Marian Shrines, Paris & Lisieux
Thirteen days from Fátima to Paris, by way of Santarém, Sintra, Barcelona, Montserrat, Zaragoza, Lourdes and Lisieux, with Bishop Gerald Kicanas and Deacon Ed Sheffer.
Your chaplain and deacon
Bishop Gerald Kicanas
Bishop Emeritus of Tucson
Bishop Gerald Kicanas is bishop emeritus of Tucson. Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1967, he served as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago and led the Diocese of Tucson from 2003 until his retirement in 2017. He was vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2007 to 2010.
He travels with us for the whole pilgrimage, offering daily Mass, confession and the sacraments.
Deacon Ed Sheffer
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Tucson
Deacon Ed Sheffer was ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Tucson in 2003 and serves at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Tucson as pastoral associate and director of youth and young adult ministries.
He travels with us for the whole pilgrimage.
“I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Our Lady to St. Bernadette, Lourdes, March 25, 1858
The name Our Lady gave at the Grotto of Massabielle. We spend two nights in Lourdes, celebrating Mass at the Sanctuary, praying at the Grotto and joining the Candlelight Marian Procession.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes · Lourdes
Portugal, Spain & France, April 2 to 14, 2027
Thirteen days, eleven nights in Fátima, Lisbon, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Lourdes and Paris, with Santarém, Sintra, Montserrat and Lisieux along the way.
Departure from the USA
Our pilgrimage begins as we depart the United States on our overnight flight to Lisbon, Portugal.
Arrival in Lisbon, Santarém, St. Anthony’s & Fátima
Note: Santarém and St. Anthony’s are subject to the group’s arrival time.
Upon arrival at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, our local professional tour escort will greet us and accompany us by motorcoach toward Fátima. Time permitting, we stop in Lisbon to celebrate Mass at the Church of St. Anthony, built on the site where the beloved Doctor of the Church was born in 1195, and continue north to Santarém to venerate one of the most significant Eucharistic miracles in the history of the Church, a consecrated host that began to bleed in the 13th century and has been enshrined at the Church of St. Stephen ever since. We arrive in Fátima in time for hotel check-in and our welcome dinner together. Those who wish may join the faithful for the nightly Candlelight Rosary Procession at the shrine.
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, and the Igreja Matriz de Fátima, the parish church where the three shepherd children were baptized. The afternoon takes us 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. This evening we join the faithful for the Candlelight Marian Procession.
Fátima, Sintra & Lisbon
After breakfast we bid farewell to Fátima and make our way south. This morning we journey to Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage town, to visit the Palácio da Pena, the vivid 19th-century Romantic palace perched atop the hills of the Sintra mountains, its colorful towers and terraces offering sweeping views across the surrounding countryside to the Atlantic coast. We then have time to explore Sintra’s charming town center before continuing into Lisbon, where we visit the Lisbon Cathedral, the Sé, the oldest church in the city dating to 1147.
Lisbon, Barcelona & Sagrada Família
After breakfast, we transfer to Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport for our flight to Barcelona. Upon arrival, we make our way to the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí’s extraordinary 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 hotel check-in and dinner.
Barcelona, Montserrat & Zaragoza
Following breakfast we depart Barcelona and make our way to Montserrat, the dramatic mountain monastery of Catalonia rising nearly 4,000 feet above the surrounding plains. The Benedictine Monastery, founded in the 11th century, is home to La Moreneta, the beloved Black Madonna venerated since the 12th century and the patron of Catalonia. We celebrate Mass and venerate the image before continuing west to Zaragoza, home to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, the oldest Marian shrine in the world, built on the site where Our Lady appeared to the Apostle James on the banks of the Ebro River in 40 AD. We venerate the small Romanesque statue of Our Lady before gathering for dinner.
Zaragoza & Lourdes
After breakfast we depart Zaragoza and travel north through the Pyrenees into France, arriving in Lourdes, one of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in the world and the site where Our Lady appeared eighteen times to the young St. Bernadette Soubirous between February and July of 1858. After check-in and dinner, those who wish may join the faithful for the evening 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 join the faithful once more for the Candlelight Marian Procession.
Lourdes & Paris
After breakfast we transfer to Toulouse Airport for our flight north to Paris (we may also take the train to Paris). Upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport, our motorcoach meets us for the transfer into the city. This evening we enjoy a panoramic bus tour of Paris, taking in the great landmarks of the French capital before visiting the Eiffel Tower, the iconic iron lattice structure completed in 1889 for the World’s Fair and the most visited monument in the world.
Paris & Versailles
We begin the morning at the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur, consecrated in 1919, where perpetual Eucharistic adoration has been maintained without interruption since 1885. We celebrate Mass here before making our way to the Palace of Versailles, the extraordinary royal residence built by Louis XIV beginning in 1661 and the seat of French royal power for over a century. We tour the State Apartments, the dazzling Hall of Mirrors, and the formal gardens, among the finest examples of French classical design in the world.
Lisieux & St. Thérèse
Today we make our way by motorcoach to Lisieux, the Norman city where St. Thérèse Martin entered the Carmelite convent at the age of fifteen and lived her hidden life of love until her death in 1897 at the age of twenty-four. We visit the Basilica of St. Thérèse, one of the largest basilicas in the world, built in her honor following her canonization in 1925. We then visit the Carmel of Lisieux, where St. Thérèse professed her vows and where her relics are enshrined, and Les Buissonnets, the family home preserved as she knew it during her childhood and adolescence. We celebrate Mass before returning to Paris in the evening.
Paris, Notre-Dame, Rue du Bac & the Musée d’Orsay
This morning we visit Notre-Dame Cathedral, the great Gothic masterpiece on the Île de la Cité, its construction begun in 1163 and the cathedral solemnly reopened in December 2024 following reconstruction after the 2019 fire. We pray before the Crown of Thorns, brought to Paris by St. Louis in 1239 and among the most venerated relics in Christendom, before a guided walk through the Île de la Cité and the Latin Quarter. We then visit the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on the Rue du Bac, where Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Labouré in 1830 and entrusted her with the image now distributed by the hundreds of millions to the faithful throughout the world. In the afternoon we visit the Musée d’Orsay, set in a former Beaux-Arts railway station on the Left Bank and home to the world’s greatest collection of Impressionist art. As evening falls we make our way to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, strolling the grand boulevard beneath the Arc de Triomphe illuminated against the Parisian sky, before gathering for our farewell dinner together.
Departure from Paris
With hearts renewed by the intercession of Our Lady of Fátima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of the Pillar, and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, we transfer to Charles de Gaulle Airport for our return flight home to the United States.
What’s included
Everything below is covered by the package price.
Your hotels in Portugal, Spain and France
Four-star hotels throughout: two nights in Fátima, one in Lisbon, one in Barcelona, one in Zaragoza, two in Lourdes and four in Paris. Hotels are subject to final confirmation; if a hotel changes, it is replaced with one of the same standard.
Price per person
Per person, including roundtrip group airfare. Premium economy and business class are available: call us for pricing.
Shared rooms are always doubles with two beds. If you would like us to match you with a roommate, tell us when you book and we will do our best. Please note that if we cannot find you a match by the final payment date of January 2, 2027, the single room supplement will apply.
Couples, families, friends, singles, all are welcome!
Some pilgrims come as a couple, some bring the whole family, some come with a friend from the parish, and plenty come on their own. Everyone is welcome.
$200 per person is non-refundable.
Final payment is due 90 days before departure. Payment plans are available if you would like to make smaller payments before then.
Check
ACH bank transfer
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Cash, money order or cashier’s check
Fátima, Lourdes, Lisieux and Paris
April 2 to 14, 2027, with Bishop Gerald Kicanas and Deacon Ed Sheffer. This pilgrimage is sold out. Join the waitlist and we will contact you as soon as a place opens.
Questions? Call +1 (800) 653-0017 or email hello@canterburypilgrimages.com.
Sold out. Join the waitlist for the next open place.
Frequently asked questions
This is an active program that covers a good amount of ground each day. Expect a wake-up call around 7am, departure by 9am and a return to the hotel between 5pm and 6pm. You should be able to walk 3 to 4 miles a day at a moderate pace, with uneven surfaces, stairs, cobblestones and some slopes. There are two internal flights, Lisbon to Barcelona and Toulouse to Paris, and a long coach day from Zaragoza across the Pyrenees to Lourdes.
Early April is spring: usually mild in Portugal and Spain, cooler in Lourdes at the foot of the Pyrenees and in Paris, with rain likely on some days. Bring layers, a warm jacket for the evening processions, a light rain jacket or umbrella and comfortable walking shoes.
Yes. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the return date, and passport cards are not accepted for international travel. We need your passport details at least 90 days before departure. Entry rules for Europe can change, so we will let you know before departure if anything new applies to your trip.
Rates are per person based on two pilgrims sharing a room. Shared rooms are always doubles with two beds. If you are travelling alone we will try to match you with a roommate of the same gender; if we cannot, the single room supplement applies.
Yes. The price includes group airfare; if you book your own flights, the price is reduced by $1,224. Tell us at registration so we can line your arrival up with the group’s in Lisbon on April 3 and its departure from Paris on April 14. Airport transfers outside the group flights can be booked for an additional cost.
Final payment is due on January 2, 2027, 90 days before departure. Payment plans are available if you would like to make smaller payments before then.
We strongly encourage travel insurance for all of our pilgrims, and we partner with Allianz Travel Insurance to offer affordable coverage. Most of our pilgrims choose the Classic Plan. Insurance can be quoted and purchased after registration.
A pilgrimage is not a vacation or excursion but a unique spiritual journey that provides many opportunities to deepen your relationship with God and enrich your Catholic faith by bringing Scripture to life. Pilgrimages offer the opportunity to let Christ draw you near.
More questions are answered in our Support Center, covering booking, payments, travel insurance, passports and what to expect on pilgrimage.