May 4- Time to Depart For Home

Today Leslie and I said adios to all the other pilgrims as they headed home, while we were going south to Andalusia for another week. We all rode the bus together to the airport, but then parted ways as we all went to our separate gates. We were headed to Seville, Granada, Tarifa and Ronda. I  hope you have enjoyed this account of our travels and experiences.

To sum up, the last 12 days was an extremely special and unique time for us and I'm sure to all of our fellow pilgrims - one that none of us will ever forget. I still have a hard time believing we were able to see and experience so much in such a short time.This pilgrimage has had a profound effect on my spiritual journey. And finally, I want to express my appreciation to Bill and Ann Christman (ABC Travel) for their efforts in planning this wonderful trip, and for the spiritual direction of Father Paul Wicker.

May 3 St. Ignatius Cave and Montserrat

Entrance to St. Ignatius Cave.

Today began our last full day on this pilgrimage. What a wonderful day it was! After disembarking the ship in Barcelona, we headed straight to Manresa (site of St. Ignatius Cave and Church) and nearby Montserrat Shrine, about an hour's drive. 

St. Ignatius Cave

St. Ignatius, borne around the year 1491, was originally a soldier, but was seriously injured in a battle in 1521. During his recuperation, he began to read books about the life of Christ and the lives of the saints. He eventually decided to change the path of his life and devote his life to Christ, and to imitate the lives of the saints. 

Beautiful Alabaster Altarpiece Depicting St. Ignatius as a
Penitent Looking Up Towards Montserrat.
  

After his recuperation, he made a pilgrimage to Montserrat. but soon went to nearby Manresa and spent almost an entire year in a cave to pray and do penance. He went through a spiritual transformation there and wrote his famous Spiritual Exercises. Later on, in the year 1540, Pope Paul III approved the new religious order established by St. Ignatius, called the "Company of Jesus" (now known as the Jesuits).  






The large hall leading to the cave is lavishly decorated with wonderful mosaics.

Church of St. Ignatius

We all admired the beautiful baroque Church of St. Ignatius built just next to the cave. 

Detail of St. Ignatius

Altar of St. Ignatius Church

After seeing this church, even though our schedule called for us to celebrate Mass in Montserrat, Bill Christman and several others wondered if we instead could celebrate Mass here (especially since we had been delayed due to the bus issues). So Bill, working with our tour guide, was able to make this happen. What a perfect location and church to celebrate the last Mass of our pilgrimage.

Mary Kellerhals Doing the Reading

After Mass, we took a few minutes to admire the wonderful views of the mountains and the impressive 14th century Romanesque/Gothic Collegiate Basilica of Santa Maria on a nearby hill. We also took the opportunity to have a group shot of all 45 of us pilgrims in this wonderful setting. 

All 45 of us Outside the St. Ignatius Sanctuary.

Montserrat Shrine.

Black Madonna of
Montserrat. 

After leaving Monresa, we then headed directly to Montserrat Shrine, located in a beautiful spot on a 4000 foot high mountain, a short drive away. 

Basilica at Montserrat

The Monastery at Montserrat is still active and not open to the public. The Basilica next to the Monastery houses the Black Madonna, one of the most revered and celebrated images in Spain. Tradition tells us that it was carved by St. Luke around 50 AD but was hidden in a cave in the year 718 to hide it from the advancing Moors. It was then rediscovered by some shepherd boys in the cave (Santa Cove, or Holy Grotto) in the year 890. 

Santa Cova (Holy Grotto) where the Black Madonna
was found in 890 a.d.

Montserrat Shrine Nestled in the Mountains

Main Altar of the Basilica. 

The Madonna is now housed in an alcove behind the main altar of the Basilica.

Pilgrims Are Able to Approach and
Touch the Black Madonna

Close-Up of Black Madonna. 

After Mass it was time to leave Montserrat, but we still enjoyed the views of the dramatic and rough mountains on our way back to Barcelona for our last overnight of the pilgrimage. 

May 2 Avignon and Visit to Palace of the Popes

Avignon Cathedral.

There was another excursion today - after reaching Marseilles overnight, about half of us went to Avignon and the Palace of the Popes. We got an early start and arrived at Avignon before 10:00. We were very fortunate to have another beautiful sunny and warm day. 

Pont Saint-Benezet.  

We initially made a brief stop at the Pont Saint-Benezet (or Pont D'Avignon), a famous medieval bridge built in the 12th century. It originally had 22 arches, but only 4 remain. 

Avignon Cathedral

Gilded Statue of Mary on top of
Avignon Cathedral.  

As we walked to the Palace of the Popes, we passed by the Avignon Cathedral (also called the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Doms). This cathedral is of Romanesque design built in the 12th century. Unfortunately we weren't able to see the inside  of this Cathedral.

Palace of the Popes

Our Group Waiting to Enter the Palace of the Popes. 

The Palace of  Popes is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe.  It was the seat of Western Christianity, beginning in the the year 1309. A total of 7 popes (and 2 antipopes) resided  in Avignon before the Papacy moved back to Rome in the year 1370, due in no small measure to the efforts and prodding of St. Catherine of Sienna. 

Detail Over One of the Gates.

There is no question that the Palace is extremely impressive both from an historical and architectural perspective. It was also quite meaningful to know we were moving in the same rooms that the popes lived, prayed, ate and had their conclaves. 

Courtyard

On the other hand, it was somewhat of a disappointment to many of our group because the building is quite sterile and stark inside. It is so unfortunate that the Palace was sacked and damaged during the French revolution, and was subsequently used as a prison and then a military garrison.

The Grand Chapel Where Popes Worshipped

Banquet Hall

Frescoes in St. Martial Chapel Undergoing Restoration
(Picture from Palace of the Popes Website)

Inside the St. John Chapel. 

Almost all of the religious items and most of the beautiful frescoes and tempera paintings were either destroyed or removed. One of the exceptions is St. John's Chapel, which was quite beautiful inside. Also, the frescoes in the St. Martial Chapel are also impressive (see picture from the Palace of the Popes website), although it is currently undergoing restoration and we weren't able to enter the Chapel. 

Gayle Rappold, Jim and Jan Brady, and Leslie and Dan Paulonis.

After completing our tour, we had some free time to explore the area. A number of us enjoyed an excellent lunch at L'Opera Cafe. Many of our group stopped in the nearby shops to purchase some items made from lavender, a very important crop in this area.  

Marilyn and Phil Andreski, and Marilyn and Marty Bunker.

Lovely Carousel in the Large and Busy Pedestrian Area
in front of the Palace.

Lovely View of the Avignon Countryside. 

After lunch, Les and I walked up to the nice gardens next to and above the Cathedral. In addition to play areas for children there was an excellent viewpoint where you can look over the surrounding countryside and also see the 14th century Fort Andre. 

14th Century Fort Andre

It was now time to head back to the bus to get back to the ship in time. Shortly after boarding the ship, it was time for Mass at 5:30. What an amazing surprise we had in store for us there. Word had apparently gotten out about our 5:30 mass and today we had over 70 guests join us - the house was packed! How wonderful.  

After our time for reflection on the day, it was time for dinner and then free time to attend a show or just relax on the ship. 

May 1- Excursion to Palma de Mallorca

As the sun rose,we arrived in Mallorca around 7:00 am. About half of us signed up for a walking tour of Palma de Mallorca, with the remainder of the group either staying on the boat or exploring on their own. Even though we left the boat as soon as we could (around 8:30), there was a small mix-up so we didn't meet our local tour guide Emma and start our tour until almost 10:00. As you can see from the photo, we were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day. 

Palma is the largest city on Mallorca and it has a rich history, going back to pre-Roman times. The city was established by the Romans around 123 B.C., and was under Byzantine and then Muslim control until the Christian Reconquest in the year 1229. After a very short bus ride to the Old City, we immediately saw Palma's landmark, the beautiful and immense Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca which is dedicated to San Sebastian, Palma's patron saint. It is also known as La Seu. We naturally took this opportunity for another group shot. 
Construction of this Cathedral began in the early 1300's but it took hundreds of years  to complete. In the early 1900's Antoni Gaudi was engaged in a restoration project. 
One of its notable features is its rose window, one of the largest in the world. Although we unfortunately were not able to visit the inside of the cathedral, there is an YouTube video which shows an amazing display of sunlight through the rose window twice a year:  http://mallorcaobserved.com/2013/02/02/the-cathedral-of-light/

Church of Monte Sion.

This was actually a Jewish Heritage Tour, so Emma told us quite a bit about the history of Jews in Palma. Some tombstones from the 5th century provide evidence of Jewish inhabitance back to that time period. We walked through the Jewish Quarter "el call" and passed by the Church of Monte Sion, built on the remains of  an early synagogue. We talked about the time during the inquisition when Jews were forced to convert to Christianity. Some of them continued to practice their Jewish religion in secret (known as Crypto-jews), and some of their descendents are still in Palma to this day, and are identifiable by their Chueto names.

Silk Exchange Building 

Another place we visited was the silk exchange, a Gothic building from the 15th century

Silk Exchange Building

Basilica of St. Francis

Statue of Father Serra

We also passed by the Basilica of St. Francis. In front of the Basilica is a statue of Father Junipero Serra, who founded nine of twenty-one missions in California in the 18th century.

Front View of La Seu

Here are a few of the other photos I took during our walking tour.  

Beautiful View of Waterfront  in Palma

Leslie and Dan Paulonis

We got back to the ship relatively early and had some time to explore the ship before meeting for Mass at around 5:00. We departed early for Marseilles, and had some wonderful views of Mallorca as we left.

Bill Christman and Father Paul Preparing for Mass.

As we arrived at the Fat Cats Lounge, we were pleasantly surprised that our guests at Mass had grown to about 12. The Good Word must have gotten out!

Our Congregation

Sylvia and Jose Perez Enjoying Dinner

Marilyn and Phil Andreski, Jan and Jim Brady,
and Marilyn and Marty Bunker

Father Paul Wicker, Eileen and Randy Scholl,
Leslie and Dan Paulonis, and Betty and Ron Orr

After Mass and our daily meeting, it was time for dinner and free time  on the ship. Some of us attended one of the shows on board and it was excellent. I managed to catch Sylvia and Jose enjoying a quiet dinner together.