Pilgrimage to England
w/ Fr Anthony & Our Lady of Mt Carmel Parish
$200 discount for check or Zelle payment
Space Limited!
August 23 - September 3, 2027
Join Fr Anthony Armstrong and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish on a remarkable spiritual journey through England, following the footsteps of saints, martyrs, missionaries, scholars, and faithful Catholics who gave witness to Christ through some of the most turbulent chapters in the history of the Church.
From the ancient streets of London and the medieval shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham to the historic cities of York, Cambridge, Oxford, and Canterbury, this pilgrimage invites us to discover the deep Catholic heritage woven into the story of England. We will encounter the places where the faith was proclaimed, celebrated, challenged, and, at times, defended at the cost of human lives.
We will visit Aylesford, where the Carmelite tradition has flourished for centuries and where Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, giving the Church the Brown Scapular as a powerful sign of Marian devotion and protection.
Throughout our journey, Holy Mass, prayer, sacred places, historic churches, shrines, monasteries, and the witness of the saints will remain at the heart of our experience. We will have opportunities not only to learn about England's Catholic past, but also to reflect upon what the courage and fidelity of these saints and martyrs mean for our own lives of faith today.
Fr Anthony hopes you will join him as he travels from London to Canterbury, Aylesford, Cambridge, Walsingham, York, Birmingham, and Oxford, where the witness of England's saints and martyrs will inspire us to live our faith with greater courage, deeper devotion, and unwavering hope.
DAYS 1 & 2 : Tampa > London
Begin our pilgrimage with an overnight flight to London. Upon arrival at London Heathrow Airport, we will be greeted by our driver who will take us to our hotel for check-in. Remainder of the day free to explore London before meeting for our Welcome Dinner. Overnight in London. D
DAY 3: London
After Holy Mass at a local church, the day is yours to explore the marvelous city of London and its wonderful sites such Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, Kensington Gardens/Palace, Hyde Park, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Harrod’s, London Eye and more. Included is a hop on – hop off bus pass to help you sightsee London. Lunch and dinner on your own. Overnight in London. B
DAY 4: London
Today we have a full day guided tour of London including the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London. We begin our tour at the Houses of Lords and Commons where St. Thomas More served as Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII and was later tried and sentenced to death. Lunch at local restaurant. Westminster Abbey: Built in 960 AD. Westminster Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the resting place of more than 3,000 great Britons. Tour this beautiful cathedral and attend evensong in the cathedral choir. Tower of London: This 900-year-old castle and fortress in central London is notable for housing the crown jewels and for holding many famous and infamous prisoners, including St. Thomas More and Anne Boleyn. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight. B|L|D
DAY 5: Aylesford and Canterbury
Today we visit the Friary in Aylesford. The Carmelite Order came to Aylesford, England in 1242. In 1251 Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, the Prior General of the Carmelite Order at Aylesford, England. In the apparition, the Virgin handed Simon the brown woolen scapular – which was her sign of protection for all her children. With the protection came the promise that whoever wore her “habit” devoutly would be assured eternal salvation. The scapular became an important sign of faith and a signature element of Carmelite devotion. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, the Friary passed into many different hands, but finally in 1949 the Friars were able to buy back the property. The Shrine was rededicated in 1965.
We then visit Canterbury where we will learn of the legacy of Saint Augustine, who brought the Catholic faith to the Anglo-Saxons, and the courageous witness of Saint Thomas Becket. Back to London and dinner on our own. B
DAY 6: Cambridge
Today we depart London for the great university city of Cambridge. Once a bustling center of Catholic monastic life and scholastic theology, Cambridge today invites pilgrims to walk in the footsteps of great saints, scholars, and martyrs who shaped the Church. During our half day walking tour, we will see the key sites associated with the Catholic history of Cambridge. The Round Church (Church of the Holy Sepulchre), one of the few surviving medieval round churches in England. Trinity College and St. John's College. Both colleges are inextricably linked to St. John Fisher, the Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge University. Fisher was instrumental in founding St. John’s and re-shaping the academic life of Cambridge before he was martyred under Henry VIII for refusing to accept the Royal Supremacy. Fisher House, the vibrant spiritual home for Catholic students and faculty since 1924. Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, a towering Gothic Revival masterpiece built between 1885 and 1890. Check-in at our hotel for dinner and overnight. B|L|D
DAY 7: Walsingham > York
Today we depart Cambridge to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. After lunch at a local restaurant, we visit we visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Established in 1061 when Richeldis de Faverches prayed that she might undertake some special work in honor of Our Lady. In answer to her prayer, the Virgin Mary led her in spirit to Nazareth, showed her the house where the Annunciation occurred, and asked her to build a replica in Walsingham to serve as a perpetual memorial of the Annunciation. Walsingham became one of the greatest Shrines in Medieval Christendom. Holy Mass. We drive to the ancient Roman town of York and check into our hotel. Dinner and overnight in York. B|D
DAY 8: York
After breakfast, we will visit the St Margaret Clitherow House. One of the few women martyred for her faith, St. Margaret Clitherow (a married woman with young children) was condemned to death for harboring priests in her small home in the York Shambles neighborhood. Her small preserved home gives us an idea of what life may have been like during the persecutions of Catholics in the 1600s. Holy Mass. After lunch at a local restaurant, we will visit the Bar Convent. The Bar Convent is England's oldest living convent, founded in 1686 as a school for girls and is still home to members of the Congregation of Jesus today. The chapel features a relic of St. Margaret of Clitherow’s hand and a priest hiding hole. Dinner on our own. B|L
DAY 9: York
After breakfast, we’re off to explore the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, one of the largest Cistercian abbeys which was destroyed in the widespread Dissolution of the Monasteries by order of Henry VIII under Thomas Cromwell. We will learn what monastery life was like in the medieval times and how the Reformation changed the local culture. Transfer back to hotel and time to spend at leisure before departing for York Minster. York Minster was built in the early 1100's upon earlier sites dating from 627 AD. York's cathedral church is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe, featuring beautiful Gothic architecture. We will discover the origins of Christianity in England and attend evensong in the church’s choir. Dinner at a local English pub. Back to our hotel for overnight. B|D
DAY 10: York > Birmingham > Oxford
After breakfast, we depart for Birmingham where we will visit the Maryvale Institute, home of St. John Henry Newman after his conversion to Catholicism from Anglicanism. Maryvale holds the first public shrine of the Sacred Heart in the British Isles. Lunch at a local restaurant. This afternoon we visit the Birmingham Oratory. The Oratory, founded by St. John Henry Newman in 1848, began at Maryvale but moved to its present site in 1852. The building provides an excellent example of Edwardian baroque architecture. Author J.R.R. Tolkien worshiped here many years. Depart for Oxford and check into our hotel. Evening on our own. B|L
DAY 11: Oxford
Today we visit Oxford, a city where centuries of deep faith, rigorous intellect, and radical witness converge. Oxford has three distinct chapters of a sacred story: medieval foundation, the English Reformation, and The Oxford Movement. In the Middle Ages, Oxford was a landscape of monastic devotion. We will walk the grounds where Benedictine, Franciscan, and Dominican friars built the foundations of Western theology. The English Reformation transformed Oxford into a testing ground for ultimate fidelity. We will stand on the very ground where courageous men and women risked—and gave—their lives to preserve the Catholic faith in England. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Oxford became the epicenter of a historic spiritual awakening. We walk in the footsteps of Saint John Henry Newman, exploring the college halls where he wrestled with truth, and the quiet chapel at Littlemore where he was finally received into full communion with the Church. We will also encounter the spiritual landscape that shaped the imaginations of legendary Catholic authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, discovering how Oxford's atmosphere infused their timeless tales of faith, grace, and redemption. Return to Oxford and for our Farewell Dinner. B|D
DAY 12: London > Tampa
After breakfast, we transfer to London Heathrow airport for our flight home after an incredible spiritual, cultural and historical journey in the footsteps of the English Martyrs of the Reformation. B