International Travel For Educational And Spiritual Purposes

I lead pilgrimages along with my wife. Our groups have varied from 15 individuals to over 40 people on a recent trip to Portugal, France and Spain. Since I am a Roman Catholic deacon, the primary focus is of a spiritual nature; however, on every pilgrimage that we have led, we always make sure to include visits to secular sites and places where we will have an opportunity to interact with the locals. On occasion, language may pose some issues; but, the majority of the time English prevails and communication is not only possible, but rewarding. In the process of visiting churches, shrines and homes of the Saints, I always ask our guides to include information about the country we are visiting: the people, their culture, education and economic conditions, so that we may have a better understanding of who it is we are moving among. Often, we are able to talk with locals and the stories they share are amazing. Gaining insights from the person on the street adds so much to our travel experience. We become educated on a one on one basis about almost anything and everything. As an experienced traveler, I enjoy watching the faces of the people who travel with us as they share in these experiences. Through the process of pilgrimage, our travel companions return home not only energized by the spiritual; but, also by their experience of sharing time with the locals.

Understanding and actually seeing how others live and exist in foreign countries is often an eye opener for those who travel for the first time. Gaining these insights helps a person to become a better educated individual and more tolerant in understanding the different lifestyle of others.
As I often remind our travelers, one is never too old to learn and appreciate people of different places.

Our newest travel adventure is an 11 day "Shrines of Italy" pilgrimage. If you would like to learn about this Italian adventure check out this link: https://gateway.gocollette.com/link/980345
Dale Metcalfe