They are fed up and furious with the Changing of the Guard, the beach at Copacabana, the Golden Gate Bridge. Though they are travel professionals, they are grieved by the often trivial content of their profession. Whether to the right, left, or center, and in however small a way, they feel they can make a difference. Determined to expose a wider public to the realities and sufferings of emerging world nations, nuns of the Sisters of Charity founded the odd travel agency called GATE in 1981, in Mount St. Joseph, Ohio, then moved its offices in the early 90s to the Abbey of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, for greater effectiveness.
Some tours go to countries of Eastern Europe.
It once was. Because itineraries involve an intricate schedule of meetings, briefings, speeches, and seminars, the trips aren't cheap. The most popular programs, PTP reports, are those in China, Russian, Australia and New Zealand and South Africa. In addition, PTP has begun sending U.S. government certified trips to Cuba. Recently, Forum has been branching out, sending groups to Africa and Central America.