Sacred Encounters Journeys
Fr. Tom Lankenau
Last Updated: December 17, 2025
Pope John Paul II was renowned as a profound thinker and man of deep prayer, yet few realize he was also a published poet and playwright—a true lover of beauty. He understood that the human person is oriented not simply toward truth, but also toward goodness achand the beautiful. He recognized how beauty possesses the power to "awaken our souls to the transcendent."
That awakening is all around us. From frescoed crypts to soaring cathedrals, from world-class museums to intimate music festivals, from daily devotionals to conference talks, there is a necessary and welcoming Renaissance in beauty unfolding before our eyes.
Consider the evidence: Sagrada Família in Barcelona has become one of Europe's top five destinations. During the Jubilee Year of 2025, St. Peter's Basilica welcomed fifteen to twenty million visitors. Closer to home, St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York received over five million.
Anyone who has traveled knows the transformative impact of sacred art, architecture, and music. The first time I encountered Michelangelo's Pietà, I nearly fell to my knees. Standing in Chartres Cathedral left me utterly speechless. Mozart's Requiem at La Madeleine in Paris offered a glimpse of heaven itself. I wept throughout Mass at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Sometimes beauty wakes in us a desire, a great yearning, an inchoate longing for something... There is a strong connection between beauty and the desire which makes a heart restless until it surrenders to God.
— Eleanor Stump, "Beauty as a Road to God"Through my spiritual and spatial wanderings, I discovered a new road—a pathway to the divine through beauty. I experienced what philosopher Eleanor Stump described in her essay "Beauty as a Road to God." This connection between aesthetic experience and spiritual awakening became the foundation for a new kind of pilgrimage.
Such is the vision of Sacred Encounters Journeys and Gothic, Grape & Gratitude. In partnership with Tekton Ministries, we have developed unique, transformative pilgrimages devoted to encountering beauty as a pathway to God. Through experiences of sacred sites and museums, breathtaking landscapes, local foods and festivals, and stories of faith, service, and sacrifice, we seek to awaken souls and surrender to the Author of all that is beautiful.
2026 Inaugural Pilgrimages
While the path of each sojourn may vary, all journeys include daily Mass in grand cathedrals and historic shrines, main meals featuring local cuisine and wine, and hosted evening "charcuterie and conversation."
France
April 17–27, 2026 • 11 Days
Route: Paris → Reims → Amiens → Rouen → Bayeux → Normandy → Mont Saint-Michel → Chartres
Encounter beauty woven into the fabric of everyday life; cultivate gratitude through stories of faith, service, and sacrifice.
- Sunday High Mass at Notre-Dame, Paris, and Chartres Cathedral
- Gothic masterpieces, Musée d'Orsay, and Sainte-Chapelle
- Champagne tastings at historic houses in Reims
- Wreath-laying ceremony at the American Cemetery in Normandy
Spain
June 5–15, 2026 • 11 Days
Route: Barcelona → Valencia → Toledo → Madrid
Encounter the beauty of a storied land painted from a rich palette of shrines and cathedrals, foods and festivals, mystics and architects.
- Sunday High Mass at Sagrada Família and Madrid Cathedral
- Montserrat and Tibidabo shrines, El Prado Museum
- Free day in Valencia to explore, learn, and savor
- Tastings and lunch at two renowned wineries
Ireland
September 17–27, 2026 • 11 Days
Route: Dublin → Waterford → Cork → Cobh → Limerick → Athenry → Galway → Knock
Encounter the beauty of Ireland in its land, people, history, faith, and culture.
- Irish Mass and Oyster Festival in Galway
- Book of Kells exhibition, Kilmainham Gaol, and a famine farm
- Evening sips, songs, and stories in local pubs
- Our Lady of Knock, St. Augustine's Well, Dingle Peninsula, and Killarney National Park
Sicily
October 20 – November 9, 2026 • 21 Days
Route: Palermo → Monreale → Cefalù → Catania → Syracuse
Celebrate the beauty of a storied and stunning island, from the early Church to present-day cultural celebrations and culinary delights.
- Allhallowtide, All Saints, and All Souls celebrations and customs
- Day trips to wineries and Mount Etna
- Free day to explore—seafaring, ancient ruins, classes, and outings
- Walk with Saints Agatha and Lucy and other martyrs of Catania and Syracuse
Begin Your Journey of Beauty
We invite you to join us on a pilgrimage that will awaken your soul and deepen your faith through encounters with the beautiful.
View Pilgrimages & Register"This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. It is beauty, like truth, which brings joy to the human heart and is that precious fruit which resists the wear and tear of time, which unites generations and makes them share things in admiration." — Pope Paul VI
Photo Credits
Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (Ghent Altarpiece), Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent (by author); Visitor at Chartres Cathedral (by author); High Mass, Notre-Dame, Paris (by author); Visitor at Sainte-Chapelle, Paris (by author); Toledo, Spain (Tekton Ministries); Cobh, Ireland (Wikimedia Commons); Mt Etna and Catania, Sicily (Wikimedia Commons)