Benedictine students have a unique opportunity to join Professor Aaron Riches in Spain and Portugal this summer.
The 24-day trip, which includes stops in Fatima, Madrid, and Granada, will illustrate the influence of the Blessed Mother across the Iberian Peninsula and the Americas. For three credit hours, students will take a special topic class offered by Riches and guest speakers.
“Our lady is at the interface of two worlds,” Riches said. “She’s kind of the Catholic heart of the peninsula.”
For Riches, this is more than a study abroad program. This will be his first time returning to Spain since 2018, where he and his family lived while Riches taught at a seminary there.
For eight years, Riches lived and worked in Granada. Two of his six children were born there. Though the family did not know any Spanish upon arrival, their leap of faith led to great blessings.
One such blessing came in the form of Don Javier Martinez, archbishop of Granada. Martinez, who plans to collaborate with Riches during the upcoming summer trip, welcomed the family at the airport.
“My son, at the time, was like two and a half years old,” Riches said. “He asked, ‘Are you Archbishop Martinez?’ And [Martinez] got right down on one knee. He said, ‘Yes, but to you, I am Javier, because I am your friend.’”
This friendship and hospitality were life-changing for Riches and his family. Now, Riches wants to share the gift of his experience in Spain with students.
“The fact that I lived there means that the students will get a lot of contact with actual Spaniards,” Riches said. “I’ll take them around places; we’ll go on cool day trips. It’s going to be really special. I think it’s going to be life changing.”
Melissa Riches, wife of Dr. Aaron Riches, elaborated on the value of the family’s time living in Granada as converts to the faith.
“It will be special because he has not returned to his ‘Catholic homeland’ since we left Spain to move to Atchison in August 2018.” She spoke. “I say ‘Catholic homeland’ because Aaron and I converted to Catholicism in 2005 and moved to Spain from 2010-2018. For us as converts, living in a Catholic country was an incredible gift, even though Spain is experiencing rapid secularization and Americanization.”
For Melissa Riches, the personal aspect of the trip cannot be understated. Connections made during the family’s time living abroad will allow students to experience things they otherwise would not.
“I want to emphasize that this personal aspect of the trip will give students a window into another part of the world, a crucial part of their Christian heritage, and a deepened perspective on Mary’s role at different times and places,” she said. “Further, because Aaron lived in Spain for eight years at the heart of the Church through Don Javier, students on the trip will experience a Spain that not many people get to experience. Not tourists, at least.”
The trip’s beginning in Fatima is particularly fitting, according to Melissa Riches.
“Fatima, where the trip will begin, is becoming more and more important to the Church as we move into a post-human world, and Mary, who loves the little children of Fatima, will bless this trip from the beginning with this “giant” spirituality of small sacrifices.”
From Madrid, where the group will be at the same time as Pope Leo, day trips will be taken to Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, and Avila, home of St. Teresa of Avila, a renowned doctor of the church.
“Through it all, Mary will be the special patron for the trip,” said Melissa. “She is the patroness of Spain as The Virgin of the Pilar. According to tradition, she appeared in 40 AD to the Apostle James in Zaragoza, standing on a pillar, making it the only, or first, Marian apparition during her earthly life.”
Registration remains open until March 30. Any students interested can attend an info meeting on Monday, February 9, at 5 p.m. in Ferrell Academic Center, room 218.
