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Salesians of Don Bosco

Jan 2006 - In Denver, Colorado (L to R) Mr. Thomas Pereira of St Michael Center and parish training consultant www.GrowYourParish.com , was invited by Globus-Cosmos religious travel team Ms.Amee Estill and Mr. Kevin Wright , religious travel manager, to begin a program to encourage the formation of travel ministries in parishes and to organize pilgrimages. Pastors and parishioners are encouraged to contact St Michael Center to learn more about the program as part of helping parishes grow their communities. Global-Cosmos, a 75 year old company, is the largest tour operator in the country.

Kevin Wright (left), acclaimed Catholic travel author and Religious
Travel Manager for Globus and Cosmos; and Thomas Pereira (right) ,
founder and director of St Michael Center met in December 2005 in San Francisco to begin a National Travel Ministry for parishes with the mission of encouraging families to travel to religious, historical and cultural sights around the world.

Designed to serve the Catholic community in America by offering the opportunity of travel and fellowship in a relaxed environment, the opportunities are limitless. Whether it is a trip to the great Catholic shrines of Europe, the Biblical lands, or even a parish vacation to Hawaii, we offer you the very best faith-based travel experiences.

Our travel partner Globus and Cosmos is a world-class leader in escorted vacations, and specialists in pilgrimage travel. Their team of religious travel professionals is headed by Kevin J. Wright, an award-winning Catholic travel author.

Our pilgrimage trips are chosen to provide you or your parish an intimate encounter with the roots of our Catholic faith – whether it is walking in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II in Poland, praying at the site where Our Lady appeared in Fatima and Lourdes, or even touching Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments.

Traveling with St. Michael’s National Travel Ministry is more than a journey, it is an immersion into the richness of our Catholic faith – and where the saints come alive.

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• The Irish Faith and History
11-day tour will let you become intimately involved in Irish faith and history as you visit Our Lady of Lourdes Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Oscar Wilde’s Trinity College, Knock Shrine, Church of the Apparition, Folk Museum, Croagh Patrick Visitor Centre, Kylemore Abbey, Aran Heritage Centre and Burren Centre. Also explore dairy farm country in the center of the “Emerald Isle”, enjoy an excursion to Inishmore, relish a panoramic drive around “Ring of Kerry” and a horse-drawn car ride through national park, drop by the world famous crystal factory in Waterford, and see Ireland’s oldest handweaving mill at Avoca.

• The Legacy of Pope John Paul II eight-day tour will allow you to experience first hand the Pope’s hometown, his favorite boyhood shrine, his favorite Marian devotion site, the city and cathedral in which he served as cardinal, and much more. Part of the pilgrimage is a visit to Cathedral of St. John, Warsaw Ghetto, Franciscan Friary, Shrine and the famous Black Madonna, Martyrdom Museum, St. Maximilian Kolbe’s cell, Wawel Castle, St. Mary’s Church, and Shrine of Divine Mercy

•The Lourdes and Shrines of France 11-day tour will immerse your faith as you visit Notre Dame Cathedral, Basilica of Sacre Coeur, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Shrine, St. Vincent de Paul Shrine, St. Peter’s Cathedral, Carmelite Convent, Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, St. John Vianney Shrine, and Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Also glimpse at the family home of St. Therese, St. Bernadette’s and St. John Vianney. You may also bathe in the healing waters, attend the “Blessing of the Sick,” or join the evening’s rosary and candlelight procession in Lourdes.

• The Marian Shrines of Europe 11- day tour will allow you to visit three of Christianity’s most famous shrines on this unforgettable pilgrimage- Lourdes, Fatima, and Santiago de Compostela. Stops along the way include a visit to Jeronimos Monastery, Church of St. Anthony, Church of the Holy Miracle, Prado Museum and Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. Also visit St. Bernadette’s birth and family homes, bath in the healing waters, attend the “Blessing of the Sick”, or join the evening’s rosary and candlelight procession.

• The Classic Shrines of Italy 10-day tour will let you experience the best of Italy’s famous shrines and cities on this pilgrimage. Discover the history, culture and architecture of Christian faith from Rome, San Giovanni Rotondo to Assisi. Part of the journey are stops to St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Catacombs, St. John Lateran Basilica, the Holy Stairs, St. Mary Major Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum, Roman Forum. Also visit the Benedictine Abbey, Padre Pio’s friary, Holy House of Loreto, St. Mary of the Angels Basilica and the Portiuncula. Also indulge in the sights and sounds of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi’s hometown.

• The Grand Catholic Italy
11-day tour will give you a majestic travel from Rome to Venice as you take pleasure in guided visits to the Holy Stairs, St. John Lateran Basilica, St. Paul outside the Walls, St. Mary Major Basilica, the Catacombs, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Also visit Benedictine monasteries, Padre Pio’s friary, Shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo, Holy House of Loreto, St. Anthony’s Basilica, and St. Mark’s Square.

LIVES OF THE SAINTS

MAY 1
ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
This is St. Joseph's second feast day on the Church calendar of celebrations. We honor him also on March 19. St. Joseph is a very important saint.

MAY 2
ST. ATHANASIUS
St. Athanasius was born around 297 in Alexandria, Egypt. He devoted his life to proving that Jesus is truly God.

MAY 3
ST. PHILIP AND ST. JAMES
Both of these saints were part of the original group of Jesus' twelve apostles.

MAY 4
BLESSED MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS
Blessed Marie-Elodie Paradis was born in the village of L'Acadie in Quebec, Canada. It was May 12, 1840.

MAY 5
ST. JUDITH OF PRUSSIA
St. Judith lived in the thirteenth century. She was born in Thuringia. This was in what is now central Germany. She wanted to model her life on the example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

MAY 6
BLESSED FRANCOIS DE MONTMORENCY LAVAL
Blessed Francois was the first bishop of Quebec City, Canada. He was born in 1623 in a small town in France.

MAY 7
BLESSED ROSE VENERINI
Blessed Rose was born in Viterbo, Italy, in 1656. Her father was a physician. Rose entered the convent but returned home after a few months.

MAY 8
BLESSED CATHERINE OF ST. AUGUSTINE
St. Catherine was born on May 3, 1632, in a little village in France. She was baptized the same day.

MAY 9
BLESSED NICHOLAS ALBERGATI
Blessed Nicholas was born in Bologna, Italy. Nicholas' family could afford to send him to the university where he began to study law.

MAY 10
ST. ANTONINUS
St. Antoninus lived in the fifteenth century. Even as a boy he showed that he had good sense and will power.

MAY 11
ST. IGNATIUS OF LACONI
St. Ignatius was the son of a poor farmer in Laconi, Italy. He was born on December 17, 1701.

MAY 12
ST. NEREUS, ST. ACHILLEUS AND ST. PANCRAS
Sts. Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers who died around 304. They were probably Praetorian guards under Emperor Trajan. We know little else about them.

MAY 13
ST. ANDREW FOURNET
St. Andrew Fournet was born on December 6, 1752. He was from Maille, a little town near Poitiers, in France. Andrew's parents were religious people.

MAY 14
ST. MATTHIAS
St. Matthias was one of Our Lord's seventy-two disciples.

MAY 15
ST. ISIDORE THE FARMER
Saint Isidore was born in 1070, in Madrid, Spain. His parents were deeply religious. They named their son after the great St. Isidore, archbishop of Seville, Spain.

MAY 16
ST. UBALD
St. Ubald lived in twelfth-century Italy. He was an orphan raised by his uncle, a bishop. Ubald was given a good education.

MAY 17
ST. PASCHAL BAYLON
St. Paschal, a Spanish saint, was born in 1540. From the time he was seven, he worked as a shepherd. He never had the opportunity to go to school.

MAY 18
ST. JOHN I
St. John I was a priest of Rome. He became pope after the death of Pope St. Hormisdas in 523. At that time, Italy's ruler, Theodoric the Goth, was an Arian.

MAY 19
ST. CELESTINE V
Peter di Morone was the eleventh of twelve children. He was born around 1210 in Isernia, Italy. His father died when he was small.

MAY 20
ST. BERNARDINE OF SIENA
St. Bernardine of Siena was born in 1380 in a town near Siena, Italy. He was the son of an Italian governor.

MAY 21
BLESSED EUGENE DE MAZENOD
Blessed Eugene was born in France in 1782. He became a priest in 1811. Father Eugene was sensitive to the needs of the poor and he ministered to them.

MAY 22
ST. RITA OF CASCIA
St. Rita was born in 1381 in a little Italian village. Her parents were older. They had begged God to send them a child. They brought Rita up well.

MAY 23
ST. JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI
St. John Baptist Rossi was born in 1698 in a village near Genoa, Italy. His family loved him. They were proud when a wealthy couple visiting their town offered to educate him. His parents knew the couple and trusted them.

MAY 24
ST. DAVID I OF SCOTLAND
St. David was born in 1080. He was the youngest son of St. Margaret, queen of Scotland, and her good husband, King Malcom.

MAY 25
VENERABLE BEDE
Venerable Bede, the English priest, was famous as a saint, a priest, a monk, a teacher and a writer of history. He was born in England in 673.

MAY 26
ST. PHILIP NERI
St. Philip Neri was born in Florence, Italy, in 1515. As a child, his nickname was "Good little Phil." He was always so jolly and friendly that everyone he met loved him.

MAY 27
ST. AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY
St. Augustine was the abbot of St. Andrew's monastery in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great chose him and forty other monks for a mission dear to his heart.

MAY 28
BLESSED MARGARET POLE
Blessed Margaret was born in 1471. She was the niece of two English kings, Edward IV and Richard III. Henry VII arranged her marriage to Sir Reginald Pole.

MAY 29
ST. MAXIMINIUS
St. Maximinius was a bishop who lived in the fourth century. It is believed that he was born in Poitiers, France. As a young man, he heard of a saintly bishop of Trier, in Gaul.

MAY 30
ST. JOAN OF ARC
St. Joan was born in 1412. Her hometown was Domremy, a little village in France. Jacques d'Arc, her father, was a hard working farmer.

MAY 31
THE VISITATION OF MARY
Visitation means "visit." The Archangel Gabriel told the Blessed Virgin Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was going to have a baby.

ABOUT ARCHANGELS

SAINT MICHAEL
St. Michael the Archangel Story
History of St. Michael the Archangel Prayer
St. Michael the Archangel Prayers
St. Michael the Archangel Apparitions
The Chaplet of St. Michael Archangel
Novena to St Micheal the Archangel
Litany of St. Michael the Archangel

SAINT GABRIEL
St. Gabriel Prayer

SAINT RAPHAEL
St. Raphael Prayer

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Tour of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org

REFLECTIONS

“Jesus’ Baptism”

Why did Jesus, the sinless one sent from the Father in heaven, submit himself to John’s baptism? John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of the “baptism” of Jesus bloody death upon the cross. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning of his mission as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-12). He allowed himself to be numbered among sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust and submission to God?

NEWS ARCHIVE & ACTIVITIES

EVENTS
Holy Relics of Advent in Hawaii
Miles Christi Women's Retreat

NEWS
The Sacrament of Marriage
Bishops Shield Pope Against BBC Assault
Much Work Remains in Many Areas
Vatican Appeals for Least Developed Countries

MAINPAGE ARTICLE
Immaculate Conception of Mary
Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Feast of St Jude the Miraculous Saint
Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima