#europe

In Catholic tradition, May has for centuries been a month especially devoted to the veneration of the Virgin Mary. It is during May that the Litany of Loreto is recited in churches, roadside chapels dedicated to Mary are adorned with fresh flowers, special Marian services are held, and pilgrimages to Marian shrines increase.

Altötting will soon host the traditional Monastery Market. For the twentieth time, numerous monastic communities, monasteries and abbeys from Germany and abroad will present their traditional products and products from the monastery workshops, pantries, vineyards and breweries on the main town square, Kapellplatz, next to the Chapel of Grace. Of course, Altötting will also have a Shrines of Europe stand!

This year, a unique Europe Day celebration took place in Lourdes, organized by the City of Lourdes and the Blue Star Association. A large group from Częstochowa took part in this great celebration of Europe. There were concerts, meetings with authors, discussion panels and film screenings. See our report from this event.

In recent days, young people from Lourdes and Altötting - participants of the project "Citizens of Europe today and tomorrow" - visited Częstochowa. This was the next phase of the project that, initiated by Lourdes, was continued first in Altötting and now in Częstochowa. Once again, young people met to talk about their most important issues, i.e. the climate crisis, new technologies and European identity.

Representatives of the tourism industry will be staying in Rimini from October 11 to 13, taking part in the TTG Travel Experience 2023 fair - the most important event of this type in Italy. Of course, our association - Shrines of Europe - could not be missing among the exhibitors.

In the previous article, we encouraged you to visit Mariazell this fall. And today we learned that a group of young people from Częstochowa decided to visit this unique place on the map of Austria during their trip to Styria in the last days of September this year. And it was a really great idea!

Some of us associate Switzerland mainly with winter sports. This is of course not a mistake. Ski enthusiasts dream of spending a few winter days in one of the Swiss ski resorts. But for now, it's still hot outside so we have to wait for snow a while... However, don’t put off your trip to Switzerland! If you choose this direction in summer, we highly recommend Einsiedeln, which will definitely not disappoint you.

Is it possible to explore all 7 Shrines of Europe cities in one weekend? The distances on the map say: Nope… Not unless you have seven-league boots. But that's only in fairy tales...

On May 27, the opening of the photography exhibition "Shrines of Europe - the path of culture and spirituality" took place.

Welcome to the new website of the Shrines of Europe Association, where you will find information about the cities - sanctuaries of Europe - the most important centers of Marian worship on the Old Continent.