I received a wonderful
gift from my brother – a pilgrimage to Portugal, France and Spain which took
place from Oct. 17 – 26, to celebrate my 45th anniversary with the
Order of Augustinian Recollects. We were
three priests and a group of 35 pilgrims.
We arrived in Lisbon, Portugal and traveled to Fatima, where I had the
privilege to be the principal celebrant for our Mass there to begin our
pilgrimage.
It was wonderful to be there
to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to
the three young children. Afterwards we
participated in the Rosary and the candlelight procession.
We returned to Fatima the
following day and celebrated Mass with other pilgrim groups at the Chapel of
the Apparitions. We prayed in the main
basilica where Saints Jacinta and Francisco are buried along with Sister Lucia,
the third visionary.
The morning of the 20th
we visited the birth places of the children outside of Fatima as we traveled to
Coimbra. There we celebrated Mass at the
Carmelite Convent, where Sister Lucia lived until her death in 2005.
From there we left Portugal and traveled to
Santiago de Compastelo in Spain, the burial place of St. James the Apostle. The “Camino” is a very popular experience for
pilgrims.
We celebrated Mass there and
were privileged to have the “Butafumiero” at the end of the Mass. This is a very large censor (weighing about
400 pounds) that is attached to very strong rope and swings from side to side
(ceiling to ceiling) with eight men controlling the rope. The incense billowing through the air is a
sight to see. (You can see the “Butafumiero” in action in the video below.)
On the morning of the 21st
we celebrated Mass in the Chapel of Our Lady of Pilar there before leaving the
Galicia region and traveling by bus to Astorius and to the town of
Santander.
This was a free evening. About 15 of us took a nice walk and stopped
in the Casino which is a very prominent building. (I placed 5 euros in the machine and won,
much to the delight of everyone. I then
treated all of them to gelato.)
We traveled to France on
the 22nd to the village of Lourdes and joined the candlelight
procession there.
The following morning
we attended Mass at the grotto where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette. I was invited to be one of the principal
concelebrants.
The rest of the day was
spent at our own leisure. We had the
opportunity to visit the baths with the holy water and in the afternoon it was
a wonderful experience participating in the procession of the Blessed Sacrament
with the sick in wheelchairs and on stretchers.
I was able to escort one lady with her wheelchair.
That night we returned to the basilica which
was just a few blocks from our hotel and joined the candlelight
procession. (The evening processions in
Fatima and Lourdes are very impressive and during the praying of the Rosary,
everyone raises their candles at the Glory Be and sing the Marian hymns with
such enthusiasm.) I was able to treat
myself to Quiche for lunch and Crepes for an afternoon snack.
We left France on the
morning of the 24th and traveled back to Spain with tremendous views
as we crossed the Pyrenees mountain range.
The scenery was beautiful with the mountains and the trees which were just
beginning to change colors. Our
destination was the Abbey of Montserrat, Spain.
(The road to the Abbey winds through the mountain range and the name
“Montserrat” is where we get the name for a “serrated knife” as the mountains
are so rough and jagged.)
Here, in the
abbey church is the image of Our Lady of Montserrat and this is a very popular
destination for tourists and pilgrims.
The abbey is so high in the mountains that we found ourselves above the
clouds. I was able to be the main
celebrant that evening in the abbey church under the image of Our Lady of
Montserrat.
When I arrived in my room,
there was a surprise – a chilled bottle of champagne. I inquired of the other two priests and
several pilgrims if they found a surprise in their room – they hadn’t. I was able to bring the champagne to dinner
and everyone had a chance to share and to offer a toast.
On the 25th we
went into Barcelona for Mass at the cathedral and after lunch, we visited the
Sagrada Familia Basilica which is the inspiration of Antoni Guadi – this is a
work in progress. (It would be worth
visiting www.sagradafamilia.org to learn more about its history.) It is scheduled for completion in 2026.
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| Whether calculated left to right or top to bottom, the numbers add up to 33, the age of Christ at the time of his death. |
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| Sagrada Familia Basilica |
We returned to the Abbey
in Montserrat for dinner and to prepare for our journey back to the United
States. We were blessed with fantastic
weather all throughout our trip and a wonderful spirit among the pilgrims. This was a trip of a lifetime!