The Confraternityof St. Peter
welcomes you on a Pilgrimage to Barcelona & Montserrat, Spain and the
Shrines of France
September 27-October 6, 2010
with Fr. James Fryar, FSSP
& Fr. Matthew McNeely, FSSP
Join us on a wonderful journey starting off in Barcelona and culminating in Paris, to visit Marian Shrines, both ancient and new, and to honor the great contributions of Dom Geuranger (19th Cnt. restorer of the Traditional Liturgy and Gregorian Chant in France) and St. Louis Marie de Montfort (18th Cnt. Missionary of Western France and inspiration of the Vendean Martyrs).
Pilgrimage Highlights
- Barcelona's famous unfinished cathedral, Sagrada Familia
- Grotto of Montserrat in
the Catalonian Mountain Range of N. Spain- The Sanctuary of Lourdes, nestled in the French Pyrenees
- Nightly Rosary & Candlelight Processions
in Lourdes- Rocamadour, a village devoted to Our Lady for over 900 years; built on
the face of a limestone cliff- Vespers & Gregorian Chant with the monks at the Abbey of Fontgombault
- Shrine of St. Louis de Montfort in W. France
- Memorial of Vendee
-Convent in Nevers where rests the mortal remains of beautiful St. Bernadette
- The best of Paris;
Cathedral of Notre Dame, Basilica of Sacre Coeur, Rue du Bac (Miraculous
Medal Shrine of St. Catherine Laboure)_________________________
Travel Itinerary
Day 1 - Afternoon departure from your home city on-board a flight to Barcelona, Spain.
Day 2 - Morning arrival and tour of Barcelona, an exciting Mediterranean city where many of the Spanish explorers set out on their expeditions to the New World. Take in a panoramic city tour and visit of the unfinished Sagrada Familia Cathedral (the work of Barcelona’s famous architect, Antonio Gaudi). Continue northwest into the spectacular Montserrat Mountain Range of Catalonia, situated 4,300 feet above sea level, for Vespers at the 8th Cnt. Benedictine monastery and Holy Grotto of La Moreneta where St. Ignatius of Loyola came on pilgrimage in 1522. Overnight in Montserrat.
Day 3 - Morning departure northwest crossing over the Pyrenees to Lourdes in the south of France. Mid-afternoon arrival and visit to the Sanctuary of Lourdes where Our Blessed Mother came to visit young Bernadette Soubirous at the Grotto of Massabiele in 1858. Walk along the River Gave that Bernadette was crossing on her way to gather firewood when she first saw the “beautiful lady” who proclaimed herself as “the Immaculate Conception”; a title that Pope Pius IX had given to Our Lady four years earlier. Also visit the Basilica of the Rosary, built over the grotto at the direct request of Our Lady. All are welcome to join in the nightly recitation of the Rosary & Candlelight Procession at the sanctuary (nightly). Overnight in Lourdes.
Day 4 - A full day to take in the wonders of Lourdes! Set out on walking tour in the steps of St. Bernadette to the home and Mill that she grew up in and the one room cell that her family lived in at the time of the apparitions. Later today all are welcome to participate in a majestic Procession of the Holy Eucharist & Blessing of the Sick at the Sanctuary. Overnight in Lourdes.
Day 5 - Morning visit to the Baths near the Grotto of Massabiele where healing water has been flowing since the time of the apparitions. Mid-day departure north for the medieval pilgrimage village of Rocamadour built into the sides of a limestone cliff carved out by the river Alzou, overlooking a beautiful valley. Evening arrival and overnight.
Day 6 - Morning visit to the Sanctuary of Rocamadour; wherein is kept an ancient image of the Black Madonna. Hear the legend of St. Amadour (1st. cnt.) and how an English king was one of the first to kneel in front of the image and experience a miraculous cure! Mid-day departure for the 11 th century Benedictine Abbey of Notre Dame de Fontgombault, one of the oldest monastic foundations in Europe. During the French Revolution the abbey was taken over and sold, only to be purchased back 40 years later by a young priest of the diocese, Dom Gueranger, author of the classic spiritual work, The Liturgical Year. He restored its monastic life and traditions with a special emphasis on the revival and preservation of the Roman Liturgy and Gregorian Chant. He was a great friend of Pope Pius IX and a staunch defender of his dogmas on the Immaculate Conception and the infallibility of the Pope. Early evening arrival in Fontgombault for Vespers and overnight.
Day 7 - Today set out west into the Vendée, the only region in France that strongly resisted the visceral anti-clerical revolution of the 1790’s, with almost a third of their population martyred. As their coat of arms, the Vendéan counter-revolutionary troops chose the red badge of the Sacred Heart introduced to them by St Louis-Marie de Montfort. A few generations earlier, this holy man traveled the Vendée on foot as an itinerant preacher; giving missions, setting up schools and confraternities, building roadside shrines and writing hymns and spiritual treasures to nurture the Faithful.
Our first stop will be at the Mémorial of Vendée, inaugurated by Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 1993, and the Chapel of Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne, site of one of the massacres of the revolution. The chapels stained glass windows and the memorial field of crosses and head-stones all tell of the 564 men, women & children martyred here in 1794, as they sought sanctuary from the revolutionary troops. Next, on to St. Laurent-sur-Sèvre, where St. Louis-Marie died in April of 1716, while preaching a mission. Thousands of faithful came for his burial and many stories have been told of miracles performed at his tomb ever since. Two hundred years later, St. Pius X cited St. Louis-Marie’s book, True Devotion to Mary, as the source for his 1904 Marian Encyclical, and granted an Apostolic Blessing to all who read it. Overnight in Saumur, the “Pearl of Anjou”, situated between two rivers in the Loire Valley.
Day 8 - Morning departure eastwards along the picturesque Loire River into Burgundy to visit the convent where St. Bernadette spent the last thirteen years of her life as a Sister of Charity. Upon a mid-day arrival, walk in the gardens that Bernadette loved and visit the chapel where her incorrupt body rests. Mid-afternoon departure for Paris. Late afternoon arrival in Paris and overnight.
Day 9 - Full day to enjoy the sights of this beautiful city, beginning with a visit to the majestic Cathedral of Sacre Coeur, at the summit of Montmartre (Martyrs Hill), overlooking all of Paris. Next, visit the convent on Rue du Bac, where Our Lady came to St. Catherine Laboure in 1831, asking her to promulgate a medal that soon became known as the “Miraculous Medal”. Then on to the exquisite 12th cnt. Cathedral of Notre-Dame, situated on an island in the heart of the city. Overnight in Paris.
Day 10 - Morning departure from Paris on-board a flight to your home city. _________________________________________
Tour Details
Dates: Sept. 27-Oct. 6, 2010
Cost: $3395 from NY
$3595 from Sacramento
Includes:
-R/T airfare from NY or Sacramento
- All airport taxes
-Land travel by luxury motor coach
-Good hotel accommodations
-Breakfast and Dinner daily
- All touring (as on itinerary)
- Daily Holy Mass
For more information, phone Tish Gallagher at 1-916-223-3112
For a New York departure; Click here to download a brochure (in pdf form). Click here to download a flyer.
For a Sacramento departure, click here to download a brochure in pdf form. Click here to download a flyer.
To reserve a space, please fill out the application within the bochure and send it with a $500 deposit to:
SYVERSEN TOURING
The Village Centre / P.O. Box 509
Bangall, NY 12506 / Ph: 1-800-334-5425