England and Ireland Pilgrimage

Upon arrival at Dublin Airport, our English-speaking tour guide and coach driver will be waiting to welcome the group. We leave on our coach for  St. Francis Xavier’s Church, taking in our first glimpse of the beautiful city of Dublin. This church was one of the first built in Dublin after the Catholic Emancipation Act.  Mass here where the body of Venerable John Sullivan is entombed, beatified by Pope Francis in 2017. Afterwards we proceed to our hotel to check in and have dinner.

After breakfast at our hotel, we depart on our coach with our tour guide. The first visit of the day is  Whitefriar Street Church, built in the 13th century and currently maintained by Carmelite friars. In their own words, it is an “oasis of peace and prayer in the centre of our bustling city”. We will discover how the church became home to the Relics of St. Valentine, which attract pilgrims from all around the world.  Mass here. During our visit we will view the Madonna and Child statue of Our Lady of Dublin and learn about its origin. The first lunch break of the pilgrimage will be in a local restaurant, together as a group. In the afternoon we proceed to the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and Shrine of Venerable Matt Talbot, who was known for overcoming his addiction to alcohol by devoting himself to a life of prayer, Mass and penance. Free time in the afternoon to explore the city then the coach will return us to our hotel for dinner.

In the morning we say farewell to Dublin and travel with our guide southward to the wonderful natural beauty of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. After a half-hour drive we arrive at Powerscourt Waterfall. This is the second tallest waterfall in the country, standing at an incredible 121 metres. Many movies and TV shows have been filmed here such as the much acclaimed Vikings series. After some time exploring, we proceed to the Monastic City in Glendalough. In the 6th century AD, St. Kevin crossed the mountains from Hollywood to Glendalough, glen of the two lakes, where he founded a flourishing monastery that became one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland. We will have a guided tour here, viewing the ruins of the ‘city’ and learning about the life of St. Kevin. Lunch will be arranged in a local restaurant before having  Mass at St. Kevin’s Church nearby in Laragh. The foundation stone was laid on St. Kevin’s Feast Day in 1846 and you may observe his statue above the porch as you enter. We finish the day taking our coach to Cahir where we check in to our hotel and have dinner.

Following breakfast at the hotel, we depart with our guide for a guided tour of the Rock of Cashel, also known as St. Patrick’s Rock. This historic, hill-top fortress is deeply rooted in Irish heritage and identity. It is believed that St. Patrick came here to convert the King of Munster to Christianity and, during the ceremony, accidentally drove his staff onto the king’s foot. While touring we will view St. Patrick’s Cross and the last surviving Romanesque frescoes in Ireland in Cormac’s Chapel, among many other sights. Afterwards we will have  Mass in St. John the Baptist’s Church  in Cashel. After free time for lunch we will take our coach northward to visit the Hill of Slane. It is said that St. Patrick lit the Paschal Fire here to defy a pagan ritual celebrated by King Laoghaire and his druids, resulting in their eventual conversion to Christianity. We end the day driving further north to Monaghan. Check in to our hotel and have dinner here.

After breakfast, we take our coach into Northern Ireland to visit the cathedral town of Armagh. Our first stop here is the Navan Centre and Fort, where pilgrims traditionally begin their walk along St. Patrick’s Way. We will learn about the fascinating life of the indigenous Celtics and their legends during our visit in one of the most important archaeological sites in Ireland. We then take our coach up to St. Patrick’s Cathedral located upon a hill with a beautiful view of the city and countryside. We will have a guided tour here. According to tradition and the Book of Armagh, dating back to the ninth century, St. Patrick united a fawn with its mother on the hill where this neo-gothic cathedral now stands. We may view the great east window depicting this scene. After free time for lunch we return to  St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Mass. Before leaving town, we will stop at the ruins of the Armagh Franciscan Friary founded in 1264 AD. Check in to our hotel in Donegal then say farewell to our tour guide. Dinner will be served in a local restaurant.

After breakfast in our hotel, we travel to the Sanctuary of Lough Derg to visit St. Patrick’s Purgatory. It is believed that Christ revealed a cave here to St. Patrick that was an entrance to Purgatory. We begin with a guided tour of the Lough Derg Visitor Centre and Museum, followed by a boat tour around Saints Island. We will then have a guided tour of St. Patrick’s Purgatory, learning about the history of this ancient pilgrimage site. The sanctuary itself will provide lunch, tea and coffee for the group (included). In the afternoon we will have  Mass in St. Mary’s Chapel on the island before returning to the shore and departing for Knock on our coach. Check in to our hotel for dinner.

Following breakfast in our hotel, we will walk to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock, Ireland’s International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine. The sanctuary was built after the small village of Knock experienced an Apparition of Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist on a rainy evening in 1879 AD. We begin with a walking tour of the grounds hosted by a sanctuary guide, including the award-winning folk museum.  Mass here in the Chapel of Apparition. There will be time allocated for lunch at the excellent on-site Cafe le Cheile. In the afternoon we will do Stations of the Cross and then have free time to explore the sanctuary in peace. We are reminded that “Knock has always been a place of welcome, sanctuary and sacredness, a place for people to join together in prayer and worship.” - Fr. Richard Gibbons, Rector. Return to our hotel for dinner.

After breakfast we will check out from our hotel and depart for Knock Airport via coach or individual taxis. We must be in the airport at least 2 hours before the scheduled flight departure. Our coach driver will be waiting to greet the group upon our arrival in Heathrow Airport. We will take our coach to Worth Abbey for a retreat amongst the Benedictine monks here and exploring the tranquil fields and woodland of the Sussex countryside. We will be staying in the Retreat Centre (check-in from 16:00) nearby the  Abbey Church  where guests are invited to join with the monastic community in the daily office and liturgy.  Mass here. Dinner will be provided in the evening along with all meals for the duration of our stay. Breakfast is usually served at 08:00, lunch at 13:15 and dinner at 19:15.

We are privileged for pilgrims to have a full-day retreat here in Worth Abbey. Taking advantage of the West Sussex countryside, our spiritual director(s) will lead pilgrims to recollect on the themes of the pilgrimage.  Mass in the Abbey Church.

We enjoy our final breakfast in Worth Abbey then, if time allows, gather for a meeting before checking out and boarding our coach. Our destination today is the historic cathedral city of Canterbury. Upon arrival our tour guide will be waiting to greet the group and take us for an extended tour of Canterbury Cathedral. This UNESCO world heritage site has been a major pilgrimage destination in Europe since 1170, when Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered inside a chapel by four knights loyal to King Henry II of England. This ruthless assassination shocked the Christian world to its core. Within three years he was canonised as St. Thomas Becket and during our cathedral tour we will learn the full history of events surrounding his death and King Henry II’s penance. Free time for lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the nearby  St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, which is home to two of his relics: a finger bone and piece of vestment.  Mass here. Afterwards we visit St. Dunstan’s Church, which houses the head of St. Thomas More. Take our coach to London and check in to our hotel for dinner.

Today we will enjoy a guided walking tour in London to explore the fascinating life and death of St. Thomas More, within the context of the English Reformation. He was highly accomplished as a lawyer, judge, author and theologian, and unwavering in his faith and support for the Catholic Church. We begin our walking tour outside Lincoln’s Inn where St. Thomas was a law student. We then walk to  St. Ethelreda’s Church to have Mass  in one of the oldest churches in England, which St. Thomas would have attended on occasion. Afterwards we view the Charterhouse and Guildhall from outside, learning about his involvement in the administration of the city. We then walk along Milk Street to view the plaque marking where St. Thomas was born. After some free time for lunch, we will proceed to St. Paul’s Cathedral for a guided tour inside. This is the fourth building of the iconic cathedral after the third building was seriously damaged during the Great Fire of London in 1666. Our next stop is St. Stephen Walbrook, which was St. Thomas’ parish church in his time but today is Anglican. Finally, we enter the Tower of London where St. Thomas was imprisoned before his trial for refusing to support King Henry VIII’s divorce and rejecting his supremacy over the Pope. Afterwards we walk up to the scaffold site on Tower Hill where St. Thomas was executed for treason. If there is time we can walk along the River Thames to the site where his head was displayed on Old London Bridge. Return to our hotel for dinner.

After breakfast we check out from our hotel and board our coach with our guide. Depending on flight departure times, hopefully we are able to stop in Chelsea to view the Sir Thomas More Statue there and also visit the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, also known as  Westminster Cathedral. It is the largest Catholic church in England and Wales and is distinguished by its neo-Byzantine architecture. We will have  Mass here and then join a guided tour to finish our pilgrimage. The coach will stop at Victoria Station and finally Heathrow Airport.