Viva Papa! Benedicto! Esta es la juventud de Papa!

Wow, almost can't believe it's over! We'll all be heading home tomorrow morning...it's been an amazing trip, with many graces and blessings, but I must say I think I'm ready to come home! The Vigil was great, and was made exciting by a pretty hard downpour, which luckily only lasted for a tad....then Mass with his Holiness on Sunday was super awesome, and his apostolic blessing went out to us and to our loved ones, which includes all of you! Then today we had one more quick trip to Segovia, where the body of St. John of the Cross rests. We were privileged to have mass in the tomb chapel, and hung out in the town for the day, walking around the magnificent Spanish Alcazar (fortress), cathedrals and various churches. Also, another Camino runs through the town, at kilometer marker 575...yikes! We thought our 112 was rough... ;)
So, God be with you all, please keep our travels in your prayers, especially our two awesome sisters, who have quite the travel plans as they head back to Guatemala...planes, more planes, buses, and more buses. Looking forward to seeing y'all all soon, we remain in Christ,
Our Lady's Pilgrims

Tired but happy!

Amazing!!

Small world!

Oh, those Canadians...

The streets of Madrid

Woohoo!

Large Crowds!

Quick update

Hey y'all, life is good here in Madrid, but super busy! Don't have a lot of Internet access/extra time, but we are all doing great! The major highlight was seeing the Holy Father drive right by us, our group was right up against the fence, and he went right by!! Awesome! The Vicar of Christ! Amazing! And he said in his opening address that he specially remembered everyone who couldn't be there, and he prays for them always and holds them in his heart.
God bless you all, and keep you in his care....and we'll be seeing you all soon! Keep praying for us, as we are for all of you, as we march on, as:
Our Lady's Pilgrims

From Ada...

In Coria (hopefully my future home), we were able to see a glimpse of the table cloth that is said to have been used, along with the shroud of Turin, at the last supper. Here in Compostella, we had the privilege to celebrate Mass at the tomb of St. James who as we all know was at the Last Supper.  This reminds me that it is at the "table" that we come together and reflect, talk, and communion with our families. We have been together for most of our meals and have come together as family- God's family realizing that we are all part of the mystical body of Christ!

Reflections...

Seeing a small circle of light on the ground ahead when all around is darkness, beaming just enough to allow you to take the next step without falling (not necessarily without tripping)! The Camino of the soul reflected through a physical and tangible experience. What a treasure of reflection here! Our motto became "just one more mile" and in that we found our JOY,  reflected in those around us... What a grace to be able to pray near one who walked with Jesus Himself. Santiago is beautiful and all of you, family and friends, remain in our hearts everyday. Love, Katie

Only a little wet!

Thoughts...

Blog from Rachel or in Latin, Rachelem!  Santiago de Compostella is amazing.  We have finished the second part of our pilgrimage: part A was Fatima and such, part B was the sacrificing Camino, part C will be World Youth Day!  As Father Scott said, we are going quickly from solitude to solidarity . :)  Miracles and miracles keep happening for us.  Every church Father says Mass in; every alberque we stay in; people are at the right place at the right time for us.  (It did involve running through Spanish streets a few times....). The Camino really was beautiful.  I told Ada that we would hate whoever planned it, IF we had no purpose, which luckily we did.  :). And Masses both in the Cova da Ira AND on the altar in the crypt of St. James' tomb???  It is the blessing of a lifetime, this trip.   Intentions for you all are in our hearts, at everywhere we go; a special prayer today was for my son-of-thunder bro James.  :). We are all very happy but sometimes it takes a while after 4:30 wakeup calls for a week. :). Oh and it was a sight to behold when we first saw the Cathedral of St. James.  I think our smiles permanently stretched our faces :).  Our community morning Rosary and silence (for two hours:)), and night Liturgy Prep are very beautiful.  Last night we had a very intense discussion about whether or not God has favorites.  We concluded that it was not true that He has favorites, only that He does have very seeable patterns of Divine Election.  Besides, as in the cases of the Israelites and our Lady, they were chosen especially, for US to have the ultimate benefits.  So that was cool...  And also, today, Dorothy figured out that us Americans have the Faith because of St. James.  St. James, to the Spanish missionaries; Spanish missionaries, to the Americas.  Cool, right?  
It's also really cool here because I am understanding more and more Spanish in passing conversation.  The people here have a very graceful little lisp for various s, z, and c sounds.  Okay, I had better stop  :). Love and tons of prayers to you all!  Did you know that here, goodbye is...
Ciao

That's right, we so just did this!

Lunch, anyone? Fresh from the supermercado!

What a sight!

First sight!

Wow, I just walked over 100 km to get here!

Wish I could play it!

Santiago!

Te Deum Laudamus!

Buenas! We have arrived, and survived!! We finished the walk yesterday morning, in time for the huge pilgrims' mass in the cathedral here in Compostela, which included the swinging of the giant thurible....very impressive! Then we hung out in town until evening,when we got our official certificates of completion, and celebrated with pizza for dinner! (including a arroz con pollo pizza :) then we were privileged to have early Mass (again with the Irish group!) this morning in the Crypt of St. James, which was truly amazing. It really hit me that wow, this isn't just a great saint and bishop, but actually an apostle, who  walked and talked with Christ, and of whom the stories of the Gospels were written. It's amazing to have the connection of the Catholic Faith, that unites us with all this history spanning thousands of years. So today is cold and foggy, so not sure what we'll do until this afternoon, when we'll board an overnight train for Zaragoza...so until later, wishing you all a...
Buen Camino!!

Beautiful!

Lunchtime! 10 more Km!

Break!

From Thursday

Hola de Caldas de Reis, Epana! We just finished Mass, and decided to splurge and go out for hamburgesa! Ran into a group from Ireland which was pretty cool, we talked and joked around for about an hour! Caldas is really nice, there's a hot spring here, with a little pool, which is great for soaking tired feet in!!! The walk is going really well, everybody hanging in there with various aches and pains, nothing a little r&r can't fix after we reach our destination ;) 
Only two more days of walking, and we'll get our shells, and be finished with our quest. The Camino is truly amazing, a time of spiritual growth and reflection....and it really is a test of body, mind, and soul. One moment you hate it, and wish it was over, and a few Km down the road it's one of the best things that's ever happened, and you dream of doing a longer one again someday....how 'bout the 30 day from France!
So we march on, and remain, as always, 
Our Lady's Pilgrims

Praying and thinking about you all, and wishing you all a...
Buen Camino!

:)

Shell points the way!

Our fearless leader

Nope, keeps going!

68 more!

On the way!

Quick break

Irish group

Fwd:

Camino Underway!

Greetings from Redondela, Spain! The Camino is going well so far, a little intense...30 km the first day by foot is nothing to be scoffed at ;) but the countryside is beautiful, the grapes, apples, blackberries, peaches, pears and tomatoes are all in season, and we've been able to sample them from either a stray wild tree, or a kind farmer who hands us a bag of produce on the way.  God has been good, and set us up with all we need...He even got us a place that had enough room for all of us, although we got into town a bit late...like 19h00, which they say is usually a bit tricky to find a lot of room. We're all a bit out of shape, so we spent today here in Redondela, and will hit the road again bright and early in the morning, around 05h00...so please continue to keep us in your prayers, we certainly need them...oh we Americans with our heavy packs ;) ...unlike a German lady we met who takes all she needs in a 6 kilo pack. :) Well, until we meet again, we continue on our journey, and as they say here, Buen Camino!

and some pictures from Fatima!

The main church at the shrine of Fatima where Jacinta, Francisco and Sr. Lucia are buried and the site where the Angel appeared to the little Shepherds and taught them the prayer "My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee. I beg pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee."

more pics

Here is a tablecloth allegedly present at the Last Supper, still being investigated...and a page of the Summa, hand written by the Angelic Doctor himself!!

...and be careful of electricity!

:)

The View from the Cathedral Bell Tower

How cool!!

Off to Tui

This morning we all woke up bright and early, and went to a local Franciscan convent, where we had Mass.  Afterwards, we were privileged to meet the bishop of Coria, Bishop Francisco Cerro Chaves, who expressed his gratitude to SOLT, and gave us a travel blessing for our journey.  So we´ll be heading out in a little while to Tui, where we´ll have a day of rest and preparation for the pilgrimage to Compostela.

Btw, we´d like to give a shout out to Annie Lahola and Sr. Mary of Holy Hope, who are celebrating their birthdays today on this Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

Praying for you all, we remain,
Our Lady´s Pilgrims

-Blogged by Paul

Updates!

Greetings from Spain!!!
We have not been able to find internet to blog, so we have many updates for you... :)
We arrived safely in Lisbon, a beautiful city by the sea, with many white houses, tile roofs, and swimming pools (about all we saw from the plane... had to run off to the train)
We took a train from Lisbon to Santarem, which was great as we got to see the countryside... very beautiful with some hills and lots of crops and green trees... we got to see a tomato farm!
Arrived in Santarem, unfortunately the church of the Eucharistic miracle was closed, but we met with a very kind lady who guided us around the city and showed us where the miracle actually happened in a tiny chapel several blocks away.
We pressed on to Fatima, where we celebrated Mass at our lodging before heading to bed.
The next day at Fatima, we spent the entire day, visiting the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary first, then heading to the Shrine where we were tremendously blessed to get a time slot to celebrate Holy Mass at the little altar in the Cova, the place where Our Lady actually appeared!!!  We then participated in the candlelight rosary and Eucharistic procession, and went to the site where the Angel of Portugal appeared to the children!!!  It was a very blessed day.
Today, we drove to the SOLT mission in Calzadilla, Spain, and spent the day with the SOLT priest who is hosting us... Mass and Holy Hour were first in his little Spanish fourteenth-century church... beautiful.  We then went to the cathedral in nearby Coria, an incredibly beautiful church, rebuilt in the twelfth century on the old Roman city wall.  The retablo behind the high altar was painted gold solidly from the floor to the ceiling, with amazing pillars, designs, niches for statues, and the statues themselves... the bishops of the cathedral are buried in the floor... the beautiful choir stalls with intricate wood carvings were added before Columbus discovered America (!!!).... and the museum attached to the church contained many ancient church treasures.
We also saw a quick 'running of the bulls', a Spanish holiday tradition, and were able to stop in at a world-class Spanish guitar concert!
Tomorrow we head off to Tui, Spain, where we will spend some time preparing for our walk, which we start on Monday!
We are remembing y'all and all your intentions at all the Masses, Holy Hours, and sacred places... please continue to pray for us!
Gracias!!  Obregado!!  Thank you!!  :)

Blogged by Dan

Safe and Sound!

Hey all, we arrived in Spain today, in Coria with Fr. Vince...all is
well, we´re off to have mass in the cathedral, so updates later!
...Praying for all of you back home!

The Trip Doth Approach...

Dum, de dum dum......
In just a few short days, Our Lady's Pilgrims, from the heart of Texas, in the Corpus Christi diocese, will embark on a pilgrimage to Portugal and Spain.  This is the official place to find all the information, updates, and photos of our travels. We invite all to come along on this virtual trip, and to please keep us all in prayers on our journey to see the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict XVI (Long may he reign!)