7 DAY
Retreat Pilgrimage with St John of the Cross
17th – 23rd April 2026
Led by Fr Matt Blake, OCD, Fr Kelvin Ekhoegbe, OCD and Fr Clement Obiorah, OCD
Adventure is inconvenience rightly considered
Step on the adventure with us through Spain in the company of John of the Cross, the great mystic and poet. We will travel to many of the places where he lived out his life.
For John, it is urgent longing that is at the heart of every spiritual adventure in faith. He expressed thus in the “Ascent” – Ah! Sheer grace. Each time we turn our gaze to God in faith, it is on the basis that His loving gaze is constantly upon us with the whole affection and power of his person as Father. To come to the realization that “when a person is longing for God, His Beloved is seeking that person much more” intensifies this urgency (Living Flame of Love, 3.28). Visiting these holy sites will awaken in you the realization that the lives of John, Teresa and other heroes of faith, live on well beyond their earthly adventure.
This exhortation to wonder still reverberates in our heart each time we visit these places graced with their living spiritual valour. The sure light of faith leadeth me to a place I know not (cf. Is 42:16)
Theme Song:
An Itinerary of Love
To fall in love with God, is the Greatest Romance
To Seek Him, the greatest Adventure
To find Him, the greatest human achievement. ~ St. Augustine
Thursday 17th April 2026
Day 1: Travel to Spain
“Love’s Urgent Longing”
Meet your group Leader at Heathrow airport and fly to Madrid. On arrival you will be conveyed in an air condition bus to the accommodation centre in Avila.
Evening: Dinner at the accommodation centre
Friday 18th April 2026
Day 2: Avila – Fontiveros – Medina del Campo – Avila
“Where have you hidden Beloved”
“Where have you hidden, my Beloved,
leaving me groaning?
Having wounded me you fled like a deer.
I went out after you calling, but you had gone.”
St. John of the Cross was born Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, in Fontiveres, near Avila. After the death of his Father, his mother took him and his surviving brother Francisco moved to Arevalo, and then Medina del Campo, where she was able to find work weaving.
In Medina, He worked at a hospital growing up and studied the humanities at a Jesuit school from 1559 – 1563. In 1563, he entered the Carmelite Order, and took the name of John of St. Matthias. In 1564, he professed his religious vows as a Carmelite and traveled to Salamanca, where he studied theology and philosophy at the university.
John was ordained a Priest in 1567. In Medina, he met the charismatic Carmelite Nun, Teresa of Jesus. She was in Medina to found the second of her convents for women. They immediately talked about her reformation project for the Order.
Evening: Dinner at the accommodation centre
Saturday 19th April 2026
Day 3: Avila
“Ah! Sheer grace” Awakened to the Father’s love
“Let us rejoice, Beloved,
And see ourselves in your beauty.
To the mountain and the hillside
where the pure water bursts forth.
Deeper into the thicket let us go.
The breathing of the air,
the sweet song of the nightingale,
the grace-filled grove in the serene night,
the flame that consumes and gives no pain.
No one saw, nor did Aminadab appear.
The siege gave way to calm
and the calvary dismounted
at the sight of the waters.”
The close relationship between the John of the Cross and Teresa of Jesus led him to spend long periods in Ávila, some of which lasted for five years in the Convent of La Encarnación.
Although his position as Confessor at the monastery may appear to be of little importance, the reports of his pious work revealed his holiness. Furthermore, one of the fundamental principles applied to her foundations by Teresa was that the nuns were to focus on prayer and on strengthening their spirit. Therefore, it was fundamental for the confessor to guide them in the right direction and advise them
Sunday 20th April 2026
Day 4: (early) Avila – Valladolid – Avila
“I went out Unseen”
My beloved, the mountains
the solitary wooded valleys
the strange islands
the murmuring rivers
the sighs of loving breezes
the still night
in the moments before the dawn
the silent music
the sounding solitude
the meal that recreates and enamors.
John accompanied Teresa to Valladolid in order to gain practical experience of the manner of life led by the reformed nuns. A small house having been offered, St. John resolved to try at once the new form of life, although St. Teresa did not think that anyone, however great his spirituality, could bear the discomforts of that hovel. He was joined by another friar, with whom he inaugurated the reform among friars, November 28, 1568. St. Teresa has left a classical description of the sort of life led by these first Discalced Carmelites, in chaps. xiii and xiv of her “Book of Foundations”. John of the Cross, as he now called himself, became the first master of novices, and laid the foundation of the spiritual edifice which soon was to assume majestic proportions. He filled various posts in different places until St. Teresa called him to Avila as Spiritual director and confessor to the convent of the Incarnation, of which she had been named prioress
Evening: Dinner at the accommodation centre
Day 5: Avila – Segovia – Toledo
“Oh, wonderful Adventure” in the dark
“One dark night
with all my yearnings aflame with love
Oh, wonderful adventure
I went out unnoticed
My house now being at rest.
Secure in darkness
by a secret stairway
I crept concealed
Oh, wonderful adventure
in darkness and disguise
My house now being at rest.
In that wonderful night
in secret without a soul to see me
not stopping to look at a single thing
without any other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.
Oh, night that guided me
Oh, night more lovely than the dawn
Oh, night that joined the lover with the beloved
beloved into the lover transformed.
John’s experience of imprisonment and eventual escape was a turning point in his life and understanding the depth of human suffering. It is possible today to trace the route that he took through the city. The convent of the Conceptionist nuns next to the monastery, whose garden he landed in. Some time before dawn he took refuge he made his way down Nuñez de Arce Street to the convent of St. Teresa’s sisters, who hid him up and then took him to the hospital of Santa Cruz, where he was later to take refuge. But all this took place at night, a night that was to fuse with the darkness he had suffered, and the dawn of a new life of union with God in his spirit.
Evening: Dinner at the accommodation centre
Monday 21st April 2026
Day 6: Toledo
“O Living Flame of Love”
“Oh, living flame of love
That tenderly wounds me in the deepest
Center of my soul
Since you are no longer elusive
Finish your work, if you will
And break the web of this encounter.”
In 1588 John returned to Segovia. The setting of the monastery of Segovia had a special charm for him. He loved to take his place among the workmen and toil among the stones, and build his cloisters. And he delighted in hiding himself in the caves on the hillside where the crows soared and glided. It was there he would lose himself in prayer and gaze out on the beauty of the countryside, and the Alcazár. It was in Segovia that John had another vision of Christ crucified in which Jesus asked him what he desired. John replied, “Lord, give me trials to suffer for You that I may be despised and held in no account.”
Evening: Dinner at the accommodation centre
Tuesday 22nd April 2026
Day 7:Toledo – Madrid
“I return for Love”
Prepare to Journey to Madrid after gathering the fruits of the retreat pilgrimage in a prayerful space.
What is Included
- Flights
- Accommodation – 6 Nights
- Four nights in Avila
- Two nights in Toledo
- Breakfast and dinner daily
- Pilgrim Kit
- Entrance fees & guiding
- Gratuities
Not Included
- Lunches
- Travel Insurance
- Single Room supplement
- Personal Travel Expenses
Pilgrimage information
You will be accompanied by friars leading the pilgrimage and travelling is done by air
conditioned private coach. Days usually begin at 8am, and generally returning between 7pm,
with dinner served afterwards. Each day features morning and afternoon sessions with prayer
times, with an organised lunch stop to break up the day.
Airline
Iberia flights from London Heathrow to Madrid. When we book Iberia flights, we include a 23 kgs baggage allowance and allocated seat. For Flight times please contact the administrator (pilgrimage@carmelite.org.uk).
Flights Inclusive
This option offers the opportunity to join others on the booked flight from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv. Each person is advised to arrive at the airport 3 hours prior to departure time. As stated above, baggage allowance is 23kg.
Flights Exclusive
The option of excluding flights offers the opportunity for those joining the Pilgrimage from different countries so arrange their flights and other logistics from the airport to the accommodation centre. However, should anyone wish to join the coach from the airport to the accommodation centre, prior arrangement is to be made and flights arranged to align with the “official” pilgrimage time of arrival as the coach leaves immediately.
Accommodation
As the Retreat Pilgrimage entails a substantial time in Toledo, we will be staying at different accommodation centres in Toledo and Avila.
Single Occupancy
Single Occupancy offers an accommodation for one person in a room.
Double Occupancy
Double occupancy is open to couples, family and friends who desire to share a room with twin beds. However, individuals who wish to share a room with someone else who may want that option should contact the administrator to check availability: pilgrimage@carmelite.org.uk
Dates and How to book
Our programme | Leaders | Dates | Availability |
---|---|---|---|
A retreat-Pilgrimage 7 days of prayer encounter | Fr Matt Blake OCD | 17th – 23rd April 2026 | Download poster |
| Fr Kelvin Ekhoegbe OCD | | BOOK NOW – See options below |
| Fr Clement Obiorah OCD | | |
Make an enquiry |
How to Book:
1. Click on the “Purchase Now” button and pay £150 non-refundable deposit to secure your participation.
2. Flexible payment available, however, final balance to be paid by March 1st 2026. Contact us for details.
3. You can choose to pay the full payment.
Retreat Pilgrimage with St John of the Cross (Excluding Flights)
£150 – non-refundable deposit (part of the total amount)
£1,038 (double occupancy)
£1,138 (single occupancy)
Retreat Pilgrimage with St John of the Cross
(Including Flights)
£150 – Non-refundable deposit (part of the total Amount)
£1,265 – (Double Occupancy)
£1,325 – (Single Occupancy)