Shrines of Europe

Europe is full of pilgrimage sites that can help us grow in our spiritual lives through learning about the Saints of the Church and visiting the great Marian Shrines scattered across these countries. From Fatima, Lourdes, and Knock, you can visit some of the great sites of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Or, you and your fellow pilgrims may want to walk in the footsteps of St. Patrick, by visiting Downpatrick, in Ireland or the way of St. James by walking the El Camino, in Spain to Santiago de Campostela.

 

No matter what you choose, My Faith Journeys will be there to guide you through the process. Below are a few of our most popular itineraries for a pilgrimage to the great Shrines of Europe.

Sample Itinerary
Marian Shrines & the Way of St. James
Lisbon / Santarem / Fatima / Braga / Santiago / Burgos / Lourdes

 

Day One:
  • Depart via scheduled air service to Lisbon

 

Day Two:
  • Arrive in Lisbon
  • Meet your Faith Journeys Tour Manager who will assist the group to an awaiting chartered motorcoach to Santarem. Santarem is the site of many notable churches including the Church of the Holy Miracle which contains a 13th century Eucharistic miracle on continuous display since 1269
  • Continue to Fatima
  • Late afternoon check-in at the hotel
  • Evening Welcome Dinner and overnight

 

Day Three
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Begin the day by celebrating Mass, after which we’ll visit the Tombs of Francisco and Jacinta as well as other sites related to the appearances of Mary
  • Lunch, on own
  • We will take time for our own devotions and prayers at the Hungarian Stations of the Cross consisting of fourteen small chapels along walkways leading to a marble monument of Christ on the cross.
  • Evening dinner and overnight
A Spiritual Journey to the Shrines & Cathedrals of France
Paris / Beauvais / Amiens / Lisieux / Chartres / Bourges / Paray-le-Monial / Cluny / Ars-sur-Formans / St. Francis de Sales / French & Swiss Alps

 

Day One:
  • Depart via scheduled air service to Paris

 

Day Two:
  • Arrive in Paris
  • Meet your Faith Journeys Tour Manager who will assist the group to an awaiting chartered motorcoach for a panoramic tour of Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, L’Arc de Triomphe, and Champs-Élysées. We will also see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacré-Coeur)
  • Late afternoon check-in at the hotel
  • Evening Welcome Dinner and overnight

 

Day Three
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Attend Mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, site of three apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1830. Visit the Tomb of St. Vincent de Paul in the Chapel of the Vincentians
    Lunch, on own
  • Continue our tour with a visit to Notre Dame where we will have the opportunity to celebrate Mass in one of the side altars. Next, we will visit Sainte-Chapelle, a 13th-century Gothic chapel in the heart of Paris
  • Enjoy time at leisure for additional sightseeing, reflection, or other activities
  • Evening dinner and overnight
In the Footsteps of the Saints: A Pilgrimage to Portugal, France, & Spain
Lisbon / Santarem / Fatima / Alba de Tormes / Teresa of Avila / Salamanca / Avila / Burgos / St. Ignatius of Loyola / Lourdes / Zaragoza / Montserrat / Barcelona

 

Day One:
  • Depart via scheduled air service to Lisbon, Portugal

 

Day Two:
  • Arrive in Lisbon
  • Meet your Faith Journeys Tour Manager who will assist the group to an awaiting chartered motorcoach for a panoramic tour of Lisbon. We will take a brief tour of this city rich in art, architecture, spirit, and home to many saints
  • Visit St. Anthony’s Church. St. Anthony is known in Portugal as a marriage saint because legend has him as a conciliator of couples
  • Late afternoon check-in at the hotel
  • Evening Welcome Dinner and overnight

 

Day Three
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Travel 45 miles north to Santarem (Portugal’s third largest city), site of many notable churches including the Church of the Holy Miracle, which contains a 13th-century Eucharistic miracle on continuous display since 1269
  • Lunch, on own
  • Continue to Fatima, home of one of the most well-known Marian shrines in the world, the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. Each year as many as 4 million people visit here because they are drawn by the reports of three local shepherd children who in 1917 saw the Virgin Mary
  • Evening dinner and overnight
The Faith and Beauty of Ireland: Slow Down and Smell the Heather
Cliffs of Moher / Galway / Connemara / Knock / Ballintubber Abbey / Scattery Island / Kerry / Waterford / Dublin / Glendalough

 

Day One:
  • Depart via scheduled air service to Shannon

 

Day Two:
  • Arrive in Shannon
  • Meet your Faith Journeys Tour Manager who will assist the group to an awaiting chartered motorcoach. Travel along the Cliffs of Moher to enjoy the spectacular views that attract over a million visitors a year
  • Continue to Galway via Corcomroe Abbey. The Abbey lies close to another monastic settlement, a group of three small early Christian Churches
  • Late afternoon check-in at the hotel
  • Evening Welcome Dinner and overnight

 

Day Three
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Visit the Connemara Region, famous for its scenic lakes and mountains. See Lough Corrib (the second largest lake in Ireland) then proceed through Maam Cross to the village of Leenane and Kylemore Abbey
  • Lunch, on own
  • Explore Kylemore Abbey, a monastery founded in 1920 for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I. A craft shop, pottery studio, restaurant, and gardens also surround the Abbey. Stop at the Celtic Crystal Factory for a guided tour and glass cutting demonstration
  • Return to Galway for evening dinner and overnight
El Buen Camino
Madrid / Sarria / Brea / Portomarin / Eirexe / Casanova / Furelos / Melide / Ribadiso de Baixo to O Pedrouzo / O Pedrouzo to Monte do Gozo / Santiago de Compostela

 

Day One:
  • Our pilgrimage begins with an overnight flight to Madrid, Spain.

 

Day Two:
  • Welcome to Madrid, the capital and largest city in Spain! Although we will find Madrid a modern city, we can’t help but be captivated by its rich history, art, and spirit. After arriving, we will meet our Faith Journeys representative and visit the Prado Museum which hosts one of the finest art collections in the world including important Spanish and Flemish paintings, classical statues purchased from Italy, medieval religious treasures and even some Romanesque frescoes. We will also explore Buen Retiro Park, founded in 1631, and the immense Royal Palace of Madrid. We’ll enjoy dinner and overnight in our hotel in Madrid

 

Day Three
  • We’ll travel by modern motorcoach to Sarria. We will take a panoramic tour of the city before visiting the Monastery of Samos, one of the most important Monasteries of Spain because of its influence on the history and culture of the region. In the middle ages, it was the wealthiest and most powerful monastery on the peninsula and educated the sons of nobility along with maintaining an important pilgrim’s hospice, a pharmacy, a forge, and many farms. It was severely damaged in a 1536 fire, rebuilt over 200 years, and then in 1951, a fire destroyed the library and monastery refectory. We enjoy dinner and retire to our hotel in Sarria for an overnight stay.

Contact Us

Contact us directly if you have any questions regarding a pilgrimage