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Shrines of the Iberian Peninsula |
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Continued
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To
request information about pilgrimages, vacation
packages, and even business-related trips, please fill out the form below:
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Please note that for all your travel needs we now also have a
dedicated Travel Coordinator
who will work with you and your itinerary. This assistance
will include vacation
and business travels,
in addition to your pilgrimage tours.
If you would like to join a
pilgrimage
and you plan to depart FROM North America,
our Travel Coordinator
will help you setup your tour and pilgrimage packages. If
you will be departing from countries outside North
America, you will be referred to another Travel Coordinator
who specialize in those your area.
To visit that secure
Travel website,
please follow this link.
To request for travel information and assistance,
please follow this link. |
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To visit that secure Travel website,
please follow this link. |
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Portugal |
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Fatima |
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Fátima, is a city of approximately 10,000
inhabitants located in the district of
Santarém in central Portugal, 187 km south
of Porto and 123 km north of Lisbon. It is
famous for the religious visions that are
said to have taken place there in 1917.
Between May 13th and October 13th, 1917,
the "Virgin of the Rosary," the
Mother of God, appeared six times to three
shepherd children in a pasture called the
Cova da Iria ("Irene's Cove") near the
village of Aljustrel, about a mile from
Fátima, Portugal.
In all her appearances to the children the
Blessed Virgin repeatedly emphasized the necessity of
praying the Rosary daily, of wearing the brown scapular of
Mount Carmel and of
performing acts of reparation and
sacrifice.
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The Blessed Virgin also revealed 3
Secrets to the children. Two of those
had been previously revealed. The third
secret of Fatima has not yet been
revealed and was written by the last
living visionary of Fatima at that time,
Lucy Dos Santos, in 1944. The written
Secret had been in the possession of the
Holy See since 1957.
The Fatima Message has been officially
endorsed as “worthy of belief” since
1930. Five successive popes have
publicly indicated their approval and
belief in the validity and critical
importance of the Fatima apparitions.
Several popes have visited Fatima on
solemn pilgrimage. Pope John Paul II has
publicly credited Our Lady of Fatima for
saving his life during an assassination
attempt in 1981. |
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Church of the Miracle, Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem |
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In mid-13th century
Portugal, a woman of Santarem desperately sought the
counsel of a sorceress about the perceived infidelity of
her husband. The
sorceress promised to restore the affections of the
woman's wayward husband in exchange for a consecrated
Host.
The
woman realized that such an action, however, was
dreadfully wrong, and a sacrilege against the Real
Presence of Our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist. Despite
her trepidation, the woman went to Mass and received, but
did not consume, the Sacred Host.
After hurrying from the
church, she placed the Most Blessed Sacrament in her
kerchief, but without her noticing it, the Host had started to bleed profusely.
After being notified of the blood the woman rushed home
and placed the bleeding Blessed Sacrament in a trunk.
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That
night, the woman and her husband were awakened by the rays
of bright light emanating from the trunk. The parish
priest brought the miraculous Host back to the church in a
wax container and placed it in the tabernacle. Later when the
priest opened the tabernacle, the wax container was
broken, and found the crystal container with the Blood of
the Host! The church which contained the Sacred Host has
been re-named the Church of the Miracle. |
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To visit that secure Travel website,
please follow this link. |
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Spain |
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Shrines
of the Two Marys:
Catedral Nuestra Senora del Pilar,
Shrine of Mary Magdalene |
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Zaragoza,
Spain has two sacred shrines. One is the smaller
shrine of Mary Magdalene, and the other is the great
Catedral Nuestra Senora del Pilar, an enormous Cathedral
dedicated to the Virgin of the Pillar, the Patron Saint of
all Spain. The Cathedral marks the site of the first
recorded Marian apparition in Europe.
Our Lady of Zaragoza is closely associated
with the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. Before her
glorious assumption into |
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heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. James the
apostle on his way to northwestern Spain encouraging his
and his disciples on their journeys. Unlike her other
apparitions, when Our Lady appeared to St. James, she was
still living on earth in Jerusalem; she directed him to
build a church in her name. The only time the Blessed
Virgin Mary is known to have bilocated was when she
appeared to St. James at Zaragoza. Today the shrine of Our
Lady of Zaragoza is the second most famous pilgrimage site
in Spain and is the first chapel ever dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary. Many Spanish children make a
pilgrimage to the Virgin of El Pilar at the time of their
first Holy Communion. |
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Santiago de Compostela |
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St.
James the Apostle journeyed to Spain in 40 A.D. to spread
the gospel as far west as possible. He died after returning to Jerusalem and his remains were
eventually returned to Spain and buried in the city now
known as Santiago de Compostela.
St. James figured
significantly in the life of Jesus, as he was chosen to
witness the Transfiguration, the raising of the daughter
of Jairus from the dead and the curing of Peter's
mother-in-law and was present at Gethsemane on the eve of
the passion. Santiago de Compostela became the number one
pilgrimage site outside of Rome and all European roads led
there.
Santiago de Compostela
is the third-largest holy city of the Christian world and
is the only place other than Rome that is
allowed to have a Holy Year. Behind the alter is a crypt
which has a silver urn that contains the relics of St.
James.
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Santo
Domingo de Silos Monastery |
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Santo
Domingo de Silos Monastery is the home of the
Benedictine monks who recently became world famous after
their recordings of Gregorian chant hit record. These
cloistered monks are dedicated to serving Christ through
chastity, poverty and obedience.
Seven times
a day the monks gather in the cloister's church to raise
their voices to God in praise and thanksgiving. They
devote their lives to the study and |
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To visit that secure Travel website,
please follow this link. |
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Our Lady of
Montserrat |
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Seemingly hanging on to
the cliffs of the rugged mountain not far from Barcelona
is one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in
Spain: the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat. Since the
12th century, pilgrims have been drawn to the mountain to
venerate the miraculous statue of the Black Madonna (La
Moreneta).
The origin of the
devotion to Our Lady at the shrine of Montserrat
First known as La Jerosolimitana (the native of
Jerusalem), according to tradition, the miraculous image
is thought to have been carved there in the early days of
the Church. The statue was eventually given to St. Etereo,
Bishop of Barcelona, who brought it to Spain.
In the seventh century, when Saracens invaded Spain, the
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Christians of Barcelona decided to take their treasured
image of Our Lady to a secret, safe place. Quietly, with
the knowledge of the Bishop and the Governor of the city,
a group brought the statue to Montserrat, placing it in a
small cave, April 22, 718. The location of the statue was
eventually forgotten. However, in 890, shepherd boys from Monistrol, a village at the foot of Montserrat, while
tending their flocks that night the shepherds were
surprised by lights and the sound of singing coming from
the mountain.
At last the statue of Our Lady was discovered in the cave
and brought out and placed in a small church that was soon
built; this little church developed into the present
church that was completed in 1592. |
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To visit that secure Travel website,
please follow this link. |
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Link to
Shrines and
Sacred Places in Italy
Other Shrines and
Sacred Places in Italy
The Shrines of France |
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There
are several books on catholic pilgrimages. Make sure to
get references or recommendation from your local
bookstores or parishes, if possible. Some of the popular
books are the following:
Catholic Shrines and Places of Pilgrimage in the United
States (Publication / Office for Publishing and Promotion
Services, United States Catholic Conference, No. 821-5) by
U.S. Catholic Conference Staff
The Jubilee Guide to Rome: The Four Basilicas, the Great
Pilgrimage by Andrea Braghin (Editor), Edmund Caruana
(Editor), O. Carm (Editor), Philippe Rouillard (Editor),
Niccolo Del Re (Editor), M.J. Coloni (Editor), Carmela
Merola (Translator)
You Will Make This Known: The Story of France's Three
Major Shrines by Brother Francis, F.F.I Mary (Editor),
Francis Mary
The Pilgrim's Italy: A Travel Guide to the Saints by James
Heater, Colleen Heater
Catholic Pilgrimage: Catholic Shrines of Central and
Eastern Europe: A Pilgrim's Travel Guide by Kevin J.
Wright (A book on catholic pilgrimage in Central and
Eastern Europe)
Catholic Shrines of Western Europe: A Pilgrim's Travel
Guide by Kevin J. Wright |
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Apologetics |
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Mary
and the Saints |
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Mass
and the Eucharist |
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Prayers |
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Novenas |
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The Rosary |
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Traditional Prayers:
Discover the origin of your favorite prayer. We might
even have the original Latin version, too. |
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Novenas:
Learn how
to say a novena in honor of your favorite
Saint.
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Archived Articles |
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Prayer Requests |
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Tours and Pilgrimages |
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