Your Catholic Travel Resource
admin One of the smallest chapels in Ireland is located here in Gougane Barra, where Saint Finnbarr built his monastery. Holding only about 30 people, groups can celebrate Mass here if they are traveling with a priest.
Saint Finnbarr built a small monastery here (you can see the remains behind the current chapel) in the 7th Centrury.
Saint Finnbarr’s feast day is celebrated September 25th.
The apparitions at Garabandal, Spain are a matter that is still undecided. Neither approved nor disapproved by the Church, they remain a subject of controversy. There are those who wholeheartedly believe then to have been real and those who believe just the opposite.
One of those who supported the apparitions was Joey Lomangino. Blinded as a result of an accident, he was one of the main proponents of Garabandal. There is no doubt that his death will cause some consternation among its supporters, since the prophecy was that Joey would have his sight restored before his death and this did not occur.
Still, there are many who believe and we do not mean to cast any doubt upon the authenticity of the alleged apparitions.
Certainly, as the saying goes, time will tell. It is certainly interesting that he died on June 18th, the exact day of the first reported apparition in Garabandal in 1961.
As we approach the busy travel season in Europe, one of the things that people worry about is getting scammed in one way or another.
Unfortunately, although violent crime is rare, pickpockets in cities such as Paris and Rome tend to be very active and it seems that the authorities do little to combat them.
Fortunately, you can take some basic precautions that will minimize your exposure. Just a few are:
1. Do not wear flashy jewelry…leave that back home.
2. Use cross-body straps on purses, camera cases, etc. so that even if your hands are occupied you won’t present an opportunity for a thief.
3. If you see a disturbance on the street, keep walking. These can be staged events designed to distract you while someone helps themselves to your wallet or purse.
4. If someone approaches you with a “lost” ring or other valuable, ignore them and keep on walking. Again, this is designed to distract you and is one of the more popular methods of taking your belongings.
5. Do not open your wallet in public, and never allow anyone to help you at an ATM machine.
6. Keep your money (and credit cards) in more than one place…if you do become a victim you won’t lose everything at once. Use a money belt for walking around.
7. Leave your passport in the hotel safe.
8. Use old, beat-up luggage. Using flashy, expensive luggage is asking for trouble. Same applies to backpacks. Let’s face it, if you are a thief you are going to go where the money is!
So, have we scared you? Hopefully not…..we hope we have assuaged any fears you might have. Taking a few precautions mean that you are much likely to become a victim.
A Wedding in Ireland
There are places I remember….as St. Patrick’s Day arrives, I’m filled with longing and haunting memories of Ireland. Especially I remember a windswept beautiful area of Western Ireland. Here, deep in County Mayo, lies an ancient Abbey from the 13th century. The name of that Abbey is Ballintubber. And what a perfect place it would be for a wedding!
The beautiful church is often a place to celebrate Mass for pilgrimage groups.
The Abbey has seen many ‘celebrity weddings’ including the marriage of actor Pierce Brosnan to Keely Shaye Smith and Shane Filan (lead singer of Westlife) to Gillian Walsh. But….you don’t have to be a celebrity to get married here. Catholic couples from all over the world dream of getting married in this beautiful and historical church. And you can too, with a bit of planning.
The setting is ideal: an ancient stone church, a simple yet beautiful interior, almost too good to be true. You can get the sense of history of Catholicism in Ireland in this special place.
Close by is the well where St. Patrick baptized the first converts in the area, and a stone next to the well still bears the impression of his knee.
A glance through the columns of the Cloister at Ballintubber you will see Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s Holy Mountain. It is here that Saint Patrick fasted and prayed for 40 days. How romantic is that?
The lively village of Westport is just 12 miles away and offers many hotels along with lively pubs.
And there are several hotels nearby, some very elegant and some quite simple, that are experienced in accommodating wedding parties. The village of Westport is also convenient, being about 12 miles away.
Just keep in mind that because of its popularity, you’ll need to get your paperwork started as soon as possible.
For more about Ballintubber Abbey click here.
EWTN will be presenting a visual pilgrimage to the Holy Land running from February 17-22 at 6:30 p.m Eastern time in the U.S. (01:30 UTC).
Husband-and-wife production team of Diana and David von Glahn, whose previous series “the Faithful Traveler” was widely acclaimed, take you along on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land led by Cardinal Justin Rigali.
It offers some wonderful scenery along with great commentary. Whether you have traveled to the Holy Land before, or plan to, or just want to see more, we recommend it.
You can find more information, order videos, etc by contacting them at diana@thefaithfultraveler.com or visit their website.
And for our Holy Land section click here.
This doesn’t deal directly with Catholic travel, but for those of us who are of a certain age, it does ring a bell perhaps.
With today’s social media we have all sorts of ways to stay connected (some say we have too many). And for some reason I don’t always understand them.
I don’t watch a lot of TV, but happened to the other day and saw one of the funniest commercials ever made regarding social media, imho. Has nothing to do with Catholic travel, but certainly much to do with social media.
If you are of that certain age, or know someone who is, then you will no doubt get a kick out of it. And if you don’t, then maybe social media is not for you!
Here is the commercial on youtube.
Social media has grown to the point that it is almost overwhelming. Making the choice of which one is for you gets more difficult every day.
But one Catholic social media network that should definitely be on your list is Awestruck.tv. It is not just one network, but a social hub hosting Catholic communities and networking beyond borders. You will find many groups there that will be of interest.
So give it a try and help spread the word to friends and family. It is one social media network that we all can use. There are Catholic groups for just about any interest, so take some time to look around and join a few. It is a great way to stay connected.
Having read the Acts of the Apostles many times in my life, I never really stopped to consider the lasting effects that the apostles had in terms of spreading the faith. Strange, really, because without them going out “into the deep” as it were, very few people would have become followers of Jesus Christ.
One particularly interesting story comes from Acts chapters 27 & 28. At this point Paul had been arrested, but being a Roman citizen he knew he was within his rights he appealed to the Emperor to be tried in Rome. Therefore he was first on one ship and then another, eventually being put on one bound for Italy. Although Paul had tried to warn the men of potential danger, they ignored him. During the course of this voyage a violent storm overtook them, and they were shipwrecked. And it was here in Malta that they ended up for three months.
Paul had relative freedom on the island and even lived for a short time with the Roman ruler of the island, where he cured the man’s father. He was able to perform many miracles and by the time he left there were many converts in what was to become a predominantly Christian nation.
Saint Paul is remembered fondly here, especially on his feast day, February 10th It is a national holiday and a great celebration. A procession of the Statue of Saint Paul is taken from the Parochial Church of Saint Paul’s shipwreck and paraded through town. Mass is offered and the entire city seems to turn out.
For more details about the church and the Festival click here.
The beatification ceremony for Paul Yun Ji-chung and his 123 fellow martyrs (killed between 1791 and 1888) is scheduled for August 15, 2014.
Interestingly, Asian Youth Day 2014 will be held August 13-17 in Korea. This is a World Youth Day event and is bound to be a popular event.
Naturally this has given rise to speculation that the Holy Father might travel to Korea and perform the Beatification ceremony at the same time as Asian Youth Day.
Based on the rousing reception he got in Rio at World Youth Day 2013, that is certainly possible. Especially when you consider how much he seemed to enjoy it himself. Pope Francis is not one to stay put, so we would not be surprised.
We will give you more information as we get it. Check our Calendar of Events for information on Asian Youth Day.
We have mentioned previously that Apostleship of the Sea is an Apostleship of the Catholic Church that screens priests for cruise lines in order to be certain that they are truly Roman Catholic priests and that they are in good standing. There are also staffing agencies that provide this service, and our concern in the past has been that they may not be as thorough in checking out the priest as to his background and his standing with his Bishop or Provincial.
We recently had an email from a staffing company, Compass Speakers and Entertainment Inc. They stated that they provide priests to the following cruise lines on the following itineraries:
Azamara (Easter, Christmas)
Celebrity (Easter, Lent, Ash Wednesday, Holy Land, Christmas)
Crystal (all cruises..space available….so check with them in advance)
Cunard (QM2 all sailings; QE and QV Easter and Christmas only
Silversea (Easter, Christmas)
They went on to point out that their screening process is at least as thorough as that of Apostleship of the Sea, if not more so.
Bottom line: we feel that you can trust that the priests on these specific cruises are legitimate Roman Catholic priests in good standing.
We encourage priests to consider these cruises as well.
Most brides…not sure about the grooms….long for a beautiful wedding ceremony in a beautiful setting. And certainly there are many gorgeous venues in which to hold the ceremony. But gosh, those darn Catholics have so many restrictions! Or some people say so. There is a reason that, of course. To be validly married there are certain restrictions, because Marriage is one of the Seven Sacraments of the Church (can you name the other six?).
Google “Catholic wedding venues” and you come up with more than one so-called Catholic priest or bishop who says, “don’t worry….we can do it your way”. Whether these people are well-meaning or are just purposely misleading you to make a quick buck, we cannot say. The fact is that they cannot offer you a Catholic wedding. In most cases they claim to be associated with an Orthodox Church or some unknown body (the word “contemporary” is sometimes used) and have no legitimate status within the Roman Catholic Church.
One tip-off might be the fact that telephone calls are accepted, but not emails. Hence, no paper trail. No way that the priest, or whoever, can be held accountable since nothing is in writing.
So it’s not so easy to get married in the Catholic church, but that is for a reason. As mentioned previously, marriage is a sacrament, and the location for the wedding is more than just a pretty backdrop. The Marriage Rite should take place during the Mass and the place for celebrating all Sacraments is a Catholic Church. Only rarely will a Bishop allow a dispensation.