27 July - 3 August 2021

Travel across Spain in the footsteps of Saint Ignatius visiting: Loyola, Pamplona, Manresa, Montserrat and Barcelona.
led by Fr David Birchall SJ

2021 to 2022 is the 500 year anniversary the conversion of Ignatius and 400 years of his canonisation.  We shall be telling the story of Ignatius and visiting the places where his conversion happened in Loyola and Pamplona.  Join us on this very special pilgrim year.

Our pilgrims begin with three nights in the Hotel Arrupe, which is situated on the square by the Sanctuary at the heart of Loyola. (Click for Video) Accommodation is in rooms with en-suite facilities and we shall be having full-board with wine at lunch and dinner. 
Loyola is the village of Ignatius’ birth: where we will visit the tower-house of his birth, the chapel of his conversion. (Holy House).
We shall also walk to the nearby local town of Azpeitia to visit the church where Ignatius was baptised and the hospital where he stayed and preached.
We walk along the River Urola pedestrian way to the town of Azkoitia where Iñigo's mother was born to see her family house. 
We also see the venerable Hermitage of Olatz.

We travel across Spain by coach, visiting Pamplona where Ignatius was struck by the fateful cannon-ball.

We then travel on to Montserrat. We spend four nights in the Hotel Abbot Cisneros in Montserrat. The hotel is a beautifully converted historic building, next door to the monastery.  All bedrooms have en-suite facilities.  We will have full-board our first day in Montserrat and half-board on our days out to Manresa and Barcelona.  We have a full day in Montserrat, a day in Manresa and a final day in the city of Barcelona seeing the sites associated with the life of Ignatius with some time for private sightseeing.

The story of the life of Ignatius will be told as we follow in his footsteps. Holy Mass will be celebrated every day; usually in the holy sites. In Montserrat the Mass will be in Catalan, otherwise we celebrate Mass in English.

A Walking Pilgrimage - 2021

This is a walking pilgrimage;
participants will need to be able to walk without strain at a reasonable walking speed on paved streets. As the buildings are old they are frequently do not have modern accessibility feature.
We are sad to say that this pilgrimage is unsuitable for wheelchairs or people who find walking a challenge.
We walk up to couple of miles or so at a time.
We also travel by bus so the ability to negotiate a few fairly steep steps is also necessary.

July and August in Loyola is warm, but rarely more than 30°C, more often in the mid 20's; Manresa and Barcelona will be hot 25-35°C, so be prepared to dress to keep cool;
but remember we are visiting many religious shrines,

COVID19:   We suggest that you don't book flights and take out travel insurance until the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK) allow people to travel to Spain without quarantine restrictions. There is a danger the insurance will not pay out and the flight might have to be cancelled.

Bilbao Airport have announced that they are planning to establish a clinic for the next 6 months to offer COVID tests to passengers who need to prove their COVID free status. The charge will be modest they say!

What to Bring

A sunhat and sunscreen lotion
A pair of comfortable walking shoes
Minimum €100 Euro - the Spanish currency
You may want a lightweight rainproof or small umbrella for Loyola.
A European Health Insurance Card or a British Global Health Card and/or
Travel and Health Insurance.

For UK Residents see Government advice.

Passport and Airline tickets/boarding cards

What is Included

• Transfers from airport at agreed time
• Hotel accommodation in en-suite bedrooms (private toilet and shower), full-board in Loyola and first day in Montserrat, other days with breakfast and evening meal.
• Entrance fees to the Holy House, Loyola, Seu Church Manresa etc.
• Transport by air-conditioned bus across Spain, and to Manresa and Barcelona
• Guided walks of Ignatian Spain

Costs

2021 - €790 (£720 or US$890) Single room supplement €75 (£70 or US$85)*  (Pilgrimage as an add-on to Spiritual Exercises €480 plus single room supplement of €45)*

Once bookings start to fill up, if there are only twin rooms available at the hotels then there would be a further supplement of €15 per night required for single people in a twin room; so early booking is advised.

Travel for 2021

On our return we leave Montserrat at 9am and hope to arrive in Barcelona Airport at 10.30am.
So return flights should be booked from Barcelona, El Prat airport on the 3rd of August to depart after 12.30pm.

*The pilgrimage costs are paid in Euro. Current costs (February 2021) are based on £1=€1.10 (Royal Bank of Scotland Exchange Rate).
If currency rates fluctuate by +/- 5% then the above cost would be adjusted accordingly.

We require full payment of all fees 6 weeks before the Pilgrimage

If you are sending payments to us from overseas we recommend Transferwise:

Transferwise details