April 26 - Zaragosa

This morning we travel from Avila to Zaragosa, the capital of Aragon, and the Basilica dedicated to the Lady of the Pillar. Day started out cloudy but improved as we went along. 

Beautiful Colored Dome on Basilica 

Basilica at Night.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (better known simply as El Pilar) is the second largest church in Spain (second only to the Basilica of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona). The basilica is very beautiful, inside and out. It has eleven colored domes which add to its majesty. This is the first basilica dedicated to Mary.
During the Spanish Civil War in 1936, two bombs were dropped on the Basilica, but neither exploded which some may attribute to the power of Our Lady's protection.

Our Lady of the Pillar

The origin of Our Lady of the Pillar dates back to 40 A.D. when St. James the Apostle was sitting on the bank of the Ebro River, discouraged that he was having such little success bringing Christianity to this region. The Virgin Mary appeared to him and assured him that he would have success. She appeared on a pillar of jasper and left the pillar and a statue to mark the spot where she appeared (the statue was burned in a fire and replaced in the mid-15th century). What is especially unique about this vision is that it was not only the earliest, it also occurred while Mary was still alive. Our Lady of the Pillar is the patron of Spain and is perhaps the most loved shrine to the Blessed Mother in Spain (the equivalent to Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France). We are so fortunate in this pilgrimage to be able to visit all three sites.


We had Mass in the Chapel of St. Anthony in the Basilica

Jim and Jan Brady. 

After Mass, we all had some rare free time to explore Zaragosa, both before and after dinner. Leslie and I met John Gomez, Jim Drotar, and Jim and Jan Brady in a nearby Irish pub and had a wonderful time discussing our day and the trip so far. 

Leslie Paulonis with Jim Drotar and John Gomez

April 25 - Avila

Had to get up early this morning as we needed to be on the bus by 8:00 and we had a 5 hour bus ride to Avila, Spain (might even be able to catch some well needed rest). Avila is likely the best preserved walled city in the world and home of St. Teresa who, along with her spiritual director, St. John of the Cross, reformed the Carmelite Order. 

St. Teresa was born in the year 1515 (so 2015 is the 500th anniversary of her birth) and died in 1582 at the age of 67. She was attracted to the religious life early and became a professed member of the Carmelite Order when she was 20. Around midway in her religious life, she proposed a return of the Carmelites to their original rule of life, a simple and austere form of monasticism- founded on silence and solitude. Along with her close collaborator, St. John of the Cross, she founded what is today known as the Order of Discalced Carmelites - "discalced" meaning barefoot, symbolizing the simplicity to which they chose to return the Order to after a period of corruption.She founded 30 monasteries during her life. 

Teresa is one of the foremost writers on mental prayer, and her position among writers on mystical theology is unique. Because of the depth of her understanding of theology and her writings, in 1970 Pope Paul VI proclaimed St. Teresa one of two women Doctors of the Church, along with St.Catherine of Sienna.

For those wishing to know more about this very interesting woman, you can read more detail about her life at the following website:

Brief History of St. Teresa of Avila

Well, it was mid-afternoon by the time we reached Avila. We stopped briefly outside the town to get a great view. Just outside the town, we immediately met our local guide, Maria, and went to the convent where St. Teresa lived most of her life, the Monastery of the Incarnation of the Discalced  Carmelites. This is where Teresa lived, wrote and had most of her mystical experiences. Teresa left this convent in 1562 to found her first monastery and returned in 1571 as prioress.

The first thing we did was to have Mass in the Chapel of the Transfiguration, a beautiful but relatively simple chapel.  






In the center of the altar is a painting showing a scene of an angel thrusting an arrow into Teresa's heart. She writes that this left her "on fire with a great love of God". This is termed the "Transverberation of the heart".

Teresa's Cell.

Parlor where Teresa saw a vision of Christ 

After mass we went to the Museum of St. Teresa in the Monastery. We saw the cell in which she lived and the parlor where she saw a vision of Christ tied to a pillar, and a chalice used by St. John of the Cross.  

Chalice Used by St. John of the Cross

Garden Where Teresa Played as a Child. 

Teresa's bedroom as a little girl.

We then went to the convent of St. Teresa which was built over the home where St. Teresa lived. She was born into a prosperous family (her father was a merchant), but was attracted to God at a very early age. We were able to see her bedroom and  the garden where she played. 

Jean Snyder, Peg Roach and Janice Garcia

It was already getting quite late, so we went to the hotel and a nearby restaurant for nice dinner. It was here that I took this opportunity to take photos of our group. 

Phil and Marilyn Andreski

Ron and Betty Orr, Phil and Mary Kellerhals, Edna Rzucildo and Suzanne Bauzys

John and Emma Mailinger and Deirdre Mckay

Jose and Sylvia Perez, Rachel Bartlett and Viola Lucero

Kim and Brian Goodman

Marty and Marilyn Bunker

Jim and Jan Brady

Helen Bagnate, Frank Conte, Albina Quihuiz and Olivia Olson

John Gomez, and Dick and Terry Schubert

Jim Drotar and Gayle Rappold

Steve and Pat Luebbart and Fr. Paul Wicker

Bill and Ann Christman

Trudy Taylor and MaryAnn Maeckor

Dan and Leslie Paulonis

Randy and Eileen Scholl, and Lynda Campbell.

We all had a wonderful evening. After dinner, we called it a night since we were leaving early again the next day to go to Zaragosa, the site of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Spain's most revered site to honor the Virgin Mary.

April 24 - Fatima and Coimbra

Today we spent the whole day in and around Fatima. Weather was not as good as yesterday - cool and cloudy with brief periods of light rain - but not enough to dampen our spirits. We started this second day with Mass at the Chapel of The Angel of Peace in the Fatima Sanctuary, a more intimate and simple chapel but with a beautiful embossed cross. For many of us, the Mass is an opportunity for reflection and the highlight of our day.

Basilica of  Our  Lady of the Rosary and Fatima Plaza. 

In the area where the three children had visions of Our Lady, there is now an impressive compound with a huge open plaza for the multitudes that come to honor Mary. The original Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (currently closed for renovation) is on one side and the new Church of the Most Holy Trinity that recently opened is on the other, with the open-ended Chapel of Apparitions covering the area where the actual vision occurred on the side.

Tombs of Jacinta and Lucia.

Tomb of Francisco.

Even though the Basilica of the Holy Rosary is closed for renovation, we were still able to view the tombs of the three children, including Sister Lucia who died in 2005 at the age of 97. Jacinta and Francisco were canonized in 2000 and Lucia is currently being considered for canonization.

Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity.

Beautiful Mosaics.

We briefly visited the new Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity. Even though it is quite modern and a dramatic departure from most European churches (and there is still controversy regarding it's design), most of us were quite impressed with the unusual cross and the amazing altar with mosaics covered in gold leaf. 

Now back on the bus to visit the small town of Aljustrel in the parish of Fatima (a short distance from the Fatima Sanctuary) where the three shepherds (seers) lived and where they had visions of an angel prior to their visions of Our Lady.
Lucia was born in 1907, so she was about 10 years old, and Francisco and Jacinta were 9 and 7 years old when they experienced their first vision on May 13, 1917. They were told by Our Lady to come back on the 13th of each of the next 5 months for additional visions. They did so and saw Our Lady on the 13th of June, July, Sept and Oct. In August, they were prevented from going to the Cova da Iria (site of visions- current site of Chapel of Apparitions) by a local administrator, but they did have a vision in Aljustrel on Aug 19 (Obviously Our Lady doesn't have location or date constraints!).

Entering Aljustrel

Aljustrel is a pretty little town, but it was probably quite different 100 years ago (certainly no tourist shops). 

House of Jacinta and Francisco

The homes of the three children seemed fairly comfortable, but very small for a large family.

House of Lucia

In Home of Jacinta and Francisco

Lucia's Bedroom

Jacinta and Francisco's bedroom

Location of the Visions of an Angel Near the Children's Homes

We also were able to see the site of several visions of an angel that occurred near the childrens' homes

It's early afternoon and time for another bus ride and a visit to Coimbra, about an hour ride from Fatima. It is a beautiful city and a college town, with students who are very proud of the capes they wear to special events. We really enjoyed our visit here, and it is one of the places where we would like to come back and spend more time. 


The main reason we went to Coimbra is that it is also the location of the Carmelite convent of St Teresa, where Sister Lucia of Jesus lived from 1948 until her death in 2005. Lucia Santos professed her perpetual vows in 1934 (at the age of 27) and became a sister of St. Dorothy. In 1948, she entered the Carmelite convent in Coimbra and made her profession as a Discalced Carmelite (or Barefoot Carmelite, an order established by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross). 

We began by visiting a wonderful memorial to honor Sister Lucia. It contained very interesting memorabilia, photos, rosaries, letters, and information about her hobbies such as needlework and stamp collecting. While we could not actually enter the convent of St. Teresa, we were able to visit the convent's chapel which has a beautiful altar and artwork. It was interesting to know that since this is a cloistered convent, the  sisters stay behind the grates seen in the picture during the mass so they cannot be seen by any of the people attending.

Church of the Holy Cross (Santa Cruz). 

Next we visited the Church of the Holy Cross (or the Church of Santa Cruz) built in the Manueline style in the 16th century. This church was granted the status of national monument since the first two kings of Portugal are buried there. 











The baroque tiles which cover the walls and the baroque organ were particularly impressive. Also the pulpit is considered one of the finest pieces of renaissance work in Portugal.

We all then had a bit of free time to explore this beautiful town and do some shopping or get a coffee or gelato. Note the student dolls with capes in the shop window.
















It's already late in the afternoon but we are not done yet. We head back to Fatima and arrive only a few minutes before dinner. After dinner we had our group meeting to discuss the day, but it was already 9:00 pm and some of us wanted to go back to the Apparitions Chapel for the Rosary and Processions. We went with John Gomez, who did not go the previous evening, and he commented that he was so glad he went. This evening was shorter than the previous one since the host was not carried in the procession. But in addition to the cross, the statue of the Virgin was carried. The crowd seemed larger - perhaps 4000 people.

So we have now completed another busy but grace-filled day and late night.