Catholic Travel

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One of the things I have grown to love about travel is being able to visit different churches around the country. We went to Indonesia & Bora Bora when we were first married and have been kicking ourselves for not having attending Mass while there.

On our last trip to Walt Disney World I was bummed to discover that they no longer hold Mass at the Polynesian Resort. Further research led me to discover that there were too many Catholics on property to be able to house them all in one location once a week. That’s pretty cool, actually.

In January, we were able to check out the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of Heaven. Typical of Florida churches, the parking lot was paved for the summer crowd with overflow parking in grassy areas. The grounds had areas for outdoor rosaries and other prayer spots. I didn’t have an opportunity to see those personally, but did see them as we drove to the church. There was a nice palm tree lined walkway to the church and a well stocked Catholic gift shop with some exhibits in a separate building.

The church was larger than I expected. Not traditionally styled, but not gaudy either. The ceilings were quite tall and had a balcony along both sides. At the time of our visit, they did 4 masses a weekend. Ours was fairly full. Not only was it full but there were people from all over the world. There were people from Asia in front of us and a mother speaking French behind us. I’ve never attended a Mass with so many nationalities before–it really cemented how Universal Catholicism really is!

It was really a delight to be able to visit such a grand church while traveling. If you are in Disney, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of Heaven is just a short drive away. They offer confessions daily (!), adoration all day Saturday, and currently have 4 weekend masses. Please visit their website for further details.

Do you have a Catholic spot that you’ve visited? Or that you welcome visitors to? If you’d like to write a post for HLH, please email me at jen (at) happylittlehomemaker (dot) com with your article or pitch!

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On our most recent trip to Florida, we decided to make a trip to the town of Ave Maria. Luckily, my in-laws knew the way because my maps are so old it wasn’t on there! Founded in 1999 by Domino’s owner, Tom Monaghan, Ave Maria is a planned (but not officially Catholic community) complete with a large (Catholic) church and a university.

We drove from Ft. Myers and it was about an hour away. Out in the middle of nowhere, we drove down a long entry road from the newly expanded 4-lane highway to get there. It’s very nicely planned but there isn’t enough there to make it a livable community.  Yet.

There is a building obviously meant to be a gas station and another to be a shopping center. Neither have parking lots but the buildings are there. You can see the townhouses several blocks away on the right, the only affordable living spaces, full of cars. At the center of town is the church, which was uglier than I expected. I wrongly assumed that a planned quasi-Catholic community would have a traditional looking church. I was more impressed inside.

They had traditional confessionals all the way down both walls–at least 3 or 4 per side! It was a lovely Latin Mass that we attended on the Epiphany. I love chant and was surprised that not many participated. I felt like I knew a lot, comparatively.

Being a (not) Catholic community, most stores in the circle around the church were closed and my father-in-law forbid any shopping . There were several small businesses and we talked to a couple who owned the cat & dog my children were drawn to. Even the main square of town is half empty of businesses. It was full of people visiting and enjoying they day, though. I’d love to see Ave Maria when his vision comes to fruition. I think it would be a beautiful, vibrant community.

Overall, I’m really glad we made the trip out to Ave Maria. It was a lovely Mass and a nice change as we’ve been to most churches in and around Ft. Myers. If you are in the area and have spare time, go check it out!

If you have or have visited a Catholic location that welcomes visitors and would like to write a guest post, please contact me at jen at happylittlehomemaker dot com.   I would love to work with you!

This post is linked to Sunday Snippets — A Catholic Carnival.

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