This pilgrimage almost didn't happen!
The group came to us a bit late and all the hotels in and around Fatima (as far as Coimbra) are fully booked. The group wanted to celebrate the Opening of the Centenary on 13 May 2017, and the Holy Father is presiding the night vigil.
St Edmund's church has a group of 30+ pilgrims but we couldn't get decent flights let alone accommodations in Fatima. After much negotiations with the parishioners, we decided to stay in Alcobaca. Getting 20 decent rooms in Alcobaca was indeed a small miracle!
To this day... we are most grateful for the understanding of the parishioners of St. Edmund. They all put up with the inconveniences of having to get up for a 3:00am coach ride to the airport, hotel far away from Fatima, the all night vigil and above all the package price not being one of the cheapest.
Many pilgrims stayed overnight on the 12th May for the night vigil. We bus them in and out of Fatima to the hotel in Alcobaca on a daily basis. Our drivers worked all night to accommodate us. Father Emmanuel had been most helpful in keeping us all in one spirit.
A unique celebrate of the Centenary with the Rosary at the basilica.
The Eucharist church in Santaurem. There is a beautiful story here and well worth a visit.
Alcobaca Monastery : looking out from our hotel window. Though we settled to stay away from Fatima, it turned out to be a good decision. Our pilgrims had a chance to see Alcobaca and learned about the rich and interesting history.
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