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Day 3 • Basilica of the Annunciation
Day 5 •Church of the Nativity
Day 7 • Church of Visitation
Day 9 • St. Peter's Basilica
Day 11 • Brenner Pass
Day 13 • Passion Play
Day 1 • Departure from the USA
Today we begin our adventure in travel as we board our flight over the Atlantic. The night is short as we fly towards the rising sun..
Day 2 • Arrival Tel Aviv/Netanya
We arrive in Tel Aviv, where we are met by representatives of Signature Tours International and taken to our hotel in Netanya.
Day 3 • Netanya/Caesarea/Mt. Carmel/Nazareth/
Cana/Tiberias
We drive to Caesarea, the harbor from which St. Paul was taken prisoner to Rome, and see the Roman Theatre and aqueduct. We continue to Elijah’s confrontation site on Mt. Carmel and then to Nazareth, to see Mary’s Well and the Basilica of the Annunciation for mass. We visit Cana before going to our hotel in Tiberias.
Day 4 •Church of Peter's Primacy
Day 4 • Tiberias/Boatride/Capernaum/Beatitudes/
Tabgha/Tiberias
Today, we board a boat for the “other side” of the Sea of Galilee to visit Capernaum, the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, and the Church of Peter’s Primacy. We celebrate mass on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and return to Tiberias for the night.
Day 5 • Bet Shean/Jericho/St. George’s Monastery/
Bethlehem/Jerusalem
We drive to Bet Shean and then to Jericho for a visit, before continuing to Jerusalem via the Old Roman Road. We stop at Wadi Quelt to view St. George’s Monastery. Continuing to Bethlehem, we visit the Church of the Nativity and Shepherds’ Fields for mass. We stay overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 6 • The Wailing Wall & Dome of the Rock
Day 8 • Basilica of St. Mary Major
Day 10 • Byzantine Basilica
Day 12 • King Ludwig’s Linderhof Castle
Day 6 • Jerusalem/Mt. Olives/Gethsemane/Old City
Today, we drive up Mount of Olives and then walk the Palm Sunday Road to the Church of Dominus Flevit and the Garden of Gethsemane with the Church of All Nations. We visit the Western (Wailing) Wall and the Temple area with the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. Then we enter St. Stephen’s Gate to the Pool of Bethseda and St. Anne’s Church. We walk the Via Dolorosa, visiting the Convent of Zion Sisters, and see the Lithostrotos (pavements) with soldier’s games, passing the Stations of the Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We conclude our day with a candlelight visit inside a rolling-stone tomb from the time of Jesus (“Tomb of the Kings”). We stay overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 7 • Jerusalem/Rome
This morning, if time permits before departing for the airport, we drive to Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist, for mass in The Church of Visitation. Then we drive to the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv to board our flight to the eternal city of Rome, Italy for night.
Day 8 • Rome
Today we see “Christian Rome”, visiting the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Basilica of St. John in Lateran, Scala Santa, the Ancient Baths of Caracalle, the Arch of Drusus, the Chapel “O’Domine Quo Vadis?”, remains of Imperial Tombs, the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, and St. Peter in Chains to marvel at Michelangelo’s incomparable “Moses”. We see the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Mammertine Prison, and then stay the night in Rome.
Day 9 • Rome
After breakfast, we visit the world’s smallest country, the Vatican City, seeing the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel to view Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, and St. Peter’s Basilica. We continue to the Papal Blessing (Audience with the Pope) if the Holy Father is in residence. The rest of the day is free to explore Rome on our own and we stay here overnight.
Day 10 • Rome/Padua/Venice
This morning we depart the Eternal City of Rome, driving north through the Appenine Mountains to Padua, to visit the Byzantine Basilica. We join the other pilgrims who come to the tomb of St. Anthony, the patron saint of things lost, before continuing north to Venice. We stay overnight in the Mestre Venice area.
Day 11 • Venice/Dolomites/Innsbruck
After breakfast, we have a morning sightseeing tour of Venice Island. Then we drive through the magnificent peaks of the Dolomites and the Brenner Pass and cross the Europa Bridge into Innsbruck, an 800-year-old city with great charm and vitality. We stay in Innsbruck, Austria overnight.
Day 12 • Innsbruck/Oberammergau
In Innsbruck, we see Maria Theresa’s Golden Roof, the court palace, and the church. We continue to King Ludwig’s Linderhof Castle, with its gilded splendor, before we drive to Oberammergau for mass in the church and to stay the night.
Day 13 • Oberammergau/PASSION PLAY
We attend the world famous Passion Play today. It has been presented almost every decade, without interruption, since 1634. It is given as a perpetual sign of gratitude to God for being spared the Black Plague that took so many lives but stopped just short of Oberammergau. Dinner and overnight in Oberammergau.
Day 14 • Oberammergau/Munich/Hometown, U.S.A.
Today our pilgrimage comes to an end as we transfer to Munich airport and board our flight that takes us home. We will re-live these exciting and inspiring experiences in the days and years to come.