DAY 1: DEPART USA

Depart for Holy Land (Tel-Aviv) with complimentary meals and beverages served onboard your international flight.

DAY 2: ARRIVE TEL AVIV - NAZARETH

On arrival in Tel Aviv, we will meet our private assistant in the airport and continue to be met by our guide and bus driver who will accompany us during our pilgrimage. Proceed to our hotel in Nazareth.

DAY 3: MT. TABOR - CANA - NAZARETH

After breakfast, we will drive to the site of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor (Matthew 17:1-50). At this site, you will have some time to reflect on Christ’s Humanity and Divinity. Our next stop is at Cana of Galilee to visit the Wedding Church where Jesus performed the first of his signs, changing water to wine (Mass with renewal of wedding vows for couples). We return to Nazareth for lunch. Afterward, we will experience the town where Mary once lived and where Jesus lived as a child (Matthew 2:23). We will visit the Church of the Annunciation which includes the Church of St Joseph (it’s from 1914-21 built over Byzantine ruins) which tradition identifies as with the workshop of Joseph and the house of the Holy family. We continue with a visit of the Church of the Incarnation, viewing the Grotto with the remains of the house of the Blessed Virgin where the Angel appeared and announced the good news. Following the Pilgrim’s path we visit Mary’s well, where often the Virgin Mary would have walked to draw water from the spring. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Nazareth.

Option: (Meeting with Vicar of Nazareth). (Also, we may visit a School of the Latin Patriarchate in Reineh)

DAY 4: TIBERIAS - BEATITUDES - TABGHA - CAPERANUM- SEA OF GALILEE

After breakfast, we drive to the Sea of Galilee to visit the Mt. of Beatitudes where our Lord gave the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49). We celebrate a Mass upon arrival. We continue to the Mount of Tabgha to see the splendid mosaic of the loaves and fishes, where Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17). Tabgha is the site of St. Peter’s Primacy where Jesus bestowed church leadership upon Peter (John 21:9). We continue to Capernaum to see the house of St. Peter and the Synagogue where our Lord preached. You will have an opportunity to enjoy St. Peter’s fish for lunch in Magdala and visit the new site. One of today’s highlights is a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1). We will also see the “Jesus Boat” a 2000-year-old boat found at the shores of Magdala. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Nazareth

DAY 5: HAIFA – MT. CARMEL - CAESAREA

After breakfast, we drive Caesarea Maritime, where St. Peter baptized Cornelius and where St. Paul was a prisoner for a while before going to Rome. We visit the Roman Aqueducts and the Roman Theater and the palace of Pontius Pilate. This is the place which officially ended the tradition of adhering to the Jewish ceremonial laws. As a result, Peter baptized a group of gentiles, the Roman Centurion, Cornelius, and his family. Then, we will drive to Haifa, visit the beautiful City of Haifa and go on Mt. Carmel where The Carmelites started 900 years ago. We celebrate Mass at the Church of Stella Maris, “the star of the sea” The monastery is located above the cave where Elijah, the prophet, once lived. A colorful painting of this “Wonder-Worker” can be found on the ceiling of the Church. We will have a panoramic view of the City of Haifa and the beautiful Baha’i Gardens. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Nazareth.

DAY 6: JERICHO - MOUNT OF TEMPTATION - DEAD SEA

After breakfast, you will drive along the Jordan Valley to Kasr El-Yahud, Jesus’ baptismal site on the River Jordan. We have an opportunity to renew our Baptismal promises. (Matthew 3:13-17). Then, we continue to the oldest inhabited city in the world, Jericho (Joshua 6:12-25). In Jericho, you view the exact location, the Mount of Temptation, where the Devil tempted Jesus during his forty-day fast (Luke 4:1). Mass at Good Shepherd in Jericho. On the way back, there is time for a swim (or rather a float!) in the mineral rich waters of the Dead Sea renowned for its healing properties. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Jerusalem.

DAY 7: BETHLEHEM

After breakfast, we drive to Bethlehem visiting the place of birth of our Lord, The Basilica of the Nativity. (Holy Mass at the Nativity Church) We will visit the Grotto of Nativity and the Church of St. Catherine where the Midnight Mass is celebrated and the Caves of St. Joseph and St. Jerome underneath the church. Visit Shepherd’s Fields, where the Angels appeared to the shepherds who were watching over their flocks during the night. Visit to Bethlehem University, also visit to the Seminary of the Latin Patriarchate of Beit Jala. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Jerusalem.

DAY 8: MOUNT OF OLIVES

After breakfast, we drive to the top of Mt. Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem for a better understanding of its geography and some of the key sites surrounding the area. Visit the Church of Pater Noster where Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. Then, we walk on the Palm Sunday Road to the Church of Dominus Flevit, where our Lord wept over the city. We continue our walk on the Palm Sunday Road to the Garden of Gethsemane. At Gethsemane is the Rock of Agony where Jesus uttered His last prayer. (Celebrate Holy Mass in the Garden of Gethsemane). Dinner & overnight at your hotel in Jerusalem.

DAY 9: JERUSALEM - AIN KAREM - MOUNT ZION - UPPER ROOM

After breakfast, we drive to Ain - Karem to visit the birth place of St. John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation where Mary came to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth and proclaimed the ‘Magnificat’.  Afterward, we go on Mount Zion to visit the Church of the Dormition commemorating our Blessed Mother falling asleep. Then, we go to visit the Cenacle / Upper Room, the place of the Last Supper and Pentecost. We also visit the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. The house of the high priest of the Jews Caiaphas where Jesus was imprisoned for the night and where Peter denied our Lord. We celebrate Mass at the Latin Patriarchate Cathedral. Visit of the Latin Patriarchate and meeting with the Patriarch or one of the Bishops to receive our shells.

DAY 10: JERUSALEM: THE PASSION OF JESUS LAST HOURS

After breakfast, we plan to attend the Mass in the Holy Tomb at the Church of Holy Sepulcher with a Solemn Entry. After Mass, we return and continue to visit the Old city Jerusalem, the Western Wall, Dome of the Rock and El-Aqsa Mosque. On to St. Anne’s Church and the Pools of Bethesda. We continue to the Judgment Hall known as the Antonia Fortress where He was led to be condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. At that place, we start walking the Via Dolorosa through the markets of the Old City praying the Stations of the Cross, we reflect on the greatness of His sacrifice, stopping at each of the fourteen stations of the cross until we reach the Church of Holy Sepulchre. Visit Calvary and the empty Tomb of our Lord and the different sections of the church. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Jerusalem.

DAY 11: RETURN TO USA

This morning , we depart from Tel-Aviv for flight back to the USA filled with wonderful memories of the “ pilgrimage of a lifetime following in the footsteps of Jesus.”