Day 1: Depart to Medjugorje

Depart from ORD to Medjugorje. Enjoy a full meal service as well as in-flight entertainment.

Day 2: Europe - Split - Medjugorje

Upon arrival, we will be greeted by our local guide who will then take you on a 2.5 hour ride by private motorcoach to the village of Medjugorje. Once there, you will be transferred to your hotel for the next seven nights.

Day 3 - Opening Meeting

We start our day with breakfast before attending Mass, which is intended for English-speaking pilgrims, in the Church of St. James. The Church of St. James is placed under patronage of St. James the Apostle, who is patron saint of pilgrims. We do not move very far and usually meet at the shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace for our opening meeting where the guides will share with us the history of the place, introduce us to the shrine and take us through the week, and through their words and experiences enlighten us to the messages and intentions of Our Lady. We break for lunch where restaurants are in abundance and boast some of the best steaks and pizza. The afternoon takes us to Blue Cross, a place of many apparitions of Our Lady. It is situated at the base of Apparition Hill where Our Lady appeared to the children and where they were hiding from the communist police at the beginning of the apparitions. Many pilgrims venture here to bask in the peace that emanates from this special area. From Blue Cross, we walk to Vicka old house. Vicka is one of the six Medjugorje visionaries and we visit her old family house to see and to pray in the room where she had apparitions over a long period. After dinner, we can attend the evening prayer program.

Day 4 - Hill of Apparitions

This morning after breakfast, we gather at the statue of Our Lady to walk through the vineyards, to the Hill of Apparitions (Podbrdo). This has been the traditional route taken by millions of pilgrims. The guides regale us with accounts of the first days of the apparitions, especially the first seven days, and tell us of the great spiritual journey the visionaries undertook. We simply climb, in prayer, to the site of the first apparition, the place where Our Lady first appeared to six frightened children in June of 1981. The Joyful Mysteries greet us at several points of our climb where we pray for a short time. After dinner, we attend the evening program.

Day 5 - Church of The Divine in Surmanci

Today we have the opportunity to meet with one of the visionaries (depending on their availability) for a talk on the messages. Our Lady Queen of peace leaves us messages on the 25th day of each month through the visionary, Marija. Through these messages we are called upon to attend holy Mass, to fast, to read the bible, to attend confession and to pray the holy rosary. Our Lady maintains that we will receive many graces by praying the Rosary. In the afternoon, we have an optional trip to visit the Church of the Divine in Surmanci one of five villages belonging to Medjugorje parish, only a 15 minutes drive from Medjugorje village. This is a very popular place with pilgrims as a miraculous healing took place before icon of the Divine Mercy, which is now exposed in the chapel. We also have opportunity to venerate relics of St Faustina and St john Paul II.

Day 6 - Cross Mountain

Our day begins with breakfast and we then meet at the base of Cross Mountain (Krizevac) to start our ascent. We pray the Stations of the Cross as we make our way to the summit. Our journey is rewarded by taking time for reflection and prayer by the cross located at the top of the mountain. In 1933, the parish of St. James erected a large concrete cross to commemorate the 1900th Anniversary of Jesus’ passion and death on the Cross. We make our descent in time for holy Mass. For all those who cannot climb Cross mountain we organize the Stations of the Way of the cross to be said at the Risen Lord Statue at the same time. In the afternoon, following our climb, we will have some free time.

Day 7 - Talk with Medjugorje Priest

Today we gather to hear from one of the priests “depending on their availability”. With Medjugorje as their base, they can shed light on issues we may be struggling with such as confession or sacrifice. We finish the program with a visit to the Mothers village. This is an orphanage founded by the late Fr. Slavko for children whose parents had died during the war. Now it’s a home for orphaned children or children who come from dysfunctional and broken families. This village is a visible fruit of Medjugorje. After dinner, we can participate in the evening program.

Day 8: Medjugorje - Split - Europe - USA

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, we leave by private motorcoach for Split Airport and our flight to Europe and back to the US. We are confident that your Medjugorje Pilgrimage will be a very memorable and lifechanging experience.