16 DAYS Shrines of Eastern USA Irondale (3 nights) / Saint Augustine (2) / Orlando FL / Washington DC (3) / Emmitsburg / Gettysburg / Philadelphia (1) / New York (3). Optional Canada Extension: Niagara Falls (2) / Toronto / Québec (3) / Montréal (2). WITH CHAPLAIN FR PETER STOJANOVIC PP 22 April – 7 May 2019 Includes 2-day EWTN Pilgrimage THE GENUINE EXPERIENCE Shrines of Eastern USA B: Breakfast L: Lunch D: Dinner Day 1: Monday 22 April 2019 – Fly to the U.S. devotion to Our Lady of La Leche that continues into Day 7: Sunday 28 April – Fly to Washington DC On arrival at Birmingham airport we will be met the present. We return to the skies today as we are transferred and transferred by coach to Irondale – home to Today we will spend some time at the Mission to the airport for our flight connections to the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN). Nombre de Dios which traces its origins to the Washington DC. On arrival we will be transferred Irondale overnight (D) founding of the City of St. Augustine, America’s to our hotel for check-in. Time permitting, en oldest city, in 1565. We also visit the Shrine of Our route we can visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Days 2 & 3: Tuesday 23 & Wednesday 24 April Lady of La Leche, built in the 17th century after Museum near Dulles airport. – EWTN Pilgrimage the establishment of the Mission. Here we will Washington DC overnight (BD) During the next two days our time here will celebrate our group Mass and can take some time include time at both EWTN and the Shrine of the for prayer and to wander the grounds. (Exposition Day 8: Monday 29 April – Washington DC Most Blessed Sacrament. 1-3pm each weekday) Today we enjoy a full day guided tour of the city’s We may have the opportunity to: Nearby, we spend some time at the Ponce de highlights. We take in the Holy Land Experience Leon’s ‘Fountain of Youth’. at the Franciscan Monastery and celebrate our • Attend a televised Mass group Mass here. Continue on to Capitol Hill • Spend time in Eucharistic Adoration On April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León where we visit the Capitol building, Library of • Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and his crew became the first recorded Europeans to Congress, Supreme Court (outside view), Lincoln • Hear Catechetical and Spiritual Talks set eyes on Florida. Legend holds that they made this Memorial; the Vietnam, WWII and Korean War • Enjoy the unique experience of a Live Show and discovery while searching for the Fountain of Youth, a memorials. see some favourite EWTN hosts. magical water source supposedly capable of reversing • Find a place for prayer and quiet contemplation the aging process and curing sickness. During our tour we will also visit the new Museum of the Bible and take some time for a photograph among the gardens, paths and grottos around See the historic Castillo de San Marcos and opportunity of the White House. the Shrine. Treasury Street - the narrowest street in the U.S., Irondale 2 nights (BD) before taking a walk back in time along St George Washington DC overnight (BD) Street. In this street we will also find theCathedral Day 4: Thursday 25 April – Fly to Florida Basilica of St Augustine, known as America’s first Day 9: Tuesday 30 April – Washington DC Today we will be transferred to the airport for parish. We begin our day with a visit and Mass at the our flight connections to Florida. On arrival at National Shrine Basilica of the Immaculate Saint Augustine overnight (BD) Jacksonville airport we will join our coach and be Conception, often referred to as America’s transferred south to Saint Augustine, the oldest Day 6: Saturday 27 April – Saint Augustine to Catholic Church. The largest church in North city in the U.S. Orlando America, we have time after Mass for a guided visit and to admire the architecture and beautiful Saint Augustine overnight (BD) We leave behind the country’s oldest city today as sacred art. we journey south to Orlando to visit the National Day 5: Friday 26 April – Saint Augustine Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Here we Down the road, we come to the St John Paul On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés will celebrate our group Mass on arrival and then II National Shrine. Highlights include the landed and proclaimed this site for Spain and have some time to admire the beautiful Basilica, Redemptor Hominis Church and the opportunity the Church. It was here that Menéndez knelt to outdoor chapel and Rosary Garden among other to venerate a first class relic of the saint. kiss a wooden cross presented to him by Father highlights. Enjoy some free time this afternoon to rest or Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, chaplain of perhaps explore the Smithsonian Museums on his expedition. It was on these grounds that Fr. López Enjoy some free time in the afternoon. Some may would celebrate the first parish Mass and begin wish to explore the shops and restaurants of the Mall (including Air and Space Museum, Natural the work at America’s first mission. It was at this Downtown Disney! History Museum, American History Museum). sacred spot that the Spanish settlers would begin the Orlando overnight (BD) Washington DC overnight (BD) Day 10: Wednesday 1 May – via Emmitsburg Nearby we see the Trinity Church (Episcopalian to Philadelphia Church) where St Elizabeth Ann Seton used 3 Québec We depart the nation’s capital today as we journey to worship. Continuing on, see the site where 2 Montréal north to Emmitsburg, home to the Shrine of St she lived – now a Catholic church with a shrine Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born dedicated to her. Toronto saint. On arrival we will celebrate our group Niagara Falls 2 At Battery Park, enjoy a marvelous photo 3 New York Mass before embarking on a visit including the opportunity looking out on to the bay, and the Gettysburg 1 Philadelphia homes she lived in, the museum and the Basilica Statue of Liberty. Emmitsburg dedicated to her. We then come to the Shrine 3 Washington Nearby we come to the recently restored Old St dedicated to National Shrine Our Lady of Patrick’s Cathedral - the oldest cathedral in the Lourdes and enjoy some time to visit the grotto city. and wander the grounds. Continue on to St Patrick’s Cathedral. Built in the In nearby Gettysburg, we remember the great late 19th century, it is one of the landmarks of the battles that took place during the American Civil 3 Irondale city. War. Finally we travel out to the Shrine of St Frances Finally we continue on to Philadelphia, the ‘City 2 St Augustine Xavier Cabrini. We have the opportunity as of Brotherly Love’. On arrival we will proceed to 1 Orlando pilgrims to pray before the remains of the saint our centrally located accommodation for check-in enshrined in the chapel. before dinner. New York City overnight (BD) Philadelphia overnight (BD) Day 13: Saturday 4 May – NYC OPTIONAL CANADA EXTENSION Day 11: Thursday 2 May – Philadelphia to New York City (NYC) Enjoy some free time today in the ‘city that never Day 14: Sunday 5 May – NYC to Niagara Falls sleeps’. Perhaps do some shopping on Fifth We begin our day with a visit and Mass at the Today we will be transferred to the airport for our Avenue; go to a show on Broadway; stretch your Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul. Our visit flight connections to Canada. On arrival we will be legs with a walk through the famous Central Park includes the opportunity to pray before the relics met and transferred to the thunderous Niagara or ascend the iconic Empire State Building or of St Katharine Drexel, foundress of the Sisters of Falls. the Blessed Sacrament and canonised in 2000. the Rockefeller Centre to the ‘Top of the Rock’ observation deck to admire the breathtaking Niagara Falls overnight (BD) Reboarding our coach, we continue to the Shrine views over the city. to St John Neumann, the first male American to Day 15: Monday 6 May – Niagara Falls be canonised. For our final night of pilgrimage, we will enjoy a Batten down the hatches today for an celebratory final dinner together. In the afternoon, we journey on to the ‘Big Apple’ – unforgettable exploration of this, one of the Seven New York City! New York City overnight (BD) Wonders of the World. Feel the thick Niagara Spray, as we board the ‘Maid of the Mist’ boat New York City overnight (BD) Day 14: Sunday 5 May – Depart NYC ride to the deafening base of the falls – you’ll be blown away! Day 12: Friday 3 May – NYC Today we will be transferred to the airport for our homebound flight connections. (B) We commence our time in New York with a Enjoy some time at leisure before dinner. prayerful visit to Ground Zero. We take time OR Join Canada extension as below. Niagara Falls overnight (BD) to remember those who lost their lives on Day 15: Monday 6 May – in Transit September 11, 2001, and the heroes who Day 16: Tuesday 7 May – Fly to Quebec Day 16: Tuesday 7 May – Arrive Australia sacrificed their own safety to save the lives of This morning we will be transferred to the airport others. Our group Mass will be at the Catholic for our short flight toQuebec City, the first French Memorial. settlement in North America and reminiscent of a medieval European village. Mount Royal. Founded in 1904, Saint Joseph’s Quebec overnight (BD) Oratory is the largest shrine in the world dedicated to Saint Joseph and a world renowned Day 17: Wednesday 8 May - Quebec place for pilgrimage associated with Saint This morning we enter by foot inside the walls of Brother André, its founder.