Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham – 2021 Dates and Prices

 

If you are looking for a way to experience Medjugorje, come to a PLACE Our Lady descended down to to raise it up to be a portal from earth to Heaven.

  

203 Apparitions A Place of Conversion…

  

Panorama of Valley

Our Lady prayed 10 minutes over this valley…

Outside of Medjugorje, there is only one other geographical location that Our Lady of Medjugorje, the Queen of Peace and the Woman of Revelation, established as a PLACE of Her apparitions; that place is here at the Home of a Friend of Medjugorje and his wife, the Field of Apparitions and the Valley where Caritas is located. The primary place of Our Lady’s apparitions is the Bedroom of Apparitions, where 148 apparitions have taken place (nestled in the woods on the right of the image). With those apparitions, and apparitions in other locations at Caritas, there have been a total of 203 apparitions, through Medjugorje visionary, Marija, marking this place as no other place where Our Lady has invested so much, in creating a place for a meeting of hearts, outside of Medjugorje. On Feb. 3, 1994, in a 10 minute apparition, Our Lady prayed with Her arms outstretched over this valley.

Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham - 2021 Dates and Prices

“We wanted to go to Medjugorje this year and thought that since we couldn’t go to Medjugorje, Caritas was the next best thing. Then we thought about it and realized [after the pilgrimage] that Caritas was not the next best thing, it was the same thing.”

 

N. F., South Carolina, Pilgrim with the First Historic Caritas of Birmingham October 2020 Pilgrimage

 

Do I Have a Schedule to Choose from When I Go to Medjugorje?

You have six opportunities of joining a pilgrimage to Caritas of Birmingham this year. If you had been planning to go to Medjugorje in 2021, and are disappointed by not having that possibility, you can now! Those who were on the pilgrimage to Caritas this past October, 2020, said it was every bit of what they experienced in Medjugorje.

 

IMPORTANT: If you live outside the United States plan your pilgrimage to Caritas for when travel from outside the United States opens up, you will be prepared!

 

2021 Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham in Alabama

2021 Caritas of Birmingham Pilgrimage Dates

(Dates and pricing subject to change)

 

Registration is required for the below Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham

March 15-19
$495 *
March 18 – Special Day of Prayer for Non-believers Monday through Friday
April 19-23
$495 *
Monday through Friday
May 10-14
$495 *
Monday through Friday
June 21-25
$495 *
The 40th Anniversary of Our Lady Queen of Peace Apparitions Monday through Friday
August 2-6
$495 *
Our Lady’s Birthday August 5 Monday through Friday
September 13-17
$495*
Monday through Friday - Feast of the Triumph of the Cross
October 4-8
$495*
Anniversary of “Pray and by your life witness…” message to a Friend of Medjugorje

* Price does not include hotel/airfare

 

Additional Information:

  • The cost for attending one of the above pilgrimages is $495.00. (This cost is subject to change as it is uncertain how the economy will be affected by Biden’s financial/economic policies over the next weeks and months. It is being projected that the cost of living, gas, food, etc., will be raising over time.) This cost includes lunch, dinner, bus transportation to and from Hampton Inn, and pilgrimage support materials.
  • The cost does not include the hotel or airfare if you fly into Birmingham. For car rentals, contact *National/Enterprise Rental Car* at 1-800-736-8227. For a discount for this event, use the code NAL55U5.
  • All pilgrims will stay at the *Hampton Inn*, EAGLE POINT HWY 280, which can be reached by calling 205-981-0024. Stay on the line and wait for the operator when calling. It is important to let them know that you are part of the Caritas pilgrimage group so that you get the special room rate.
  • Breakfast will be provided at the hotel as part of your hotel cost. Because there is limited space, it is first come, first serve. The sooner you send your reservation and payment, the better, so as to not miss out on any of these special pilgrimages.

What if I live Outside the United States? Can I pilgrimage to Caritas of Birmingham?

 

Yes! Many people from other countries visit the sacred sites at Caritas. Right now, there are travel restrictions due to coronavirus. But, begin to plan your pilgrimage, and when the restrictions are lifted, you will be ready!

 

Would You Have Gone to Medjugorje in 2020 if Coronavirus Had Not Happened?

 

  • 58% of people surveyed said Yes!
  • 14% said they would have gone if they had the money…

This means that with a Friend of Medjugorje opening up Caritas of Birmingham for pilgrimages this year, and with the cost so affordable, a combined 72% now have an opportunity to get the Medjugorje experience by making a pilgrimage to Caritas of Birmingham!

Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham - 2021 Dates and Prices

“This week has been amazing! During the week, through prayer and discernment I had a revelation, thanks to a talk given by a Friend of Medjugorje. My plan is to consecrate EVERYTHING I have to God—my family, my business, myself. I am so grateful to Caritas and its Community. It has truly changed my life. It all started with the blue PIETA prayer book!”

 

M. M., Huntsville, Alabama Pilgrim with the First Historic Caritas of Birmingham
October 2020 Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham - 2021 Dates and Prices

Why Come to Caritas of Birmingham?A New Gift from Our Lady for You

 

We are nearing the one-year mark of when Medjugorje closed to pilgrims last March 2020, due to the coronavirus. How can it be that we are nearing the 40th Anniversary of Our Lady of Medjugorje’s Apparitions this June, 2021, and the Village of Peace, the place designated by God to be the setting for the spiritual renewal of the whole world, the location where the Woman of Revelation has been appearing daily for nearly 40 years, is closed off to the world?

 

In a recent conversation with close friends who live in and are native to Medjugorje, a Friend of Medjugorje was told that the borders between European countries are in a constant flux of opening and closing due to the so-called pandemic restrictions. This makes it impossible for pilgrims, even from Europe, to go to Medjugorje for fear they will get detained if the border suddenly closes, and they will not be able to return to their home country. Medjugorje is, literally, closed off from all sides, and the village that greeted the whole world for 40 years has become, once again, the small little village of the beginning days of the apparitions. When a Friend of Medjugorje asked if they thought Medjugorje would be opened up by June, 2021, for the anniversary, they said it was unlikely, at least at this point. No pilgrims to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the apparitions? No one could have even imagined the possibility of this a year ago.

 

A Friend of Medjugorje began bringing pilgrims to Medjugorje in 1986, through the mission of Caritas of Birmingham that he founded the same year, but found it difficult because there were not many flights available for the sudden interest and demand caused by Our Lady’s appearances in Medjugorje. Not many people had reasons to go to Communist Yugoslavia before the apparitions. A Friend of Medjugorje, therefore, became deeply involved in forming and setting up the infrastructure for pilgrimages from the entire continent of North America to Yugoslavia and onto Medjugorje.

 

Through a Friend of Medjugorje’s direction and business skills, BVM/Caritas Medjugorje Pilgrimages is the longest running pilgrimages from North America to Medjugorje. His own conversion in Medjugorje led a Friend of Medjugorje to develop the day-by-day itinerary for Caritas pilgrims that he has not strayed from in over 35 years because of seeing how the simple formula powerfully opens up the heart to conversion—over and over again. Deeply sensitive to Our Lady’s guidance through Her messages, he remained steadfast in what Our Lady had taught him and did not follow the lead of other groups who were constantly adding “new” sites to see and experience for their pilgrims, even when it proved to be leading pilgrims on a more superficial experience of Medjugorje. BVM/Caritas Medjugorje Pilgrimages, through a Friend of Medjugorje’s direction, has the reputation, built over three decades of bringing pilgrims to Medjugorje, to be the most spiritual pilgrimage to Medjugorje; a Five-Star experience in every manner. BVM/Caritas Medjugorje Pilgrimages is still the #1 Pilgrimage Group among all pilgrimage groups going to Medjugorje from North America.

 

The “stupid corona,” as Medjugorje visionary, Marija, refers to it (and a Friend of Medjugorje agrees the same), forced the cancellation of many pilgrimages to Medjugorje this past year, and at least for the time being, also in this new year of 2021. Many people have been deeply disappointed in having to cancel their plans, and are especially grieved that Our Lady will not be among the throngs of believers to usher in the 40th year of Her apparitions. Yet, Our Lady said:

 

September 2, 2016

“…Nothing is by chance…”

 

Is Our Lady giving the villagers a time of going back to the beginning days, to pray, reflect and sacrifice to help ready themselves for the great events (the Secrets, etc.) that will one day turn Medjugorje into a whirlwind of activity when it is thrust onto the world’s stage like never before? Whatever the reasons are that Medjugorje has been closed off from the world, it does not appear that it will be opened up any time soon.

Here, at Caritas, we spoke with many people last year who were disappointed that they would not be able to go to Medjugorje. In the midst of many of these conversations, the question came up over and over again if a Friend of Medjugorje would consider hosting pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham—taking his expertise in bringing pilgrims to Medjugorje and applying it to the formation of pilgrimages to Caritas. After spring and summer passed with no sign of Medjugorje opening up for the rest of the year, he began to take a serious look at the possibility of doing pilgrimages from here and soon after, announced the First Historic Pilgrimage to Caritas of Birmingham in October 2020. Over the past 33 years, since the first apparitions here in 1988, tens of thousands have made pilgrimages to Caritas. However, a Friend of Medjugorje has never organized official pilgrimages here, matching the experience here to what one experiences in the village of Medjugorje as a pilgrim, both physically and spiritually. This is a new endeavor he is initiating, through the mission of Caritas, to get hearts close to Our Lady and Her Son.

Applying the same principles, spiritual guidance and daily itinerary with the spiritual sites that Our Lady has blessed in Her apparitions at Caritas, it took little effort for a Friend of Medjugorje to develop a deeply spiritual experience for the pilgrims who come to encounter Our Lady here. It was very successful; the pilgrims who attended the five-day pilgrimage experienced deep conversion and a renewed walk with Our Lady. He could see Our Lady had been behind the whole inspiration of creating Medjugorje-type pilgrimages for pilgrims to experience at Caritas. While a Friend of Medjugorje had wanted to do this for years, it was these shut downs that opened up the door of opportunity, as requested from many of Caritas followers.

“My pilgrimage to Caritas in Alabama made me understand, through one of Our Lady’s messages, that prayer could become a joy for me, and its beginning to happen. I can taste now the sweetness of unceasing prayer which will fill the void too much technology and TV was leaving me with. Thank you to the Caritas Community for the beautiful week with all of you. I look forward to traveling to Medjugorje with you and attending more pilgrimages in the future.”

M. J., Laredo, Texas Pilgrim with the First Historic Caritas of Birmingham

October 2020 Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham - 2021 Dates and Prices

You Will Love It!

This has been an exciting turn of events for the Community and mission of Caritas. It comes through the maturing of this PLACE that Our Lady has been establishing through a Friend of Medjugorje and his wife’s “yes” and the “yes” of the Community that follows them. The conversions taking place here are just as Our Lady promised when a Friend of Medjugorje asked Her the following question, on October 6, 1986: Can the same conversions taking place in Medjugorje be allowed to take place, “here,” and divinely spread throughout the whole region? Our Lady responded directly to Caritas’ founder, (a Friend of Medjugorje):

 

October 6, 1986

“Pray and by your life witness. Not with words but rather through prayer will you attain what your desire is. Therefore, pray more and live in humility.”

 

The message stunned him, as it did the Medjugorje visionaries, Marija and Jakov. A Friend of Medjugorje was 33 years old, but he felt like a boy with so much joy, having words straight from his Queen Mother for him personally. He was in awe at receiving the personal message above.

Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham - 2021 Dates and Prices

“Though I have heard many times how to live Our Lady’s messages, being on the pilgrimage to Caritas solidified the actions I need to be taking. Our responsibility to live and share these messages is immense, as are the graces that come with doing so.”

 

J.F., Maplewood, Ohio Pilgrim with the First Historic Caritas of Birmingham

October 2020 Pilgrimage

Itinerary

  • DAY ONE: You will drive or fly into Birmingham, Alabama, on day one and check in at BVM/Caritas Pilgrimages official hotel. A Caritas representative will meet you at the hotel in the evening to set the tone for the pilgrimage, give you additional information and go over the next day’s schedule. Refreshments will be provided, giving everyone the opportunity to meet all the other pilgrims participating in the pilgrimage. You should arrive at the hotel no later than 5:00 PM, CST.
  •  
  • DAYS TWO TO FIVE: A bus will pick you up at the hotel each morning at 7:30 AM. Lunch and dinner will be catered at Caritas and are included with your pilgrimage price. The bus will bring you back to the hotel in the evening. Those who drive will leave your cars at the hotel. No cars will be allowed to drive into Caritas during the pilgrimage days. Everyone will take the coach bus from the hotel.
     
    • There are planned events for each day, interspersed with private prayer times. Among the planned events, a Friend of Medjugorje will be providing spiritual guidance through Our Lady’s messages during the pilgrimage. For the most part, a Friend of Medjugorje will be present. There may be circumstances that will prevent him from taking part in each pilgrimage, but he will make a concerted effort to be at each pilgrimage if at all possible.

    • Since a good part of each day will be spent outside, one should prepare for a mixture of weather. Its best to dress in layers, to put on and take off as is necessary. Wear comfortable and sturdy shoes, as there will be walks in the woods and a climb up to the Cross and to the Grotto la Pluie during your pilgrimage days. Also, be prepared for rain.

    • If you have visited Caritas of Birmingham before, you will be familiar with the holy sites where Our Lady has appeared—the Bedroom of Apparitions, the Field of Apparitions, the Cross on Penitentiary Mountain, Grotto la Pluie and The Tabernacle of Our Lady’s Messages. However, there are additional sites that have been known to the Community for some time, but never before shared with pilgrims until this past October 2020, when we held the First Historic Caritas of Birmingham Pilgrimage. These sites are significant and grace-filled, and are a part of the history and the future of the still-unfolding story of what Our Lady has established at Caritas through the witness and direction of a Friend of Medjugorje. Again, there have been 203 apparitions of Our Lady, through Medjugorje visionary, Marija, at Caritas, in the following locations:

      • 148 Apparitions in the Bedroom of Apparitions
        • 1 Apparition when the Infant Jesus in the Arms of Our Lady Appeared in the Upstairs Loft on Christmas Day
        • 6 Apparitions in the Living Room
        • 45 Apparitions in the Field of Apparitions
        • 2 Apparitions at the Cross on Penitentiary Mountain
        • 1 Apparition in the Writing Office of a Friend of Medjugorje (our founder) in The Tabernacle of Our Lady’s Messages

These apparitions were accompanied with many messages from Our Lady. On several occasions, Our Lady appeared two times in one day. On other occasions, She came with angels. The apparitions took place throughout the years from November 1988 to the most recent ones in October 2019. When one considers the great Marian apparition sites throughout the world where Our Lady only appeared once or just a handful of times, you can perhaps grasp what great graces await those who will enter into these intense days of prayer and reflection with faith and an open heart.

“Here, at Caritas, the space is held for all to rest in God’s hands and experience what the Divine holds dear for each of us and this truly is a special opportunity. She is here—always watching and waiting and with Her love we are taken to the heavens and back.”

 

C.E., Norfolk, Virginia Pilgrim with the First Historic Caritas of Birmingham

October 2020 Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages to Caritas of Birmingham - 2021 Dates and Prices

Places You Will Visit

 

Other locations not seen below are also part of the pilgrimage. Click or tap on the images for more information about each location.

The Bedroom of Apparitions
The Field of Apparitions
The Cross on Penitentiary Mountain
The Tabernacle of Our Lady’s Messages
The Grotto La Pluie
Our Lady of Victory’s Little Schoolhouse

When is the Best Time to Visit?

 

For those of us who live here, all year is the best time to be here. These sacred sites never grow old, because a Friend of Medjugorje has maintained Caritas as an active place of conversion. Different times of the year, like March 18, June 25, July 4, August 5, are definitely special days, but so are the months in between like the April spring, and Our Lady’s month of May. A Friend of Medjugorje says that no one is called here by chance. You will find that when you come, it will be exactly the right time that God wants you to be here. Our suggestion is to pray, make the plans and let God work out the details.

 

To be prepared for weather, there’s a saying in Alabama: If you don’t like the weather, stick around, because it’ll change. We have found that to be absolutely true.

 

Guidelines
This is an exclusive pilgrimage to Caritas of Birmingham. Visiting other sites or attractions outside of Caritas will not be allowed. If one wants to visit some other place, it can be done before or after the Caritas pilgrimage ends. Your pilgrimage is a focus on Our Lady, Her message and Her call to you. This is an experience without interruptions, so as to put yourself in the best position for Our Lady to touch you in a way that would never be available if you disrupt your pilgrimage.

 

  • All those attending will be bused from the hotel, to and from Caritas.
  • No chairs of any sort are permitted in the Field at any time. For the handicapped, please make arrangements for a wheelchair or a walker with a seat.
  • Smoking and pets are strictly prohibited. No video cameras or cell phones allowed on the grounds.
  • Modesty code is enforced. Dress for a hike to the Grotto. No sleeveless or low cut shirts, blouses, or sweaters. No short skirts or shorts. No see-through clothing or clothing that has inappropriate writing or pictures on it. Remember this is a holy place of conversion.

Request Pilgrimage Information

*It is important to give your phone number so that a BVM Caritas representative can reach you.*

Name(Required)
Address(Required)
email list

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for the Medjugorje Newsletter

Stay up-to-date with the most important information about Medjugorje.

Email(Required)
First Name(Required)
Last Name (Optional)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Request Pilgrimage Information

*It is important to give your phone number so that a BVM Caritas representative can reach you.*

Name(Required)
Address(Required)
email list