Fr. Jojo Buenafe
April 2, 2025
Portugal, Spain, France, and Switzerland
One of the most well-known Marian antiphons, the Salve Regina, depicts us as “pilgrims in a strange land”. In this Marian hymn, we cry out to Mary, the “Mother of Mercy,” as “poor banished children of Eve,” and ask that, “after this our exile,” she will “show unto us the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus.” We should look to Mary as a sure guide to lead us to the fruit of her womb, Jesus. Visit endearing places where Our Blessed Mother has appeared and get closer to Jesus through Mary. Join a 14-day Pilgrimage to the Marian Shrines of Portugal, Spain, France, and Switzerland with Fr. Jojo Buenafe on April 2-15, 2025.
Your pilgrimage begins with a visit to the Church of St. Anthony de Padua in Lisbon, Portugal. Although he died in Padua, Italy, St. Anthony was born in Lisbon, and the church sits on the site where he was born. A crypt marks his birthplace, and in 1982, St. John Paul II visited and prayed here. Travel onwards to Fatima, where you will spend two nights at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. Here, Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children—Lucia and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta—between May and October 1917. Celebrate Mass at the Chapel of Apparitions, an open-air chapel built on the site of her appearances.
Leave Portugal for Spain and head for the medieval city of Burgos. Celebrate Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos, also known as Burgos Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Cathedral of Santa Maria is Burgos’s historic jewel and one of Spain’s great Gothic churches.
Travel onwards to Lourdes, France, to spend two nights at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. The sanctuary is the site of an apparition of the Blessed Mother seen by Bernadette Soubirous, who was later canonized. Pray the rosary and spend time in quiet reflection at the Grotto of Massabielle, the Blessed Mother’s apparition site. Not to be missed is the evening rosary procession, where “Ave Maria” is sung in unison and the rosary is recited in different languages.
Journey on to the beautiful city of Paris. Visit the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, where Our Lady appeared before St. Catherine of Laboure and instructed her to have a medal made, and all who wear it will receive great graces. Delight in a River Seine Cruise and marvel at the “City of Lights’s” famous sights.
Leave France for Switzerland and enjoy a scenic drive through the Fontainebleau Forest, the wine-growing area of Burgundy. Marvel at prosperous farms and half-timbered villages through the Alpine heart of picturesque Lucerne. Head to the mountain resort town of Engelberg for a captivating mountain experience. Not to be missed is a delightful ride on board a rotating cable car, the Rotair.
Make your way to the pilgrimage town of Einsiedeln, home to the miraculous Shrine of Our Lady of Einsiedeln. The famous shrine incorporates the relics of a saint, a miraculous Black Madonna statue, and a Benedictine monastery. Nearby is the world’s largest nativity scene, the Diorama Bethlehem. Next stop is Rapperswil, famous for its utterly resplendent rose gardens, which offer a combination of sights spanning history, art, culture, and nature with a Mediterranean ambience.
Wind down your pilgrimage with a two-night stay in Zurich. Begin the day with a mass at the Church of St. Anton, followed by a guided city tour. Not to be missed are a pleasurable cruise on the Lake of Zurich and a visit to the world-famous Chocolate Lindt Shop.
Marian apparitions are moments when the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to us here on earth, letting us know that Her prayers for us are being offered to God. Receive inspiration from the lives of Mary and the Saints, who were faithful to Jesus at all costs. Join a 14-day Pilgrimage to the Marian Shrines of Portugal, Spain, France, and Switzerland with Fr. Jojo Buenafe on April 2-15, 2025. May this pilgrimage strengthen your resolve to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Find time to immerse yourself in the BATHS in Lourdes, where water from a spring flows at the Grotto of Massabielle.
The gardens in the town of Rapperswill, Switzerland, have 16,000 rose bushes of 600 different kinds — a wonderful sight to behold. It also includes a special section of highly fragrant rose bushes that is a garden for the visually challenged.
After Mass at the Church of St. Anthony, take a guided tour of Lisbon’s well-known attractions, including the Belem Tower, Jeronimus Monastery, the Moorish Citadel, and the spectacular Black Horse Square, before continuing on to Fatima.
Ride the Rotair, a rotating cable car in Engelberg, and marvel at the breathtaking panoramic views of alpine glaciers and ice boulders as you ascend 10,000 feet.
Ask your friends to write their prayer petitions on a piece of paper, which you can drop in a box at the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, France.
Spiritually-focused journeys
Insightful pilgrimage chaplains
Quality accommodations
Expertly-crafted itineraries
Friendly and bonded groups
Senior citizen friendly
The whole pilgrimage is a new and fulfilling moment in my life. It’s a nice feeling being with the Lord in His important day. And also, gaining new friends and becoming my new extended family is something I will treasure. I hope that this is just the beginning and we’ll continue to get in touch with one another despite the distance.
Brenda
Hello Co-Pilgrims,
It was indeed a wonderful Pilgrimage: very rich in history, a thanksgiving of blessings, a spiritual renewal and nourishment, and finally ending in a test of Faith.
Thank you so much Pilgrim Leader, Ging Igual, for standing beside us up to the last stretch of our 13-day journey - more particularly in the handling of an unexpected situation (cancelled flight in Mexico and re-direction of flights to make sure the 38 Pilgrims reach LA for their respective flight bookings). Ging, you were an angel to us so blessed with energy, passion, love and Milagrosa. We really felt the presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe fielding angels every step of the way.
The Pilgrimage to California Mission Churches and Our Lady of Guadalupe gives me personal inspiration for the work and activities of the next chapter of my lifetime: farming with promotion of agriculture for millennials (inspired by the scenic view of farms in California), tourism (which is a major industry in all places we visited), and support for a favourite major seminary in Tagaytay and a scholarship fund for deserving individuals (thru a non stock non profit institution).
Thank you to my Co-Pilgrims and prayer partners for the prayer support, sharing of life experiences and friendships; Fr. Tony, thank you for your spiritual reflections and service; Fr. Jerry Orbos for an overflowing spiritual reflections and enabling us to have the needed personal encounter with Jesus and Mama Mary (it was like a 12-day Holy Retreat); and the Executive Resources for making a very nice pilgrimage package a part of our lifetime.
Ms. Emma
Lord, we cannot find words enough to say how grateful we are to You. Our pilgrimage made us realize that Your love for us is more than what we deserve.
To all our co-pilgrims, thank you for making us feel we belong to this new family. To Fr. Dante, thanks for your prayers and pieces of advice for our spiritual nourishment. To Sis Lea, for taking care of each one of us. To Sis Joy, thanks for the contagious joys and laughters.
To our prayer partners, Sis Maribel, Melvy and Didick and Bro Mon and Sis Jot, thank you for your prayers. We will pray for you, too!
To The Pilgrim’s Center - Executive Resources, thank you for accommodating us in this Eastern Europe Pilgrimage.
God bless us all always!
Albert and Adee
Dear Pilgrims' Center:
My husband Aldo & I would like to praise & commend our Pilgrim Chaplain Fr. Dante Venus & our Tour Leader Bro. Monty for the very successful & memorable pilgrimage to Italy & the Holy Land we were very fortunate to join on March 26-April 8, 2018.
It was very hectic to be sure, but still they managed our time very well that we were able to visit more places than was promised in the itinerary, and we are very appreciative of that. Likewise, the solemnity of the whole pilgrimage experience was still observed despite many of us in the group, myself included, often forgetting that we were pilgrims & not tourists 😉😉, taking photos, selfies, etc. instead of, or before focusing on what the local guide was explaining or on the scripture readings. I cannot fault us pilgrims on this because for many of us seniors, and I speak for my husband & I, that trip might be our first & last time to visit those places, so we made sure they were properly documented. Nonetheless, it was a truly spiritually uplifting & life-changing experience for us. We continue to thank our Lord for making that experience of a lifetime possible. Indeed, nothing is impossible for God! Thank you very much to Fr. Dante, Bro. Monty & to each of us pilgrims in the group for the prayers, love, care & concern shown to each other. Let us continue to pray for and with each other. It is my hope that we meet each other again soon, to strengthen our bonds of friendships.
Most sincerely, Leclec Cabusora
Leclec Cabusora
My husband and I just came back from a wonderful trip to Israel - with Franciscan Fr Reu Galoy. Thank you Pilgrim Center for the arrangements. We are so happy and satisfied with all that you have done for us. Kudos to Yanyan and Monty from Pilgrim Center, and Fr Reu and Ronin for your caring services. It was a spiritual journey and we felt the abiding presence of the Lord all throughout.
Ann Arguelles Cortes
Our pilgrimage was worth all the hardships (I was having leg pains). We had an excellent leader in the person of Adrian, two priests Fathers Val and Ron, who gave us very nice pieces of advice and homilies, and of course the members of the group who were all very nice. Looking forward to join another pilgrimage.
Emily Bautista
It was the most profound experience I had in my whole life....Walking with the Footsteps where Jesus walked made my life more grateful and humble....My faith become stronger as I express it...A growing faith is a sharing faith....TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!! SHALOM!
Carmen Nierra
Vir & I would like to express our gratitude for a wonderful pilgrimage we had from Sept 5-18. From checking-in last Sept 5 & all during the tour, we felt the care from a family. No words can ever describe how thankful we are.
I almost cried last Sept 8, (my birthday) when we (2 of us have the same birthday) were given a surprise mini celebration when after our dinner, we were given a cake. I really felt the love of a family then.
All these things made possible because of your capable coordinator Ms. Ging Igual. She's such a wonderful leader. Kudos to her.
Rest assured that i will refer your company to all my friends who are planning to go on pilgrimage .
Good day & may God always guide & protect all of you in the Pilgrims' Center/ Executive Resources, Inc.
Cora and Vir Franca
I am honored to be included in this pilgrimage. The Pilgrims' Center has very good itineraries worth remembering. No hours wasted. They took very good care of us in spite of our big number of 47 people. The daily mass and homilies of Fr. Manny Cruz held in different shrines and churches were very inspirational and transforming. Accommodations were nice most especially the one on top of the Mountain with an awesome view built in 1909. It's like travelling back in time. I definitely would want to do it again with Pilgrim Center.
Peter Joseph Mapua
The Pilgrims' Center always gives you the best. They let you feel like an Executive in terms of personal service & attention especially during pilgrimage. Their choices of pilgrimages and pilgrim chaplains are outstanding. You go back home very fulfilled and immersed...
Marlene Silvestre
• Passport with six (6) months validity from the date of departure
• One (1) Visa Application Form
• Two (2) pcs. passport-size pictures
• Original Bank Certificate (both Pesos and/or US Dollars) – must include account type, current balance, account opening, and six (6) months average
• Original or certified true copy of Bank Statement for the last (3) months
• Affidavit of Support and Consent (signed and notarized by the sponsor if financially incapable)
• If married, copy of Authenticated Marriage Contract
• Copy of hotel voucher (to be supplied by ERI)
• Photocopy of International Credit Cards (if available)
• Travel Insurance with a minimum coverage of Php2.5 Million (valid for 30 days)
If employed:
• Employment Certificate – must be in company’s letterhead and must include the applicant’s position, date hired, compensation, and company’s address, telephone number, and email address
• Certificate of Compensation 2316
If in business:
• Original and Photocopy of Business Registration, DTI or SEC
• Original and Photocopy of Latest Income Tax Return
• Personal appearance by the applicant
• Processing Time: 15 – 30 days
VISA FEE: Php 10,500.00*
* Subject to change without prior notice!
1) A US$ 500.00 deposit (for economy) / US$1,000.00 deposit (for business class) is required upon reservation together with a photocopy of a passport (valid for 6 months from date of departure), Pilgrim’s Profile with a passport-size photo, copy of latest arrival stamp in Manila, visa fee (if applicable), and travel insurance payment.
2) Final payment in USD is due on or 45 days before departure.
3) The following cancellation charges will apply:
> 45 days before departure date – US$ 500.00
> 30 days before departure date – 50% of the Tour Cost
> 20 days prior to departure date – Full tour cost will be forfeited.
> US$ 300.00 Admin Fee for any visa denial.
BASIC TOUR COST DOES NOT INCLUDE visa fees and documentation expenses, insurance, hospitalization and other medical expenses, tours and transportation during free periods, porterage of extra pieces of luggage in excess of maximum allocation, drinks and beverages taken during meals, items of personal nature such as laundry, telephone, fax, room service, and other expenses not mentioned in the itinerary terms and conditions.
EXECUTIVE RESOURCES, INC. has arranged for the various tour services to be performed under the responsibility of various contractors. Executive Resources, Inc., its employees or its sub-agents therefore only act as agents for the contractors providing the various services described in the tour and accept no responsibility or liability in connection with losses or accidental expenses due to delays of schedule, overbooking, defaults or “force majeure.” All tours and arrangements are subject to the general conditions specified by each contractor. Tour itineraries and prices are subject to change without prior notice. When making a tour booking, the passenger acknowledges and accepts the foregoing conditions. When making a tour booking, the passenger acknowledges and accepts the foregoing conditions.
*** RATES AND ITINERARY ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE! ***
