“Blood of the Martyrs” Pilgrimage to England

Day 1 – Monday
USA / ENGLAND
Today we depart the United States for England. Meals are served on board our transatlantic flight.

Day 2 – Tuesday
LONDON / OXFORD / SWINDON
This morning we arrive at London’s Heathrow Airport and meet our Pilgrimage Tours tour director who will remain with us until to conclusion of our tour. Upon our arrival, we depart for the lovely university town of Oxford where we visit the Oxford Oratory and celebrate Mass in the Church of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, followed by a visit to Christ Church College and its beautiful Cathedral, attended by Blessed John Henry Newman. Blessed Newman later became a key leader in the Oxford Movement. We continue on to Swindon for dinner and overnight.

Day 3 – Wednesday
SWINDON / BATH / the COTSWOLDS / STRATFORD upon AVON
This morning leave for the town of Bath, one of the most beautiful Georgian cities in England. It is named after the hot springs first used by the Romans and in the 18th century was a fashionable spa where almost everyone who enjoyed prominence visited “to take the waters”. We visit the Roman Baths, view the Abbey and see the charming squares and crescents as well as the River Avon and the delightful Pulteney Bridge. We also visit St. John the Evangelist Church, where we celebrate Mass. Next we enjoy a drive through the Cotswolds region, a “typically English” landscape with its gentle hillsides (“wolds”) and sleepy picturesque villages with thatched cottages. We continue on to the home town of William Shakespeare, Stratford upon Avon, for dinner and overnight.

Day 4 – Thursday
STRATFORD upon AVON / WARWICK / CAMBRIDGE
This morning we visit the 16th century home of the great playwright, William Shakespeare, where he was born and died. Next we drive to Warwick Castle, Britain’s ultimate castle, where we enjoy a guided tour of the castle and its grounds. Mid afternoon we depart for the university town of Cambridge where we visit the Church of the English Martyrs to celebrate Mass. Dinner and overnight in Cambridge.

Day 5 – Friday
CAMBRIDGE / WALSINGHAM
In the morning we depart for a full day in Walsingham to visit the Marian Shrine of Our Lady. In 1061 Mary appeared to a noble widow named Lady Richeldis who received instructions from the Virgin Mother of a house to be built on this site identical to her house in Nazareth. Walsingham became known as the “Little Nazareth”. Though the house was destroyed during the Reformation, archaeologists have unearthed its remains located near the Priory. We visit the Slipper Chapel, so named because pilgrims would leave their shoes there and walk the final mile to the shrine. We also see the Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham and participate in the Noon Pilgrims Mass. Late afternoon we return to Cambridge for some free time before dinner. Overnight in Cambridge.

Day 6 – Saturday
LONDON
This morning we visit Westminster (Catholic) Cathedral, the Mother Church for English Catholics. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Here we celebrate Mass. Following Mass, we enjoy an orientation tour of London. We will see London’s historic landmarks including Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Our first stop for a visit is at St. Paul’s Cathedral. This cathedral dates to 1666 and was built after the Great Fire of London. This is where Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married. We continue on and see Westminster Abbey, originally built by Edward the Confessor in 1050, where rulers of England have been coronated since 1066. Finally, we arrive on the banks of the River Thames to enjoy a river cruise sightseeing tour. Dinner and overnight in London.

Day 7 – Sunday
LONDON / AYLESFORD
This morning we will depart for Aylesford, passing through the Kent countryside to visit The Friars Priory, an ancient religious house of the Order of Carmelites. Here we visit the Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Simon Stock. This is where the Blessed Mary presented the Brown Scapular to St. Simon Stock in 1251. Here we will celebrate Mass and join the Friars in the Liturgy of the Hours. Next we return to London to visit the London Oratory, also known as the Brompton Oratory, founded by Blessed John Henry Newman, which serves as the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This evening, we enjoy a highly festive dinner in the city at St. Katharine Docks where we enjoy a classic Medieval Banquet. Overnight in London.

Day 8 – Monday
LONDON
This morning we embark on a walking tour of London in the same neighborhood that St. Thomas More attended school. We will see the Lincoln Inn where Thomas More studied Civil Law upon his return from Oxford. In the afternoon we visit the Tower of London where the Royal Family’s Crown Jewels are kept and where Thomas More, and many others such as John Fischer, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were imprisoned before their executions. It is here within the walls of the Tower of London that Thomas More and John Fisher, minus their heads, are buried in unmarked graves in the Royal Chapel of St. Peter in Chains. We also see Tower Hill where Thomas More was beheaded for refusing King Henry VIII’s demand that he swear his allegiance to the Act of Succession and to take the Oath of Supremacy of the Crown. Finally, we return to Westminster (Catholic) Cathedral for the 5:30 Mass celebrated with its choir. Dinner and overnight in London.

Day 9 – Tuesday
LONDON / ROCHESTER / CANTERBURY
This morning we go to Rochester, home of St. John Fisher. John Fisher was the only Bishop in England to oppose King Henry VIII. We visit the chapel built to honor St. John Fisher. Next we drive to Canterbury to see the Cathedral where Archbishop Thomas Beckett was martyred at the hands of King Henry II in 1170. The history of Canterbury dates to the time of St. Augustine who brought Christianity to England in 597. We visit Canterbury Cathedral, Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Next we visit St. Augustine Monastery and see its Oratory of Our Lady, where we celebrate Mass. We return to London for dinner and overnight.

Day 10 – Wednesday
LONDON / USA
This morning we depart for the airport and our return flight home. Though our pilgrimage has come to an end, its blessings will last a lifetime and its graces are certain to draw us closer each day to the Lord.