Madrid • Loyola • Pamplona • Manresa • Montserrat • Rome
There are no trip dates scheduled at this time.
Trip Itinerary ~ 10 Days
Day 1: Depart USA for Madrid, Spain
Day 2: Arrival and tour of Madrid. Dinner and overnight in Madrid.
Day 3: Fly to Bilbao and drive to Loyola. Visit Loyola in the AM and celebrate Mass in the room of conversion, taking a tour of the Basilica and sites relevant to Ignatius. Travel to Pamplona and enjoy lunch. We will visit the Cathedral of Royal Saint Mary then onwards to Javier for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4: Tour Javier Castle in AM and Mass in Castle Church. Travel to Manresa via Huesca for lunch. Arrive in Manresa where St. Ignatius settled and lived for eleven months. He stayed here much longer than anticipated and considered his time here as very important. See the church where Ignatius prayed and the hospital where he worked (chapel of the rapture) and the bridge of pilgrims. Dinner and overnight in Manresa.
Day 5: Travel to Monserrat, celebrate morning mass and visit the Basilica of Our Lady. The Black Virgin of Montserrat (also called Our Lady of Montserrat and La Moreneta) is located inside the basilica. It is said that Virgin Mary and her infant son have healing powers. Walk around the Montserrat Shrine where there will be time for prayer and private devotion. After lunch we will travel to Barcelona Tour of Sagrada familia- See the Sword of St. Ignatius (chapel of the sacred heart). Free time on Las Ramblas in late afternoon. Dinner and overnight in Barcelona.
Day 6: Fly to Rome in the morning and visit Church of the Gesu. First conceived in 1551 by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, and active during the Protestant Reformation and the subsequent Catholic Counter-Reformation, the Gesü was also the home of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus until the suppression of the order in 1773. Free time before dinner and overnight in Rome.
Day 7: After breakfast we will be visiting St. Mary Major, the main Basilica dedicated to Mary in Rome. Pope Francis tomb is locate in the basilica. We will also see the remains of Jesus' manger, the tomb of Bernini, the remains of St Matthew the Evangelist, the tomb of St. Jerome, and the oldest icon in the world of the Virgin Mary painted by St. Luke: the famous Salus Popuii Romanis After lunch, we will proceed to St. John Lateran, the first Basilica ever to be built in the Roman Empire and the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Visit the Scala Santa, the stairs on which Jesus walked in the residence of Pontius Pilate on Good Friday. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
Day 8: Start the day around 9:30 am, by visiting the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's private chapel). Proceed to St. Peter's in the Vatican, the largest Basilica in the world. After lunch, tour the Catacombs where 500,000 early Christians were buried and then celebrate Mass. Tour of the Colosseum from the outside, the symbol of the city of Rome; a great building that has been standing since 80 A.D. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
Day 9: We will have an early start as our private bus takes us to the Vatican to experience the Audience with the Pope. There will be time for lunch in the Vatican area. After lunch we will visit the Spanish Steps known for the area where the Romans gathered to meet followed by a walk to the Trevi Fountain. We will continue on from there to the Pantheon, the oldest functional building in the world. We will conclude by visiting the great artistic Piazza Navona. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
Day 10: Return flight from Rome to USA
Trip Includes
- A Catholic priest will be with the group to celebrate daily Mass.
- Round-trip airfare from your hometown connecting in a major city to fly overseas is included.
- Airport taxes, security fees, and fuel surcharges!
- Exclusively 4 or 5 star hotels in downtown areas.
- All breakfasts and all dinners. Wine is included with all dinners.
- Transportation with luxury bus.
- All entrance fees to all the sites.
- All tips to everyone involved in the tour.
- The tour fees for our guides. Our tour guides are well educated, caring, and professional. Most of them have their PhDs in Church history, archeology, philosophy, languages, or Theology.
- Luggage handling. Please pack light, one piece of luggage and one carry-on.
- Dress casually throughout the whole trip. Shoulders and knees should be covered when visiting basilicas or churches.
- If you are traveling alone and you allow us to find you a roommate, you don't pay the single supplement. If you wish to have your own room and you are not open to rooming with another passenger, then the single supplement fee is $1,100.
- Wheelchair can be provided for those passengers who cannot walk, with prior notice at registration for $150. A traveling companion has to push the wheelchair throughout the trip.
- NOTE: If you wish to deepen your knowledge of the Catholic Faith as a preparation for this pilgrimage, we recommend the following book as it is faithful to the teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church (Imprimatur by ARCHBISHOP FELIPE AGUIRRE FRANCO): The Catholic Faith in Easy Terms. Introduction, Nihil Obstat, and Imprimatur by Archbishop Felipe Aguirre Franco.
- At the time of registration, as a part of the total balance, a non-refundable $500 deposit is due in the form of a credit card. For example, if your trip costs $3,700, when you sign up, you pay a $500 deposit, then your balance would be $3,200. Final balance is due 4 months before departure date.
- One month after registration, a $1,000 additional deposit is due only in the form of cash, personal check, cashiers check, or money order.
- If you sign up after the final payment due date or at the last minute, you pay the entire cost of the trip at registration only in the form of cash, personal check, cashiers check, or money order.
Trip Does Not Include
- Lunch
- Insurance ~ The total trip cost is non-refundable, we recommend trip insurance to protect your investment.