Miami: Our Lady of Charity, Faith & Cuban Heritage
A Catholic Pilgrimage Through Faith, Exile and the Cuban Catholic Story in Miami
4 Days / 3 Nights | Miami, Florida | Special September 8 Departure | Available for Parish and Catholic Groups
Discover a Story of Faith That Crossed the Sea
Few places in the United States bring together Catholic faith, immigration, exile and cultural identity quite like Miami.
At the heart of that story stands Our Lady of Charity — Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre — Patroness of Cuba.
For generations, devotion to La Caridad has accompanied Cuban families through moments of joy, uncertainty, separation and new beginnings. When thousands of Cubans arrived in South Florida, they brought that devotion with them.
Miami became a new home, and eventually the waters of Biscayne Bay became the setting for one of the most beloved Catholic places in the Cuban diaspora: the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity.
This pilgrimage is designed around the annual celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of Charity on September 8, allowing pilgrims to experience the devotion not simply as visitors, but alongside the Catholic community that has kept it alive.
But the journey goes further.
We discover the early Catholic history of Miami at historic Gesù Church, encounter the story of Cuban refugees at the Freedom Tower, explore Little Havana and Calle Ocho, and visit the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora.
For our family, the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity is also a place for which we have developed a very special affection over the years.
Our relationship with Catholic communities in Miami has given us many opportunities to visit the Shrine, pray there and experience firsthand the extraordinary devotion surrounding La Virgen de la Caridad.
For that reason, this is a pilgrimage particularly close to our hearts — an opportunity to share with other pilgrims a sanctuary and a Catholic community that have become very dear to our family.
Pilgrimage Highlights
- Feast of Our Lady of Charity — September 8 — participate in Miami’s great annual celebration honoring the Patroness of Cuba.
- National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity — pray at the beloved Ermita de la Caridad overlooking Biscayne Bay.
- The Story of La Caridad in Miami — discover how devotion to the Virgin accompanied Cuban Catholics into exile and became part of the spiritual identity of Miami.
- Historic Gesù Catholic Church — visit Miami’s historic Catholic mother church, whose origins date to 1896 and whose history later became intertwined with the Cuban exile community.
- Freedom Tower — encounter one of Miami’s great symbols of Cuban immigration and the story of thousands who began new lives in the United States.
- American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora — explore the history, memory and cultural experience of Cubans in exile.
- Little Havana & Calle Ocho — experience the neighborhood that became one of the cultural hearts of Cuban Miami.
- Miami City Tour — discover Downtown, Biscayne Bay and some of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods and landmarks.
- Cuban Culture & Cuisine — enjoy opportunities to experience the flavors, music and traditions that have shaped Miami.
- Holy Mass, prayer and spiritual reflection throughout the pilgrimage.
Our Lady of Charity & the Cuban Exile
Perhaps the most important story encountered during this pilgrimage is how a Marian devotion became a bridge between a homeland and a new home.
Our Lady of Charity had been loved in Cuba for centuries before the political upheavals of the 20th century.
When Cuban families left their country, they could not bring their homeland with them.
But they could bring their faith.
Images of the Virgin appeared in homes.
Families continued praying to La Caridad.
Her feast continued to be celebrated.
And eventually a sanctuary dedicated to her rose beside the waters of Miami.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity consequently tells two stories at once.
It tells the story of a centuries-old Cuban Marian devotion.
But it also tells the story of a community determined to preserve its faith, identity and memories while beginning again in another country.
Standing before Biscayne Bay, the pilgrim begins to understand why this particular place means so much to generations of Cuban Catholics.
Gesù: Catholicism Before Modern Miami
Miami’s Catholic story did not begin with the Cuban exile.
Historic Gesù Church takes us back to the origins of the city itself.
Its parish was established in 1896, the same year Miami was incorporated, making it an extraordinary witness to the development of Catholic life in South Florida.
Decades later, the parish would find itself serving a dramatically changing city as Cuban refugees began arriving in large numbers.
Catholic institutions responded with assistance to families beginning their lives again in the United States, and Gesù became part of that history.
This makes the church particularly meaningful within our itinerary.
At Gesù, we encounter the early Catholic history of Miami.
At the Freedom Tower, we encounter arrival and exile.
In Little Havana, we see a new community taking root.
And at the Shrine, we discover how faith gave that community a spiritual home.The Freedom Tower & the Cuban Diaspora
For many Cuban families, Miami represents both loss and beginning.
The Freedom Tower became one of the great symbols of that experience.
Thousands of Cuban refugees passed through the assistance system headquartered there after arriving in the United States, receiving help as they began rebuilding their lives.
The building consequently represents something much larger than architecture.
It represents arrival.
Nearby neighborhoods tell what happened next.
Businesses opened. Families settled. Spanish filled the streets. Parishes welcomed new members. Traditions were preserved and adapted.
Miami changed and the Cuban community changed with it.
By combining the Freedom Tower, Little Havana, the Museum of the Cuban Diaspora and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, our pilgrimage explores not only where Cuban exiles arrived, but how a community rebuilt itself without forgetting where it came from.
A Pilgrimage Particularly Close to Our Family
Some pilgrimage destinations become special to us not only because of their historical importance, but because of the relationships and memories we develop there.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity is one of those places for our family.
Through our many years working with Catholic communities and parishes in Miami, we have developed a particular affection for the Shrine and for the devotion surrounding Our Lady of Charity.
We have visited and prayed there on many occasions, and it is a place we are always happy to return to.
This pilgrimage therefore has a particularly personal dimension for us.
We are not simply introducing pilgrims to another destination.
We are inviting them to experience a sanctuary, a devotion and a Catholic community for which our own family has tremendous affection.
More Than a Pilgrimage to Miami
Miami is often presented through beaches, architecture, nightlife and tropical landscapes.
Our pilgrimage discovers another Miami.
A Miami shaped by people who arrived after leaving almost everything behind.
A Miami where Catholic institutions welcomed newcomers.
A Miami where an old Cuban devotion found a new home.
At Gesù, we encounter the beginnings of Catholic Miami.
At the Freedom Tower, we remember those who arrived in exile.
In Little Havana, we encounter the community they built.
At the Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, we preserve their memory.
And beside Biscayne Bay, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, we discover the faith that accompanied so many of them across the sea.
On September 8, all these stories come together.
Thousands gather around the same Virgin their parents and grandparents loved in Cuba.
For some, she represents home.
For others, family.
For everyone, she points beyond exile and history toward Christ.
This is not simply a tour of Miami with a visit to a Catholic shrine.
It is a pilgrimage through the story of how faith crossed the sea — and helped a community build a new home without forgetting the one it left behind.
Important Information and Terms and Conditions
The published program is a general description and may be adjusted due to availability, operational requirements, local conditions, or the group’s needs. By registering, each traveler confirms that they have reviewed and accepted our Terms and Conditions.
Confirmed trip details, payment information, official meetings and presentations, updates, and final travel documentation will be provided through the official WeTravel page, the final itinerary, and other communications from Pilgrim Groups Travel. Travelers are responsible for reviewing all documents, insurance provisions, entry requirements, and travel instructions provided.
Proposed Itinerary
Day 1 — Arrival in Miami
Welcome to Miami
Upon arrival in Miami, we will be welcomed by our local team and transferred to our hotel.
Depending on arrival schedules, we may enjoy an initial introduction to the city or have time to rest before gathering as a group.
In the evening, we will celebrate the beginning of our pilgrimage with a welcome dinner.
This will also be an opportunity to introduce the story that will accompany us over the coming days: how Catholic faith, Cuban identity and the experience of exile came together to shape an important part of the religious history of Miami.
Dinner and overnight: Miami
Day 2 — Miami City Tour
From Miami’s First Catholics to the Cuban Exile
After breakfast, we begin a guided panoramic tour of Miami.
Today allows us to understand the city before arriving at the spiritual heart of our pilgrimage.
We will discover some of Miami’s best-known areas and learn how a relatively young American city became a crossroads between the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Downtown Miami, we visit historic Gesù Catholic Church.
Founded in 1896, the same year Miami was incorporated as a city, Gesù traces its origins to the very beginnings of organized Catholic life in Miami and is regarded as the oldest Catholic parish in South Florida.
Its history would later become closely connected with another chapter in Miami’s story.
Following the Cuban Revolution, Gesù and Catholic organizations associated with the parish helped respond to the arrival of Cuban refugees. Its history therefore creates a fascinating bridge between Miami’s earliest Catholic community and the Cuban Catholic community that would profoundly shape the city during the 20th century.
Subject to arrangements, we may celebrate Holy Mass or have time for prayer here.
Our city tour continues through Downtown and toward the historic Freedom Tower.
Once used as a reception and assistance center for Cuban refugees arriving in the United States, the tower became known to many as the “Ellis Island of the South.” Today it stands as one of the most recognizable monuments associated with the Cuban exile experience in Miami.
From here, we continue toward Little Havana and Calle Ocho.
Walking through the neighborhood gives us another perspective on the story: how families arriving with very little gradually created businesses, churches, institutions and communities while preserving elements of their Cuban identity.
There will be opportunities to experience Cuban culture and cuisine during our visit.
Depending on timing, our panoramic tour may also include other emblematic areas of Miami.
Dinner and overnight: Miami
Day 3 — September 8
Feast of Our Lady of Charity
La Virgen de la Caridad
Today is the spiritual heart of our pilgrimage.
After breakfast, we turn our attention entirely toward Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Patroness of Cuba.
We visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity — La Ermita de la Caridad — beautifully situated beside Biscayne Bay.
The location itself carries powerful symbolism.
Across those waters lies Cuba, the homeland from which so many families were separated and toward which generations of Cuban exiles continued to look.
Here we will discover the history of the Shrine and the extraordinary relationship between La Caridad and Miami’s Cuban Catholic community.
The image venerated in Miami arrived from Cuba in 1961. On September 8 of that year, thousands of Cuban exiles gathered for Mass, beginning a new chapter in a devotion whose origins stretched back centuries in Cuba.
As the exile community established itself in South Florida, the dream emerged of creating a permanent home for the Virgin.
The resulting Shrine became far more than another Catholic church.
For countless families it became a spiritual home — a place of prayer, memory, thanksgiving and hope.
We will have time to explore the Shrine, contemplate its remarkable mural recounting moments from Cuban history and spend time in personal prayer.
The remainder of the day will be organized around the official September 8 celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of Charity.
Depending on the official program established by the Shrine and the Archdiocese of Miami for each year, this may include opportunities for veneration of the Virgin, the Rosary, procession and Solemn Mass.
Rather than fitting sightseeing around today’s schedule, the Feast itself is our destination.
We join the local Church and thousands of faithful in celebrating La Virgen de la Caridad.
For Cuban pilgrims, it can be a profound encounter with their own spiritual heritage.
For pilgrims from other backgrounds, it offers the rare opportunity to experience how Marian devotion can accompany an entire people through migration, separation and the creation of a new home.
Overnight: Miami
Day 4 — The Cuban Diaspora
Memory, Faith & a New Home
After breakfast, we complete our pilgrimage by exploring more deeply the experience of the Cuban diaspora.
We visit the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, dedicated to preserving and communicating the history and culture of the Cuban exile community.
Here, the political and social history encountered during our pilgrimage can be understood through the experiences of the men and women who lived it.
Placed at the end of the journey, the museum helps connect everything we have encountered:
the refugees received in Miami;
the communities that grew around Little Havana;
the Catholic institutions that assisted newcomers;
and the devotion to Our Lady of Charity that accompanied families as they rebuilt their lives.
Depending on flight schedules, time may be available for lunch or additional exploration before our transfer to Miami International Airport.
We return home having experienced Miami not simply as a destination, but through one of the stories that helped create the city we know today.
End of our pilgrimage services.
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