Then continue to Madrid. Check-in, dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Have a half-day guided tour to visit the St. Isidore’s Collegiate Church (Real Basilica Colegiata de San Isidro). View of Cibeles Fountain, Alcala Gates, Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Plaza de Espana and Prado Museum. Have some free time before going back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Have a long-distance drive to Zaragoza. Visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Pilar in Zaragoza. Continue driving to Barcelona. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, have a guided tour to visit the Basilica De La Sagrada Familia. View of the Plaza Espana, Plaza Reial, Plaza Cataluna, Olympic Stadium, Monument Christopher Columbus, Arch of Triumph. Then drive to Montserrat to see Monastir de Montserrat, a Benedictine abbey located on the mountain. Visit the Royal Basilica, one of Spain’s most important pilgrimage sites for hundreds of years, due to its famous 12^th century Romanesque carving of the Virgen Moroneta, the Black Virgin. Return to Barcelona. Have dinner at an international restaurant before returning to the hotel for overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, have a long-distance transfer to Nice. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, we will have a view Massena Square, Promenade del Anglais, Place Garibaldi. Start our long-distance drive to Pisa. Have some photo stops of the Leaning Tower, Square of Miracles, The Baptistry, and The Duomo. Then continue driving to Florence. Check-in at the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

After breakfast and check-out, have a sightseeing tour which includes photo stops of the Florence Cathedral (Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore), Piazza Michelangelo, Giotto’s Bell Tower, Florence Baptistery and Duomo complex. Then continue for a long-distance drive to Assisi. Upon arrival, we will have a guided tour of Assisi which includes visits to Santa Maria Degli Angeli Church, the Santa Chiara Church. the Lower (Inferiore), Upper (Superiore). Have a private Mass at St. Francis Basilica. Visit also to San Damiano Monastery. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

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. Then drive to San Giovanni Rotondo.  Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, 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. We will have a long-distance drive to Rome. Check-in, dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Have a boxed breakfast from the hotel. Attend the General Papal Audience at the Vatican. Then have a half-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. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. We will have a full-day guided tour to include visits to the Major Basilicas: Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, Salus Infirmorum, the Basilica St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, and The Holy Steps. Dinner at a local restaurant. Return to the hotel for overnight.

Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. If time permits, we will have some photo stops of Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Piazza Navona, and Trevi Fountain before transfer to Rome airport to catch your flight to Manila.

“Home Sweet Home”!!!