10 Day Ignatian Pilgrimage through Spain & France
Trip Start
Aug 20, 2008
1
7
Trip End
Ongoing
Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain and Canary Islands
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
For my ten day break, I knew exactly where I'd go, because I had been dreaming of this trip for at least a year. I knew why I came to Europe was founded in my desire to grow closer to Christ, and what better way than following in the footsteps of one of his greatest saints, St. Ignatius of Loyola.
A little over 400 years ago, Ignatius left his hometown of Loyola and set out to the Monastery of Montserrat. It was here that he gave up his vanities and surrendered his arms to Our Lady of Montserrat, a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, to put on the armor of Christ.
After this, he walked to Manresa, a town about 23 km from Montserrat. Here, here prayed in a cave and wrote the Spiritual Excercises, which would change the world forever.
So four of my buddies and I set out on our pilgrimage through Spain, which would then end in Paris, where Ignatius and his best friend Frances Xavier would form the Jesuits!
The actual pilgrimage, although it ended in Paris, was virtually done in Manresa. However, we also went to Lourdes, France, Disneyland Paris (haha, it was kind of a celebration for the end of our pilgrimage), and Lisieux, France for the Beatification of St. Therese's parents.
