Tremendous and fantastic were two words that pilgrims used to describe their experience of visiting the Marian and other Catholic shrines of Portugal, Spain and France. After an uneventful flight from San Francisco to France, the 46 pilgrims then took off for Lisbon on June 18 in the evening after a brief stopover in Paris. Dorothy Kennedy, the tour manager, met us at the airport in Lisbon and together with the local guide Paula Cristina too us to Penta Hotel for the night.

On June 19 Paula Cristina, the Lisbon guide, took us to the historic Belem tower, the treasure rich San Jeronimo monastery and later showed us the basilica of St. Anthony of Padua and the cathedral of Lisbon. Cristina also showed us the various historical and cultural sites of the city of Lisbon. The city tour ended at the coach museum located in the complex of the recent International Trade Fair show. That museum, we were told, has the most collection of coaches in Europe.

After a short lunch, we were on the way to celebrate the liturgy in shrine of the Holy Miracle in Santarem. The church of the Holy Miracle is the site of the Eucharistic miracle that occurred more than 756 years ago. St. Francis Xavier on the way to the Indies stopped here to pray before the sacred Host. Story has it that a woman in a desperate attempt to change the errant ways of her unfaithful husband consulted a sorceress on how to take care of this problem. The sorceress instructed her to get a Host to desecrate it. She did as she was instructed, but when the errant husband came home he was surprised to find luminous lights emanating from the place where the woman hind the Sacred Host. Husband and wife saw this as a sign of the presence of Christ and they took the Host to the church and it has since then been preserved in this church for centuries. After celebrating Mass at this church we took off for Fatima, the site of the 1917 apparition of Mary to the three shepherds.

In Fatima a number of us attended the impressive candle light procession after the recitation of the Holy Rosary in the evenings of June 19th. There was so many people that many simply stayed at the steps of the basilica to pray with the other pilgrims during the procession.

On June 20th we celebrated the liturgy in the early morning at the site of the apparition. After breakfast Arminda, the Fatima guide, took us to the important sites of the shrine. There were so many people at the basilica that it was not possible to stop even briefly to pray at the tombs of Francisco and Jacinta. Incidentally, we were told that Pope John Paul II will canonize Jacinta and Francisco this coming October.

We departed for Santiago de Compostela. Spain in the morning of June 21st. The cathedral was the main pilgrimage site of the Catholics of Europe during the Middle Ages. People walked from all parts of Europe to come to this venerable church where (according to tradition) the remains of the Apostle James are found. The short stay at Compostela did not give much chance for the pilgrims to appreciate this beautiful city.

After Mass on June 22 in the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows we took off took off on a long journey to Santander, a city of northern Spain. A good number of us did venture to take a walk in the city by the sea and a few even managed to win a few pesetas from the Casinos nearby. On June 23 we headed for the sanctuary of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, located in the town of Azpeitia in the Basque province. We celebrated Mass at the chapel of the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It was then time to leave for San Sebastian where we stayed for the night before leaving for Lourdes. San Sebastian is the summer capital of Spain. The city has white sand beaches and excellent weather that brings people from all walks of life to enjoy the outdoors.

The northern part of Spain is dotted with evergreen fields, rolling hills and neatly kept gardens. It was a feast for the eyes as we traveled from Santiago de Compostela to Santander. The tediousness of the trip was broken by laughter erupting from the back of the bus where the resident "fortune teller", Fr. Joe, would read the fortunes of any pilgrim.

On June 24, after breakfast the pilgrims left Spain and entered France. We stopped at a neat town to celebrate Mass at the ancient church of St. Jean de Luz located in the French Basque region. After Mass we headed for Lourdes. It took about five hours to reach the town of Lourdes where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette more than one hundred years ago. The sanctuary of Lourdes provides a welcome place for quiet prayer and contemplation. We made the station of the cross under the rain, joined the procession in the evening and some went to take the famous bath of Lourdes.

We departed Lourdes for Paris on June 26 on the TGV - the bullet train of France. It traveled more than two hundred miles per hour at top speed. It took five and a half -hours to go from Lourdes to Paris. Getting 46 people on the train was quite an art. Dorothy orchestrated the whole program and everyone got on the TGV without an incident. Someone described it as riding on a plane without the air pockets.

June 27, Sunday saw us celebrate Mass in the chapel of the Carmelite convent where the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lesieux entered the convent and spent the rest of her life. Before Mass we visited Les Buissonnets, the place where she grew up. We also spent some time in the magnificent neoclassical basilica dedicated in her honor in town. We came home back to Paris in the afternoon and saw the city by cruising on the River Seine. What a way to cap the evening!

June 28, Monday. Today we took a long trip to Paray Le Monial convent where Jesus revealed to St. Mary Alacoque the desires and wishes of His most Sacred Hear. We celebrated the liturgy at the chapel of the Visitation Convent where Mary Alacoque spent her life. On the way to the convent we stopped at a shopping center where we had lunch at FLUNCH, a French chain of supermarkets. We stayed overnight in Never where the incorrupt body of St. Bernadette lies in state at the convent of St. Gildard.

June 29, Tuesday. Before Mass, we spent a few moments in prayer in the chapel where the incorrupt body of St. Bernadette lies in state. We celebrated Mass in the conference room of the former novitiate of the community. Then it was time to head back to Paris to visit the famous landmarks of that city. We went up the Eiffel Tower, stood in awe at the stain glass windows of Notre Dame of Paris and toured some of the famous sites of that illustrious city.

The evening was labeled as enjoyable dinner at a typical French restaurant. But getting to the restaurant was an ordeal. An earlier demonstration by a group of Kurds who protested the death sentence imposed on their leader Ocalan tied up the traffic so badly that it was still snarled after 7:30 p. m.

So everything good thing must come to an end. On June 30th we left the hotel after breakfast to celebrate Mass at the chapel of the Miraculous Medal at Rue de Bac. Then it was time to go to Charles de Gaulle International airport. The flight from Paris to San Francisco went smoothly.

We thank you Lord for the safe trip safely ended. Thank you for the many pleasant memories of our trip and for the many graces we received through the intercession of Mary and the saints.

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