Day 1 – Depart Usa

Today: Depart for JFK or LAX with complimentary meals and beverages served onboard your international flight.

Day 2 – Lisbon

Arrival in Lisbon, meeting with your guide and driver. Our pilgrimage begins with a visit of the city: Placa dos Rossios, Placa dos restauradores. We will continue to the Cathedral of Lisbon to celebrate Mass. The Cathedral’s construction dates from the twelfth century and is predominantly Romanesque in style. Its official name is Santa Maria Maior. Surprisingly, it has survived several natural disasters, like the great earthquake of 1755, which left part of the religious edifice in ruins. The Cathedral’s Gothic cloister is similar in style to the Jerónimos Monastery, although a little smaller. Inside the cloister, you’ll see several Roman, Arabic and Medieval remains, which have been excavated a few years. Our next stop is in the Church of Nossa Senora de Conceicao Velha. We enjoy time for lunch. Afterward, we visit the quarter of Alfama and the Castle of St Jorge. São Jorge Castle (Castelo de São Jorge) is one of Lisbon’s most emblematic landmarks. The silhouette of the Castle stands out both by day and when illuminated at night, located on the summit of São Jorge hill, the highest in Lisbon. The Castle reached its maximum splendor during the thirteenth century and lasted until the sixteenth century when it was occupied by both the Kings of Portugal and the Bishop.Dinner and overnight in Lisbon.

Day 3 – Lisbon

We enjoy breakfast in hotel. We start our day in Lisbon visiting the Monastry Dos Jeronimos and the Belem tower. The Jerónimos Monastery, also called Hieronymites Monastery, is along with the Tower of Belém, one of the most visited sites in Lisbon. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1983. This landmark is called Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Portuguese. The religious building was designed by the Portuguese architect Diogo de Boitaca to commemorate the return of Vasco da Gama from India. The construction began on 6 January 1501 and wasn’t completed until the seventeenth century. The building is predominantly Manueline style (Portuguese late Gothic). We will continue visit with the Church of St. Anthony where we celebrate Mass. Santo António (better known as Saint Anthony of Padua), revered as a matchmaker, protector of young brides, and patron of the lost and found, was actually born in Lisbon, on the site of this church. Work began in 1757, and the façade blends the Baroque style with Neoclassical Ionic columns. Inside, the altar features an image of the saint with Christ in his arms, the sacristy is faced with 18th-century tiles, andthere is a modern tile panel commemorating the visit of St. Pope John Paul II to the church in 1982. At the end of our visit, we transfer to Fatima. We will attend the torchlight procession and rosary. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.

Day 4 – Fatima

We visit Os Valinhos. Valinhos is an emblematic place for the Fatima apparitions because it was there that the Angel appeared in 1916. In Valinhos, you will find the Way of the Cross on the path which the shepherds took, the Hungarian Calvary and the Loca do Cabeço. We will make the Via Crucis, the penitential liturgy and celebrate Holy Mass. We continue with a visit to the house of the three shepherds in Adjustrel. We return to Fatima, for lunch and free time for personal prayer, rosary and torchlight procession,

Dinner and overnight in Fatima.

Day 5 - Fatima

We travel to Santarem for the day. Visit of the Castle of Santarem and the Convent of St. Francis. Founded in the 13th century by King Sancho II, the Convent of St. Francis is one of the most important Mendicant Gothic constructions in Portugal. The Convent became particularly relevant in the 15th century after King John II made the oath of allegiance there. Visit and celebrate Mass at the Church of St. Stephen or the Miracle Church. In this church, the Relic of the Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem is conserved. The Eucharistic Miracle of Santarém, together with that of Lanciano, is considered among the most important Eucharistic miracles. Numerous studies and canonical analyses were carried out on the relics. The Host changed into bleeding Flesh and Blood flowed out of the Blessed Sacrament. We return to Fatima for lunch. In the afternoon, we visit of the Museum of the Shrine of Fatima which collects thousands of objects connected with the appearance of The Virgin. Among the collection nestled in the crown of the Virgin is the bullet which hit St. Pope John Paul II during the assassination attempt of May 13, 1981 in St Peter’s Square. Visit of the Basilica of the Blessed Trinity. Free time for individual prayer and torchlight procession and rosary. Dinner and overnight in Fatima.

Day 6 – Bathalha/Alcobaca/Nazarè

Breakfast and Holy Mass. We transfer to Bathala where a decisive event for the consolidation of the Portuguese nation took place on 14 August 1385: D. João, Mestre de Avis and future king of Portugal defeated the Spanish armies in the battle of Aljubarrota. The victory put an end to a dynastic crisis which had dragged on since 1383, the year of the death of King D. Fernando, whose only daughter was married to the King of Castile, pretender to the throne of Portugal. Fr. João dedicated the Bathala Monastery to the Virgin Mary, whom he had invoked to intercede with God for victory to give it to the Dominican Order, of which his confessor belonged. Thus, was born a work whose construction would last for almost two centuries and which, once completed, turned out to be one of the most fascinating Gothic monuments of the Iberian Peninsula. The architectural value and historical significance of the building led UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage Site in 1983. We will visit of the Bathala Monastery and continue to Alcobaha. After lunch, we visit the Alcobaça Monastery defined as one of the most beautiful and majestic Cistercian monasteries in the world, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the Gothic style, the Alcobaça Monastery leaves pilgrims speechless for the immense vastness of its dimensions combined with the total simplicity and nakedness of the interior, a very particular and unusual choice for Gothic architecture. Its very high naves loom over the visitor like an austere and sober forest of columns, a magnificent glance. At the end of the visit, we transfer to Nazarè, a seaside town famous for its spectacular waves. Dinner and overnight in Nazare.

Day 7 – Coimbra/Oporto

After breakfast, we departure for Coimbra on the banks of the River Mondego. Coimbra is famous for its university, the oldest in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe, which over time has shaped its image to become “the city of students”. We begin our visit at the university founded in the XIIIth Century which UNESCO placed on its list of World Heritage sites, in a classification that also includes Rua da Sofia and the upper part of the city. We will visit the Carmel Monastery of St. Theresa. Among the many religious who lived in the Carmel of Saint Theresa, Sister Lúcia, seer of Fátima, stands out. Sister Lucia lived in the convent from 1948 to 2005 (the year she died) having professed in 1949. After the death of Sister Lúcia, the Carmel of Saint Theresa created the Sister Lúcia’s Memorial, where you can see a replica of her cell, as well as some of her personal belongings, photographs, her manual work and other elements that help us understand her life. We will celebrate Holy Mass. Then, we will continue to Oporto. Upon arrival, we visit the city. S. Bento Station, with its atrium lined with tiles, is an ideal starting point for the visit. The Cathedral, offers the first view of the river, the cascading houses and the opposite bank which are not to be missed. From there you descend by steps and mediaeval streets to Ribeira, with its café terraces and picturesque corners. Dinner and overnight in Oporto.

Day 8 – Oporto/Pontevedra

After breakfast, we continue our visit of Porto and transfer to the border between Portugal and Spain. We visit of the Medieval city of Valenca do Minho. Valença do Minho is a fortified village, strategically located above the Miño River, close to the Spanish border, which constitutes one of the greenest and most fertile lands of this region of northern Portugal. This peculiar divided city constituted the first defense line against attacks from the neighboring country. We will continue our trip to Pontevedra stopping in Tui. The border town of Tui (Castilian: Tuy) draws Portuguese and Spanish day trippers with its lively bar scene, tightly packed medieval center and magnificent cathedral. It’s well worth strolling round the Old Town and down to the Paseo Fluvial, a riverside path that heads 1km down the Miño. The highlight of the old town is the fortress-like Cathedral de Santa Maria. Begun in the 12th century, it reflects a stoic Romanesque style in most of its construction, though the ornate main portal is considered to be the earliest work of Gothic sculpture on the Iberian Peninsula. We will visit the Cathedral and transfer to Pontevedra We will celebrate Mass at the Church of the Pilgrim’s Virgin. Dinner and overnight in Pontevedra.

Day 9 Pontevedra/Santiago de Compostela

After breakfast, we will departure for Santiago de Compostela. Upon arrival at the City of Santiago and its fantastic square: Plaza de l’Obradoiro, de la Quintana e de la Imaculada, we celebrate Cathedral and Holy Mass of the Pilgrim with the Botafumeiro. After lunch, we visit the Baroque Monastery of San Martin Pinario. Dinner and overnight in Santiago.

Day 10 – Santiago/Finisterre/Santiago

Full day excursion to Cabo Finisterre and the coast also known as the “End of the World. We celebrate Mass and visit the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Barca in Muxia where the body of St. James arrived from the Holy Land. Enjoy seafood for lunch and return to Santiago with a stop in the fisherman town of Carnota and Muros. Dinner and overnight in Santiago.

Day 11 - Santiago/Braga.

Breakfast in our hotel. Free time in Santiago for personal prayer at the Sepulcher of St James. In the late morning departure to Portugal. Arrival in Braga and time for Lunch.In the afternoon visit of Bom Jesus do Monte. As a re-evocation of the New Jerusalem, Sacred Mountains offered pilgrims an opportunity to visit the Holy Places by conjuring up, on a smaller scale, the buildings in which Christ’s Passion took place. The design of the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus, with its Baroque nature emphasised by the zigzag form of its stairways, influenced many other sites in Portugal (like Lamego) and colonial Brazil, like the Sanctuary of Congonhas. As the pilgrims climbed the stairs, (by tradition encouraged to do so on their knees) they encountered a theological programme that contrasted the senses of the material world with the virtues of the spirit, at the same time as they experienced the scenes of the Passion of Christ. The culmination of the effort was the temple of God, the church on the top of the hill. The presence of several fountains along the stairways give the idea of purification of the faithful. Holy Mass and time for personal devotion. Accomodation in our hotel, dinner and overnight.

Day 12 Braga/Lisbona/Usa

Visit of Braga and departure to Lisbon for the return flight.