Pilgrimage Tour to the homeland of St. John Paul II
PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOMELAND OF ST. JOHN PAUL II ( 6 day/5 nights )
WARSAW (1) – CZESTOCHOWA (1) – KRAKOW (3)
Day 1 – WARSAW ( D)
- Arrival Warsaw, transfer to the hotel, check in
- Holy Mass at Stanislaw Kostka Church where Father Jerzy Popieluszko, murdered by agents of the communist secret police in 1984 is buried
- Welcome dinner, overnight in Warsaw
Day 2 – WARSAW– Niepokalanow – CZESTOCHOWA ( B, D )
- After breakfast sightseeing of Warsaw including Old Town with Barbican Walls, Castle Square, entrance to St. John’s Cathedral and Holly Cross Church, drive along Royal Route from Old Town to Belvedere Palace and Lazienki Park
- Departure for Niepokalanow – small village 30 km from Warsaw, famous for the Franciscan Monastery founded by St. Maksymilian Kolbe, a missionary and a martyr of the Auschwitz death camp
- Transfer to Czestochowa
- Check in and dinner at the hotel in Czestochowa
- Evening Holy Mass in the Chapel of the Black Madonna in Jasna Gora sanctuary,
- overnight in Czestochowa
Day 3 – CZESTOCHOWA – Auschwitz – KRAKOW( B, D )
- After breakfast guided visit at the Jasna Gora Monastery – the destination of numerous pilgrimages of Poles and Roman Catholics of other nationalities to admire Miraculous Painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( Black Madonna ).
- In the afternoon drive to Krakow with en-route visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau museum of martyrdom, the largest Nazi concentration camp during WWII where 1,2 million prisoners lost their life
- dinner at local restaurant in Krakow with folklore show, overnight in Krakow
Day 4 – KRAKOW – Lagiewnki – KRAKOW ( B, D )
- After breakfast half day tour of Krakow including places connected to John Paul II. Apart from standard city attractions the route includes St. Florian Church – the first church in Krakow where Karol Wojtyla was a curate, St. Mary’s Church with a memorial plague commemorating the White March that took place in 1981, Collegium Novum of Jagiellonian University where Karol Wojtyla lectured in theology after WWII, the Archbishop’s Palace on Franciszkanska 3 where he lived for a number of years with famous “papa’s window” and Archdiocese Museum.
- In the afternoon visit to the Sanctuary of St. Faustina in Lagiewniki ( Shrine of Divine Mercy ) in the suburbs of Krakow. The church consecrated by John Paul II during his last pilgrimage to Poland in 2002 is one of the largest pilgrimages centres. Participating in the Holy Mass
- Dinner at the local restaurant, overnight in Krakow
Day 5 – KRAKOW – Wadowice – Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – KRAKOW ( B,L )
- After breakfast departure for Wadowice – the town where pope John Paul II was born and baptized. Visit the Holy Father’s family home which is now a museum dedicated to his life and activity and a parish church where he was baptized
- Lunch at the local restaurant in Wadowice to taste famous “Papa’s cream cake”
- In the afternoon visit to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – a pilgrimage sanctuary 17th century complex with Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels and 41 chapels and stations of the cross on the hill recreating the Jerusalem from the times of Christ. As a young boy John Paul II went on many pilgrimages to the sanctuary.
- Return to Krakow, overnight
Day 6 – KRAKOW ( B )
- After breakfast transfer to the airport for the departure flight home or transfer back to Warsaw
