Thank you and may God Bless You!
PRAISED BE
JESUS CHRIST,
NOW AND FOREVER!
PILGRIMAGES
+J.M.+J.T.
2024:
Fr. Frank Yncierto's pilgrimage from Las Vegas for late April 2024 to Holy Shrines in France click here Contact Mary Henry at 877-545-2444 (toll free USA and Canada); 781-331-2444
Mexico, September 26 - October 1, 2024 with Fr. Samuel Martinez. (click): Mexico City - Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Teotihuacan - Blessed Miguel Pro – Santo Domingo Church - Blessed Conchita Cabrera - Puebla -Church of Tulpetlac
May 21, 2024 - June 2nd: The Center's pilgrimage to MEDJUGORJE, May 26, 2024 of happy memory of our late Center's beloved Founder Monsignor Benjamin J. Franzinelli 8th Year Anniversary.
We will be accompanied by Reverend Mugagga Lule and Deacon Francisco Javier Lopez of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Las Vegas, our Chaplain and spiritual advisors. Contact Perla for information, 702-743-4076. Click for brochure. Thank you.
LAS VEGAS MEDJUGORJE PILGRIMAGE OCT 2008 with REV. MUGAGGA LULE
First of all, thanks once again to Stefanie Meyer of 206 Tours for making this spiritual and blessed journey so thoughtfully planned for us and to dear Milanka for "putting up with us" with such graciousness and care. This pilgrimage could not have been possible without her OK - because of an illness and passing of Perla's beloved Mother, Lucy, we made the decision to postpone and finally we were able to complete what we had hoped in October. Of course, having Slavenka as our Tour Escort and beloved friend is beyond "par excellance" and then to have Dragun as our Tour Escort for Sarajevo was more than we could have imagined. Our Blessed Mother spoiled us completely as undeserving as we may be. We thank and praise God in all things!
Enjoy the pictures.
>JUST RETURNED IN OCTOBER 2007 FROM MEDJUGORJE, DUBROVNIK AND ROME. HERE'S WHAT THEY SAY
From: Jean LoGiudice Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:22 AM
To: Stefanie Meyer Cc: Mirla Dissette; Perla Saenz; Msgr. Ben Franzinelli
Subject: Medjugorje and Dubrovnik "MICLV group"
Stefanie, Please know that everything was wonderful, especially our Medjugorje guide, Slavenka. This was our fourth pilgrimage and our second with 206, and my husband and I agree that Slavenka is a treasure, pure and simple. Never have we experienced such an exceptional guide, and she took care endlessly of our every need and question, be it hotel stuff or travel and site questions.
We were also delighted to be at the Villa Regina instead of at a local's home. However wonderful that experience would have been, my husband's knees needed the benefits of an elevator, and of course the view of St. James Church and Cross Mountain from our room for six wonderful days has no price.
Our Dubrovnik stay was also perfect: the room and food at the Argosy and our poking around the old town was a nice, quiet interlude before returning home.
Thank you and everyone at 206.... we are so happy to have traveled with you. Jean LoGiudice
From: Perla Saenz Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 1:36 PM
To: stefanie@206tours.com
Subject: Medjugorje and Rome MICLV
Dear Milanka and Stefanie,
Thank you for an exceptional spiritual experience. Our Medjugorje guide Slavenka is phenomenal. In all my experiences with several guides in Medjugorje, all being very good ones. I personally have not experienced the exceptional and exemplary performance of a guide as I have with Slavenka. So much so that we all want her to come to Las Vegas; she has been invited. She is a pearl, always has a smile and ready to serve our every need no matter what the need. If I had to compare her with one of the visionaries it would be Vicka, (unconditional love and untiring service with a delightful smile).
I have always stayed with a family which I prefer, however, I must say that I was exceedingly surprised at how much I enjoyed the Villa Regina Hotel. Especially having the beautiful view of St. James, praying the Angelus to the toll of the bells every morning. Not to mention the view of cross mountain and apparition hill, (between the mountains) where it all began. A new experience for me which I will definitely repeat again.
After Medjugorje to come to the heart and soul of our faith, Rome, "THE VATICAN" was awesome. To visit the core of our faith in all its beauty and richness and a chance to see, hear and to be blessed in person by our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI is a treasure to behold forever in my heart. Coming from the perfect peace of Medjugorje. "Rome" truly was a challenge to now put into practice what Our Lady has asked of us in Medjugorje. In all it was a wonderful, extraordinary spiritual experience for me.
Thank you 206 tours for all you did for us in making this pilgrimage an unforgettable spiritual experience of the highest quality. God bless you!
+J.M.J.
Forever grateful,
Perla
Mirla's Witness
Fourteen pilgrims flew "over the pond" to arrive joyfully in Dublin, Ireland. As we had a couple of hours, we happily went to celebrate the Holy Mass at Dublin's airport, Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church giving praise and thanksgiving to God. Then we departed for the train station to continue our pilgrimage to Our Lady of Knock Shrine. We were able to rest, eat and enjoy the scenery as we "chugged" along at a peaceful pace for our three hour journey. Upon our arrival, our drivers, Tom and Charles were waiting with a separate little red van for our luggage. Fr. Frank chose to drive with this kind gentleman and off we went to The Daughters of Charity Bed and & Breakfast for our three night stay. Their hostel is right across from Our Lady of Knock Chapel so it is SO convenient. The sisters are wonderfully hospitable and we went to drop off our luggage in our rooms to come back down as the Sanctuary had made provisions to have one of their tour leaders available to us. Off we went to get to know a little of the history and where everything was so that we were acclimated to the Shrine and could head off on our own as we like. Back to the B&B for dinner at 6 p.m. where we found that we were known as the "Kennedy" group. We're not sure how that happened and we had lots of laughs. After dinner, pilgrims headed in all different directions!
I think it is important to note that Perla, Lidija (one of the interpreters for the visionaries of Medjugorje) and myself had visited the Shrine earlier in the year so we knew where we would stay if we brought pilgrims to Ireland. It is true that there is a wonderful hotel on the premises with great amenities where we stayed, but then we decided to stay an extra night and there was no room in the inn so by the Grace of God, we were led to the Daughters of Charity where there was no room either; however, they accommodated us. What we found was extraordinary to us because the Sisters have their own private Chapel where we were invited to pray there as we felt called and then to find out that in that precise Chapel is where Venerable Cavanaugh had passed onto eternal life and the alleged apparition to him by Our Blessed Mother. He was the pastor at the time of the apparition at Knock, altho' he did not witness the event. His story is incredible and reminds me of the "mystery of love" because Our Blessed Mother was so pleased with him and all his efforts of the good shepherd that she personally wanted to let him know. We did not know any of this. Then to top everything off, we are so close to the Shrine - so the decision was made for us and future pilgrimages. This indeed is a holy place. It is also good to know that the Sisters lunches are the big meal of the day and the dinner is lighter and sufficient. The Sisters provide tea and biscuits in the later evening. They also have an elevator so it was easy access for those who needed it.
We stayed at the Daughters of Charity, Mary's Hostel,
Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland
The following day we had breakfast and Tom and Charles were ready to take us to Ballintubber Abbey, the Holy Mountain of St. Patrick and to visit Fr. Peyton's Memorial Centre. At the abbey, our wonderful tour guide gave us a lecture on the history, a short film was presented and it was literally hard to leave. So much to see but it was time to go climb the mountain! It was a sunny, warm day so all the climbers went as far as they could and then back down, a quick bite to eat and then off to the Memorial Centre where tables were prepared to seat us for tea/coffee and delicious scones. The Priest welcomed us and we had a surprise guest, Imelda, which is another story all its own. In the meantime, the good Pastor shared with us the story of Venerable Peyton. Truly this was more of a "look and see" because at each of the prayerful sites visited we could have spent the day. Back home to the sisters for dinner and then off to the Shrine premises for the last Mass in the old Parish Church and procession of Our Lady of Knock.
The following morning, first Mass in the morning at the Apparition Chapel, breakfast, then the pilgrims scattered to the Sanctuary to say their goodbyes, back for lunch and then our emotional farewells to the Sisters and off to the train station, early afternoon, to return to Dublin overnight for their early departure to Medjugorje. The Pilgrims were in heaven. As God wills, the pilgrims were sent to Dublin in their own comfortable motor coach because it turned out that the train was completely packed with young people and they had overbooked so it turned out perfectly for the pilgrims as they were transported directly to their hotel and got to pray and nap in comfort and for those still awake after that fabulous lunch got to see more of Ireland because of the route the bus took. Upon their arrival at the hotel, they met up with another pilgrim, dinner and tried to sleep some . Our Mother presently in Medjugorje, here they come!
Perla's Witness
(Grace and Perla were the group leaders for Medjugorje pilgrimage. Pilgrims went first to Our Lady of Knock in Ireland for the outstanding, heavenly preparation for the pilgrims journey to the Oasis of Peace in Medjugorje: the following is the firsthand account from Perla )
It was a first time for me to travel and stay with Marian Pilgrimages. The stay with them was exceptional. I would definitely go back in a heartbeat and stay with them again. I found the program offered as a whole to be excellent, the guides truly exceptional. Our lovely hosts, the food and service of the Pansion of Marina, her husband Mile and their precious family were far and above of what I have experienced in 25 years of going. We found when we got there that Marina was just recovering from cancer surgery and still she served us untiringly! Truly, a great witness for us.
Pilgrims at the Holy Mountain of St. Patrick in Ireland, Shrine at the base of the mountain of Our Lady, Queen of Peace of Medjugorje. You can see the top of the mountain through the glass that encloses Our Blessed Mother's statue.
One of them was a Franciscan Nun who was on the grounds of this place when we were getting ready to leave. I needed to get a hold of Sr. Janja, a good friend of ours for many years, especially to give her Monsignor's biography booklet. I went up to her and asked if she knew where Sr. Janja was and to my surprise she pointed to just down the street a few blocks away and said she sees her everyday. I introduced myself and showed her Monsignor's recent, published booklet. (There is a picture of Monsignor and Sr. Janja on the back cover standing before the beautiful banner of Our Lady Queen of Peace that had been created for our 1992 Conference in Las Vegas and then blessed in Rome, transported to Medjugorje after which was given to her. This large banner is now hanging in their convent, next to the Chapel. Sister Janja is special to him and to us. She was delighted to hear this and to see Sr. Janja's picture on the back cover. She asked me to write a note to sister and she would give it to her personally. She said Sr. Janja was going to be very happy to receive it. Wow!!! Mission accomplished!
The two nights in Dublin for myself were great and allowed us to rest up for our long journey back home. Very special was having a lovely Holy Mass in our Hotel the morning of our free day with a group of pilgrims who was returning to Boston; later that Sunday afternoon, we attended the Holy Mass at St. Therese Church of the Child Jesus. Being an OCDS and having gotten my vocation through Medjugorje in the early years, this was certainly a very special blessing for me in being able to pray for and once again give God thanks for my vocation and our OCDS Carmelite Community in Las Vegas. A most beautiful way to end in thanksgiving and send off for sure. We were also able to visit the White Frairs Catholic Church where the relics of St. Valentine are located and visit Our Lady of Dublin and St. Valentine shrines. On our return to the hotel, another blessing and surprise visit from Imelda (a beautiful Irish Lady we met on our last journey to Ireland in February 2011 - a wondrous & marvelous conversion story!) Lastly, we ended our pilgrimage with a wonderful dinner and sharing was "tops". All the above was for me icing on the cake! Everyone had nothing but great blessings to share! I was deeply touched by Father Frank when he also surprised us with something really incredible that happened to him as a result of being in Medjugorje this time!
I was deeply humbled by all of you and the special Irish pilgrims in our house! You were an exceptional group and shall never forget your loving concern for me. I had been pick-pocketed the 2nd day I was in Medjugorje. My wallet with money and belongings could all be replaced but all the love, concern, generosity and old and new friendships could never be replaced, but have only deepened. A greater good comes out of everything.
In a special way we want to thank you our many brothers and sisters in Christ that stayed behind praying for us! And to Monsignor Franzinelli, our paternal Spiritual Director and founder of our Center, for his untiring and selfless giving of himself in prayer for all of us, DAILY. We thank Fr. Frank for his generosity of time and prayer and guiding us during these 14 days. It was everyone's prayers that helped us the most. They sustained and supported us, allowing us to receive so many blessings to bring them back to you. Each of you have a special place in my heart and prayers for life. Your kindness, generosity, prayers and love are my greatest gift. From the, deepest part of my heart - Thank you! J.M.+J.T. Love and prayers, Perla
I have never in my whole life met such an outstanding group of people as the Irish...Loving, caring, hospitable and a great sense of humor, so funny! I love Ireland, the Irish and have grown a deeper respect for David Parkes! To see his spiritual growth through all the years of knowing him was great to experience on a personal level. I met his lovely, beautiful family for the first time which was a great blessing for me. He is doing a great work for the Lord and Our Lady in Medjugorje; how blessed we are to have such friends in Christ.
Some of the sights and talks were new for me. (NOTE: This was Perla's 25th visit) I especially liked going to the St. Anthony Shrine, to give thanks and praise to this memorable Saint for the specialness of all in our group and the exceptional blessings we were all experiencing. All the intentions we brought with us, written and spoken, especially the very sick that we left behind, those recovering from serious illnesses we carried so specially in our hearts. I can't believe how God sent us so many guardian angels both in Ireland and Medjugorje to lead us and help us out when we were in need. And very grateful for the guardian angels we left behind praying for us!!! Absolutely amazing to me.