Dear Fellow Pilgrim, Two great English men are waiting to welcome you to their homeland and two great cities form the basis of the tour: Oxford and London. Both are inextricably linked to these men. Both cities have tales to tell of the faith and much to ask of you through those tales. Inside the Vatican and I invite you on a pilgrimage of the mind and the heart as much as through the shires and green fields of England. Our guides are the martyr Saint Thomas More and the 19th century intellectual Blessed John Henry Newman. Whether we are walking down the narrow-cobbled lanes of Oxford with their echoes of centuries of learning or through the equally narrow streets of medieval London with their echoes of bloody persecutions, we will be uncovering the secret history held in these streets. And, above all, that history is a Catholic history, maybe hidden, sometimes obscured, but not forgotten. It is a history that still resonates for the modern pilgrim. You see, the history you will experience on this pilgrimage is a living history. Yes, you will learn of Newman and his spiritual quest, one that led him to the truth of the Catholic faith. But you will also learn of the modern “Newmans” - the twelve Anglican nuns who gave up everything to make the same pilgrimage as Newman did some 150 years earlier. The only thing is, these nuns are as alive today as you are. Their incredible faith - filled story is of today and for today. Just as Newman’s pilgrimage took him along unexpected paths, this Inside the Vatican pilgrimage is inviting you to journey along equally unexpected paths. We know where we are taking you – what we don’t know is where, after experiencing this pilgrimage, you are going to “arrive at.” Of course, we will show you the culture and outward history of London and Oxford: you will see the “sights;” you will eat and drink to your heart’s content. All of this you would expect. Rightly. But we offer you something else, something more mysterious still. London, where both More and Newman were born, is a city where the Catholic history is there for all to “see” - but only if you have the eyes of faith. And you have to “scratch” the city’s ancient stones to find it, or, maybe, more correctly, those ancient stones have to rub against you for you see it. That’s where we come in. Inside the Vatican and I will help you discover this “other” history. But there is an even greater surprise to all this. You see, you will hear of martyrs; you will be told of heroism in the face of persecutions; you will walk streets where saints lived and then died rather than renounce the most precious thing they possessed: their Catholic faith. All of that you would expect. Rightly. What you might not expect is that you are part of that story. You see the surprise ending involves you. But to find that out we need you to travel there with us to discover what it is. We can take you there, but you have to travel the next bit - and where that is only you will know. Join me! – Kevin Turley Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages is collaborating with our friend in England, Kevin Turley (writes under K.V. Turley), on this pilgrimage. Kevin is a filmmaker, writer, journalist, scriptwriter, radio presenter, television host, podcast presenter and film and book reviewer. His writing has appeared in: The National Catholic Register, The Catholic World Report, Crisis Magazine, Catholic Exchange, The Catholic Herald, The Chesterton Review, The Imaginative Conservative, LifeSite, The Tablet and The Irish Times, as well as a regular column, “Faith on Film”, for St. Austin Review. Kevin is a regular contributor to EWTN and other media. He is the Master of The Keys: The Catholic Writers’ Guild of England and Wales – established in 1931 by G.K. Chesterton. He is married and lives in London where he runs a media consultancy. Kevin is a man of many talents. His greatest gift is storytelling. He captivates his listeners by illuminating the history of the particular places visited and the lives of the saints from centuries past. Kevin is not a typical tour guide; you will learn about the places we visit with captivating stories you will always remember. Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages In the Footsteps of Saint Thomas More and Blessed John Henry Newman June 15 - 23, 2020 England: Oxford and London Sunday, June 14 – Depart from the U.S. You will have packed lightly yet have taken all you will need for this unique pilgrimage. Safe flight! Oxford, England Monday, June 15 – Arrive in Oxford. You will be greeted at Heathrow Airport upon arrival after you have exited customs. Once all the pilgrims have gathered, the group will board the waiting luxury coach for a transfer to Oxford and the Oxford Spires Hotel, which is surrounded by parks alongside the Thames River. The Oxford Spires Hotel will be our home for the next three nights. The city of Oxford, known as the “City of Dreaming Spires,” which was settled over a thousand years ago, grew around Oxford University, which came into being as a collection of colleges from the 12th century onwards. Oriel College, where Blessed John Henry Newman taught, and Canterbury College, the medieval college where St. Thomas More studied, are just two examples of colleges which have operated under the umbrella of the larger university. Other Oxford attractions include Christ Church Meadow, a picturesque park located along the riverbanks, and the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which is a superb example of 13th century church architecture. We will have time to rest before attending Mass in the evening at Blackfriars Church. Our welcome dinner will be held at the Eagle & Child Pub, the well-known meeting place of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and the other Inklings. Over dinner we will be treated to an orientation talk from Kevin Turley. Overnight in Oxford. [email protected] u U.S. Office: 14 West Main Street, Front Royal VA 22630 u 202.536 4555 1 Tuesday, June 16 – Faith & Culture in England from Reformation to Revival. After breakfast, we will celebrate Sunday High Mass at the Oxford Oratory of St. Aloysius Catholic Church (photo, left). St. Aloysius Catholic Church was built in 1875 to serve the population of Oxford and the surrounding district. As the Catholic population of the area increased, eight additional parishes were formed in the outlying areas, reducing the parish of St. Aloysius to its present area, encompassing the historic center of Oxford. Newman preached here, as did the Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, who served as a curate here. Our afternoon lunch will be at one of our favorite restaurants in Oxford, The Royal Oak. Thereafter, we will take a short drive to Littlemore to visit the International Centre of Newman Friends to see the sites where Blessed John Henry Newman lived, prayed and studied from 1842 to 1846. We will explore the area and enjoy afternoon tea with the sisters who oversee the Center. Dinner and overnight in Oxford. Wednesday, June 17 – Faith and the Religious Orders of Catholic England. After breakfast, we depart for Birmingham to visit Birmingham Oratory (photo, below) for a tour, after which we will attend Mass. Birmingham Oratory was the first English Catholic religious community of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. The community was founded in 1849 by Blessed John Henry Newman, and is the first house of that congregation in England. Except for four years spent in Ireland, Newman lived here. His private papers are also housed here. This also served as the home parish of J.R.R. Tolkien for nine of his young formative years while attending the prestigious King Edward’s School located in Birmingham. Lunch will be next door at Plough & Harrow Hotel. After lunch, we head to the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This story of the conversion of twelve Anglican sisters to the Catholic faith on January 1, 2013, is an amazing testament of their own steely resolve to follow God’s call to become Catholic and to remain religious, and an example of how God always provides for those that love Him and submit to His Divine Will. The option for the Anglican sisters to convert and remain religious was not possible until November 4, 2009 with the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, on the memorial of St. Charles Borromeo. It provided for the establishment of personal ordinariates, through which Anglican faithful might enter, including in a corporate manner, into full communion with the Catholic Church. After tea with the nuns (photo, right) and listening to their story we will travel to Maryvale, the first location of the Oratory founded by Newman prior to moving to Birmingham. [email protected] u U.S. Office: 14 West Main Street, Front Royal VA 22630 u 202.536 4555 2 For nearly 130 years Maryvale housed an orphanage run by the Sisters of Mercy, until they left in 1980 when it assumed its present role as an institute for adult faith formation. Maryvale also contains Britain’s first public shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, established by Bishop Milner in 1814, who built a small chapel to house an image of the Sacred Heart painted in glass as described by Saint Gertrude. In 1999 sisters of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of St Bridget - the Bridgettines - came to live at Maryvale in a new convent given by Saint John Paul II.