Marian Shrines with Fr. Roy Eco

Arrival in Lisbon & Fátima

Upon arrival at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, our local professional tour escort will greet us and accompany us by motorcoach north to Fátima, where Our Lady appeared six times to three shepherd children between May and October of 1917.

After check-in, we gather this evening for a special Mass celebrated by our chaplain, Fr. Roy Eco, in honor of the 47th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Fr. Roy was ordained on May 13, 1980, the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima, and there is no more fitting place in the world to mark that anniversary than at the shrine of the very feast on which he was called to the priesthood.

Following Mass, we gather for a welcome dinner before joining the faithful for the Candlelight Rosary Procession, celebrated this evening on the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima.

Fátima

Today is devoted entirely to the Fátima sanctuary. We begin with Mass at the Capelinha das Aparições, built on the very spot where Our Lady appeared to Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. We then visit the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, where the tombs of St. Jacinta, St. Francisco, and Sr. Lúcia invite quiet prayer. Continuing to the Igreja Matriz de Fátima, we visit the parish church where the three shepherd children were baptized. This evening we join the faithful for the Candlelight Marian Procession.

Fátima, Santarém, St. Anthony’s & Lisbon

This morning we make our way along the Way of the Cross through Aljustrel, Valinhos, and Loca do Cabeço, the sites of the apparitions and the appearances of the Angel of Peace, walking in the footsteps of the three shepherd children across the same countryside they traversed over a century ago. We then begin our journey south toward Lisbon, stopping in Santarém to venerate one of the most significant Eucharistic miracles in the history of the Church. In the 13th century, a consecrated host began to bleed and has been venerated at the Church of St. Stephen ever since, drawing pilgrims for nearly eight centuries. Continuing south to Lisbon, we celebrate Mass at the Church of St. Anthony of Lisbon, built on the site where the beloved Doctor of the Church was born in 1195, before checking in to our hotel for dinner.

Sintra, Sé & Lisbon

This morning we journey to Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage town, to visit the historic Moorish Castle, built during the 8th and 9th centuries, its ramparts offering sweeping views across the surrounding countryside. We then have time to explore Sintra’s charming town center before returning to Lisbon. In the afternoon we visit the Lisbon Cathedral, the Sé, the oldest church in the city dating to 1147.

Lisbon & Lourdes

After breakfast, we transfer to Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport for our flight to Toulouse, France. Upon arrival, we board our motorcoach for the drive to Lourdes, arriving in the evening. Lourdes is one of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in the world, the site where Our Lady appeared eighteen times to the young St. Bernadette Soubirous between February and July of 1858. Those who wish may join the faithful this evening for the Candlelight Marian Procession at the shrine.

Lourdes

We spend the day immersed in the grace of the Lourdes sanctuary. We begin with Mass before visiting the Grotto of Massabielle, where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette and revealed the miraculous spring whose waters have been associated with countless healings. We tour St. Bernadette’s childhood home and the basilica grounds, visit the Carmelite Monastery, and enter the underground Basilica of St. Pius X, one of the largest churches in the world, capable of holding 25,000 pilgrims. The afternoon includes the healing baths and the Eucharistic Procession before we gather this evening for the Candlelight Marian Procession.

Lourdes & Zaragoza

After breakfast we bid farewell to Lourdes and cross into Spain, making our way to Zaragoza, home to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. This magnificent shrine stands on the site where Our Lady appeared to the Apostle James on the banks of the Ebro River in 40 AD, before her Assumption into heaven, making it the oldest Marian shrine in the world. We celebrate Mass here and venerate the small fifteenth-century wooden statue of Our Lady atop the pillar she is said to have left as a sign of her presence.

Zaragoza, Montserrat & Barcelona

Following breakfast we depart for Montserrat, the dramatic mountain monastery of Catalonia rising nearly 4,000 feet above the surrounding plains. The Benedictine Monastery of Montserrat, founded in the 11th century, is home to La Moreneta, the beloved Black Madonna, a Romanesque statue of Our Lady venerated since the 12th century and considered the patron of Catalonia. We celebrate Mass and venerate the image before continuing to Barcelona for hotel check-in and dinner.

Barcelona & Sagrada Família

This morning we visit the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí’s extraordinary unfinished masterpiece, under construction since 1882 and consecrated as a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Its soaring towers and intricate facades, drawing on Gothic and Art Nouveau traditions, are a breathtaking meditation in stone on the life of Christ and the mysteries of the faith. We celebrate Mass here before enjoying a guided tour of Barcelona, taking in the Gothic Quarter, Las Ramblas, and the city’s rich Catalan heritage.

Return home

With hearts renewed by the grace of pilgrimage and the intercession of Our Lady of Fátima, Our Lady of Lourdes, and Our Lady of the Pillar, we transfer to Barcelona’s El Prat Airport for our return flight home to the United States.