Louisville and the surrounding area of Kentucky have a rich and fascinating Catholic history! In August 2021, 206 Tours launched our first-ever Pilgrimage within the USA! Our Pilgrims visited historic sites and learned about the courageous priests and lay Catholics of the 18th and 19th centuries who brought the faith to Kentucky and established churches and monasteries and built a Catholic community in this beautiful land. In addition to the religious sites, our group toured several world-class bourbon distilleries – Maker’s Mark, Woodford Reserve, Green River, etc. as well as some cultural sites like the Kentucky Derby Museum and the Louisville Slugger factory.

Learn more about this exciting new departure here: www.206tours.com/kentucky-pilgrimage

Father Seán Connolly and Monsignor Hilary C. Franco are two extraordinary 206 Tours Spiritual Directors who have led many Catholic Pilgrimages. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, Monsignor Franco recently released a book, “Six Popes: A Son of the Church Remembers. Fr. Seán shares his special connection to Msgr. Franco in this recent article published on Catholic World Report: www.catholicworldreport.com/2021/08/19/six-popes-chronicles-a-full-and-fascinating-priestly-life

Fr. Seán reveals that Msgr. Franco was his Parish priest when he was a young boy and contributed to his vocation and priesthood.  In the article, Fr. Seán says:

“As a young boy I was under the impression that every priest had an office in the Vatican and was on close terms with the pope… As I grew older and began to discern my own vocation to the priesthood, I came to understand and appreciate how truly extraordinary a life my pastor has lived in service to the Church.”

Msgr. Franco’s book has been widely well-received since hitting shelves in May 2021. Fr. Seán provides a recap of Msgr. Franco’s life including details about his relationship to Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and the personal note that sits in his office. Click here for more information of the Extraordinary Life of Monsignor Franco & his new book. 

For details about Monsignor Franco’s upcoming pilgrimage to Poland, visiting sites from the life of his close personal friend, Saint John Paul II, click here: www.pilgrimages.com/msgrfranco 

For details about Fr. upcoming pilgrimages, click here: www.pilgrimages.com/frconnolly

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Archbishop Henryk Hoser, SAC, who passed on August 13, 2021. Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Hoser to be the Apostolic visitor to Medjugorje in 2018 before officially recognizing pilgrimages to Medjugorje in 2019. Please join us in prayers as we remember his service and legacy. May he rest in eternal peace in the kingdom of heaven! 

His Excellency was born in 1942 in Poland and was elevated to Archbishop as personam in 2005 by Saint John Paul II – before being appointed to lead the Roman Catholic Diocese of Warszawa-Praga by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2008. On February 11, 2017 – Pope Francis assigned him to be the special envoy to Medjugorje, with the mission to determine the pastoral needs of the Parish seeing its popularity as a place for prayer and pilgrimage.

After reporting his findings, Archbishop Hoser resigned as the Archbishop of the Diocese of Warzawa-Prague on December 7, 2017. Later, Pope Francis’ went on to appoint him as the Archbishop to his post in Medjugorje for an indefinite period of time.Learn more here. 

His excellency filmed a special message for all 206 Tours Pilgrims in January 2021. Watch his message below:

(Please forgive any errors in translation and/or captioning)