Graces of BARCELONA • • PARAY • MONT-SAINT-MICHEL • LISIEUX • PARIS

Journey the pathways of some of the Church’s greatest Saints on this blessed pilgrimage route through the glorious countryside and most TOUR CODE: 4GF04 sacred regions of France.

A 17 DAY PILGRIMAGE | BARCELONA TO PARIS

FROM AUD Lisieux Paris FULLY INCLUSIVE* $7,390 2 2 OR $5,090 Mont-Saint-Michel Chartres FEATURING: Nevers • Barcelona (1) Paray-le-Monial 2 • Montserrat (2) • Manresa Taize • Lourdes (3) france • Toulouse 1 Departing • Rocamadour (1) Rocamadour • Paray-le-Monial (2) 16th October 2014 • Taize Toulouse • Nevers Accompanied by • Chartres 3 Lourdes • Mont-Saint-Michel (2) Fr Richard Smith EV PP • Lisieux SPAIN Manresa • Paris (2) Montserrat 2 1 Barcelona

HARVEST HIGHPOINTS Be awestruck as you enter the Enjoy a relaxed 3 night stay in magnificent 13th century Chartres Lourdes, the ‘City of Mary’ to absorb Cathedral on a professionally guided a healing grace. 1 2 exploration. Come to breathtaking Mont-Saint- Enjoy a memorable visit at the Rue du Michel and be inspired by the prayerful Bac Chapel where Our Lady appeared beauty of the great Abbey built in to Catherine Laboure. 3 honour of St the Archangel. 4

Free Call 1800 819 156 • www.harvestpilgrims.com • Ph: (02) 9390 5460 • [email protected] ITINERARY Barcelona

DAY 1: DEPART FOR SPAIN

DAY 2: ARRIVE BARCELONA On arrival at Barcelona airport we will be met and transferred to our centrally located hotel. Remainder of the afternoon at leisure in this city synonymous with art, culture and faith. Barcelona overnight (D)

DAY 3: BARCELONA TO MONTSERRAT We enjoy a morning in Barcelona to experience the cultural canvas that underpinned many of Picasso’s artworks and view the unique and colourful architecture of Antonio Gaudi dispersed throughout the city. We commence with a visit and Mass in Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu), a celebrated example of Catalan Gothic architecture dating from the 14th century. The elevated DAY 4: MONTSERRAT MOUNTAIN Sanctuary. site occupied by the cathedral has always RETREAT Before lunch, we will take our place among been the spiritual centre of Barcelona. Our spectacular day of pilgrimage begins the privileged to hear the heavenly sounds We will be awe-struck visiting Gaudi’s with a visit and Mass in the Basilica, the of the Montserrat Boys Choir (The famous La Sagrada Familia Basilica before construction of which began in the 16th Escolania), one of the oldest and most enjoying a leisurely visit to Guell Park where renowned in Europe. we can enter Gaudi’s house which is now a century, and a viewing of the beautiful Holy After lunch we will have a private guided tour museum as well as offering spectacular views Image of Our Lady of Montserrat, known of the museums and the Basilica. over the city. affectionately as the “Black Madonna.” The remainder of the afternoon will provide Later this afternoon we will arrive into We will then board the Santa Cova funicular the option of time for rest and prayerful stunning Montserrat. The renowned railway and after a short ride, enjoy a walk reflection. eleventh-century sanctuary of Our Lady of down the sacred path passing modernist Montserrat lies at the top of a 4000 foot high sculptures of the Mysteries of the (all Before dinner, we will have an opportunity mountain and is one of Spain’s most popular worked on by Llimona and Gaudi among to join the Benedictine monks in the Basilica pilgrimage destinations. The is home others). Almost hanging from the rock’s for the beautiful sounds of evening Vespers. to a twelfth-century miraculous statue of the edge at the end of the route is the Chapel Montserrat overnight (BD) Blessed Virgin Mary, lovingly known as the where the image of Our Lady of Montserrat “Black Madonna”, discovered in the Santa was found by young shepherds in the 13th DAY 5: MONTSERRAT TO LOURDES Cova or Holy Cave. Here at Montserrat St century after seeing a bright light which led (VIA MANRESA) Ignatius kept vigil with a coarse sackcloth them to the grotto. We take time here at the After an early breakfast we farewell and a pilgrim staff. Holy Cave for prayer and reflection before Montserrat and travel to the nearby town of Montserrat overnight (BD) taking the funicular railway back up to the Manresa where St Ignatius came on retreat for eleven months between 1522 and 1523. Montserrat Each day he spent seven hours in prayer in a cave and then helped the sick in the village with the time he had left over. Here too Ignatius began to develop the method for seeking God’s will and where he wrote his renowned Spiritual Exercises. We come as pilgrims to this amazing place with St Ignatius and pray in the actual cave where his life and spirituality developed. Later we travel through the scenic foothills of the Pyrenees, crossing into Southern France before continuing on to Lourdes. It was in this small town that Our Lady first appeared to St Bernadette in 1858. Lourdes overnight (BD)

DAY 6: LOURDES We celebrate an International Mass this morning with pilgrims worldwide in the immense Underground Basilica of Pius X (schedule permitting) followed by a visit to the little village of Bartres, and the farm where St Bernadette was nursed and later returned in adolescence to help her foster mother. We will visit the Sheepfold and the Parish Church where she spent so many hours in prayer. We will return to Lourdes to enjoy a peaceful afternoon to rest or wander at your own pace or take the time to pray the Stations of the Cross with the life sized copper images which overlook the holy Grotto. Spend some quiet time perhaps reflecting at the Grotto with its chapel built over the place of the apparitions. Optional Blessed Sacrament Procession and evening candlelight procession. Lourdes overnight (BD)

DAY 7: LOURDES This morning we will celebrate a group Mass at the Grotto before meeting our guide for a walking tour of Lourdes including the Sanctuary area: Upper & Lower Basilicas, the Grotto, and the Baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place. Continue our visit of the main sites associated with St east towards Rocamadour. En route we will statue. Other sites we will see include St Michael’s Chapel Bernadette including the Boly Mill where visit Toulouse, the ‘pink city’ including with its 12th century St Amadour’s crypt. she was born in 1844, the original parish the Saint-Sernin Basilica, the largest frescoes and church and the Cachot (prison) where the Romanesque church in Europe, and the Departing Rocamadour we continue our family was forced to live due to misfortune Church of the Jacobins which is also the French immersion travelling on to Paray- during the time of the apparitions. burial site of St Thomas Aquinas, the great le-Monial, the place where St Margaret theologian and philosopher. Mary Alacoque experienced visions of the Free time this afternoon for a visit and of Jesus in the 17th century. In prayers for the sick at the miraculous Baths Later this afternoon we arrive into revealing His Heart to her, Jesus said: where the water has continued to flow since Rocamadour, the sacred city built “Behold the Heart which has so loved men that 1858. Pilgrims may choose to submerge stunningly against the side of a cliff. it has spared nothing but has been poured out themselves in the healing waters, or collect Remainder of the day at leisure. You may totally and consumed as proof of its love”. the Lourdes water at the taps. During her wish to climb the Grand Escalier or take the ninth apparition to Bernadette, Our Lady elevator from the lower town. Paray-le-Monial overnight (BD) said “Go drink and wash yourself at the spring”. Rocamadour overnight (BD) Optional afternoon Blessed Sacrament DAY 10: PARAY-LE-MONIAL & TAIZE Procession and Blessing of the Sick before DAY 9: ROCAMADOUR TO PARAY- After a leisurely breakfast, we set off this morning for Taize, the tiny hillside a final evening candlelight procession after LE-MONIAL dinner. community in which young people from This morning we will visit theShrine of Lourdes overnight (BD) all over the world are drawn. Bl. Pope Rocamadour. Our group Mass will be John Paul II referred to Taize as ‘that little celebrated at the Chapel of the Black Virgin springtime’ as pilgrims join in a common DAY 8: LOURDES & ROCAMADOUR where we have the opportunity also to pray weekly programme of prayer meetings, We depart Lourdes today travelling north- before the miraculous Black Madonna discussion groups and meals. We join with Rocamadour the community for midday prayer, which is sung beautifully in the large candlelit church. Return this afternoon to Paray-le-Monial for a guided visit featuring the Chapel of Apparitions, the room of the relics of St Margaret Mary, the Diorama of St Margaret and the Eucharist Museum. Other highlights include the Basilica of Sacre Coeur and the Chapel of St Claude in honour of St Margaret Mary’s Spiritual Director. Paray-le-Monial overnight (BD)

DAY 11: VIA NEVERS & CHARTRES TO MONT-SAINT-MICHEL This morning we farewell the city of the Heart of Jesus and journey to the town of Nevers nestled within the picturesque Loire Valley. Here we will celebrate Mass and visit the Convent of St Gildard where St Bernadette’s incorrupt body reposes and may be viewed. After she was blessed with the eighteen apparitions of the Virgin Mary Paris pilgrimage tour of Lisieux visiting the family home of Les Buissonets, the Carmelite Convent Chapel with its reliquary of the saint and St Therese’s Basilica. We depart Lisieux, travelling on to Paris this afternoon. Paris overnight (BD)

DAY 14: PARIS This morning we will visit and celebrate Mass in the awesome Sacre Coeur, built from 1875 to 1914, and one of the most imposing Basilicas in the Christian tradition. We continue on our pilgrimage through Paris with a special visit to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We come, then, to the Daughters of Charity in the Rue du Bac. This is the site where Our Lady appeared to Catherine Laboure in 1830, with the firstMiraculous Medal being struck in 1832. Her incorrupt body lies under the altar of Our Lady in the chapel here and adjacent to the altar of St Vincent de Paul displaying his incorrupt heart. Finally we stroll to the nearby Vincentian Fathers to pray in the chapel housing the at Lourdes, St Bernadette retired to Nevers and pilgrimage centre. bones of St Vincent de Paul. where she died at the age of only 35. Mont-Saint-Michel overnight (BD) This afternoon we commence our sightseeing Our pilgrimage takes us on to the great tour of Paris including a visit to the Eiffel Cathedral city of Chartres where we DAY 12: MONT-SAINT-MICHEL Tower, viewing the Arc de Triomphe and enter inside the magnificent thirteenth- This morning we will meet our guide for a the Champs Elysees. Enjoy some time at century Chartres Cathedral, a medieval tour of the island. leisure to take in the atmosphere of this architectural wonder and home to the Holy beautiful city or for shopping. This evening A highlight of our visit here will be the Veil, said to be worn by the Blessed Virgin we will enjoy a special Parisian dinner Benedictine Abbey, which during the Mary when she gave birth to Jesus. Pilgrims together to celebrate our last night on French Revolution was turned into a prison. too will see the most famous labyrinth pilgrimage. We plan to join the community here for an in the world, built around the year 1200 Paris overnight (BD) inspiring chanted Mass. During our tour we and sometimes called the “Chemin de will also see the Chapelle de Notre Dame Jerusalem” or Road of Jerusalem. DAY 15: DEPART FRANCE sous Terre (Underground Chapel of Our Today we are transferred to Paris airport Departing Chartres, we continue on to Lady). It was built in the late 10th century the lovely island of Mont-Saint-Michel. for our home bound or ongoing pilgrimage in the very place that St Aubert erected the flight connections. According to legend, the archangel Michael oratory in the 8th century. appeared to St. Aubert, of Avranches, (B) Enjoy some free time this afternoon. in 709 and instructed him to build a chapel on the rocky islet. Soon after, he sent a group Mont-Saint-Michel overnight (BD) DAY 17: ARRIVE of monks to live on the island (since replaced SPECIAL NOTES in 966 by the Benedictine Order who soon DAY 13: VIA LISIEUX TO PARIS All details of sightseeing listed and order of daily after constructed the Abbey). From the After breakfast we travel east to Lisieux, arrangements must remain subject to change due to any unforeseen circumstances, which may arise, or at the Middle Ages people have flocked to the one of the world’s premier pilgrimage sites discretion of the pilgrimage leadership. abbey and were so struck by its beauty that and home to St Therese, the ‘Little Flower’, This overview is based on the standard pilgrimage departure and return dates. Please refer to your personal flight itinerary they called this place “The Wonder Island”. whom Pope Pius X called ‘the greatest saint for more specific details or amendments pertaining to your Today it continues to be a major cultural of modern times’. On arrival we enjoy a travel.

SIMPLE BOOKING PROCEDURES INCLUSIONS 2014 PILGRIMAGE DEPARTURE • To secure a place on Pilgrimage, please complete • Return economy class airfares from Australia: , TOUR FULL PACKAGE the Harvest booking form and return with a , , or (applicable CODE Departs Australia AUD* $600 per person deposit ($1200 per person for only to Full Package option). • 4GF04A Thursday 16th October $7390 Pilgrimage Combinations). Cheques to be made Local airfares as noted in the pilgrimage itinerary payable to Harvest Pilgrimages or nominate credit (applicable to both Full Package and Tour Only TOUR TOUR ONLY options). card details where shown (Credit Card fees apply). • Accommodation with private facilities in reputable 3-4 CODE Starts Barcelona Ends Paris AUD* IMPORTANT: As there are separate Tour Codes star hotels or quality religious / family guesthouses. 4GF04L 17th Oct 30th Oct $5090 for Full Package and Tour Only programmes, please • Breakfast & dinner daily or as specified on itinerary Single Room Supplement $1410 Prepaid Tipping Fund: $15 each day of tour ensure to correctly list the applicable Pilgrimage code as per meal indicator. (B – Breakfast; L – Lunch; D onto the Harvest Booking Form. Full package costs flying Emirates from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth including all airline – Dinner). taxes & levies. Tour Only costs include local airfares between Start/End dates. • Await Harvest’s letter of confirmation containing • Transportation by deluxe air conditioned motor coach receipt, visa(s) information (if applicable) and travel throughout the tour. insurance details along with other specific travel • Professional local tour escorts and local guides as All Bookings to: HARVEST PILGRIMAGES, information. required. • Make balance of payment 7 weeks prior to departure. • Escorted airport transfers (only applicable to Full Polding Centre, 11th Floor, 133 Liverpool Street Sydney NSW 2000 (Note: A late payment fee may apply for payments Package option). • Led by Priest Chaplain / Tour Co-ordinator. Tel: 02 9390 5460 • Fax: 02 9390 5480 made after this date) • • Comprehensive sightseeing throughout with entrance Collect or await the delivery of final tour fees as required. Email: [email protected] • Toll Free: 1800 819 156 documentation including cabin bag, journal and • Porterage of one suitcase per person at hotels. www.harvestpilgrims.com ticket wallet approximately two weeks prior to • Quality Harvest cabin bag, pilgrim’s journal, ticket departure date. wallet, backpack and hat.

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