Pilgrimage to Poland with Fr Gladysz and Lisa Morris

We depart on an overnight flight to Warsaw. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the plane.

Welcome to Poland. We are met by our tour director and transferred to the Old town area. After a quick lunch on our own, we enjoy our walking tour of Old Town, which includes: Barbican, Market Square, St. John’s Cathedral, Royal Castle Square, and Royal Castle (exterior view). We drive along the impressive streets of Warsaw, ending at Lazienki Park with its gardens, palaces, and Chopin Monument. We celebrate Mass and check into the hotel. Dinner at the hotel with an overnight stay in Warsaw. (D)

After breakfast, which is included each morning, and hotel check-out, we visit the Museum dedicated to Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko. We then depart Warsaw and drive to the Niepokalanow Sanctuary, and Franciscan Monastery linked with St. Maximilian Maria Raymond Kolbe – a martyr from the death camp in Auschwitz. We celebrate Mass here and have time for reflection and prayer before continuing to Czestochowa. Dinner and overnight in Czestochowa. (B, D)

Following hotel check-out, we visit the Jasna Gora Monastery, where we see the Treasury, the Knight’s Hall, the Refectory, the Basilica of the Holy Cross, and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The highlight of our visit will be a viewing of the famous icon of the Black Madonna, to which miraculous powers are attributed. We celebrate Mass at one of the chapels. After free lunch, we continue to Zakopane and check into our hotel. Dinner and overnight. (B, D)

We start early today with a visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, a chapel constructed between 1987 and 1992 in gratitude for Pope John Paul II’s survival from an assassination attempt. Here we celebrate Mass. Continue to the Shrine of Our Lady of Ludzmierz, who was known as the Shepherdess of Podhale (the “Highlands of Poland”) Lunch will be at a local restaurant. We then transfer to Sromowce Nizne, where we enjoy a peaceful raft trip down the Dunajec River through the Pieniny Gorge and along the Polish-Slovak border, one of the greatest tourist attractions in Poland. The towering cliffs, the gorge’s limestone rock formations, the picturesque mountain scenery, and the colorful river guides make for a wonderful day in a pristine and wild environment. Return to Zakopane for dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

After hotel check-out, we drive to Wieliczka. We visit Europe’s oldest salt mine, which UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site. The mines are a unique place where many generations of Polish miners have created a world of underground chambers and decorated chapels carved out of salt, including the famous Chapel of St. Kinga. We celebrate Mass at St. John Paul II Chapel before continuing to Krakow, where there is free time for lunch. After lunch, we proceed to Wawel Hill to see Wawel Royal Castle (exterior view) and visit the Wawel Cathedral, one of the most beautiful Renaissance residences in central Europe. Continue to Krakow’s Old Town to see the main Market Square, St. Mary’s Church, Cloth Hall, and City Hall Tower. Dinner is on our own. Overnight in Krakow. (B, D)

This morning, we visit Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a popular pilgrimage place for Pope St. John Paul II when he was a young man; in the 17th century, the Palatine of Krakow founded a Franciscan Monastery. On the slope of the hill and the valley is an architectural “Way of the Cross” made up of 40 chapels set on the surrounding hills. We continue to Wadowice, the hometown of Pope St. John Paul II, and visit his childhood home, which is now a museum. We visit the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, where he was baptized and where we celebrate Mass. Lunch is on our own. Return to Krakow for dinner and overnight. (B, D)

This morning, we visit Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp where St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) faced martyrdom. St. Maximilian Kolbe died in the Death Block from starvation after volunteering his life for that of a fellow prisoner. In the afternoon, we return to Krakow, where we visit the PRL Museum of Communism in Poland, the Moglia Abbey, and the St. Maksymilan Kolbe Parish to celebrate Mass. Dinner is at leisure in Krakow. (B)

This morning, we depart for Lagiewniki, the capital of the Divine Mercy. We start with a visit to the St. John Paul II Have No Fear Center, which features the Chapel of Relics and contains pictures of various events during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. We continue to the Divine Mercy Shrine, see St. Faustina’s convent chapel and her tomb, and enjoy a tour led by one of the sisters. Here, the message of the Divine Mercy originated, which Christ himself wished to pass on to our generation through the mediation of St. Faustina. The Sanctuary houses the grace-working image of the Merciful Jesus and the relics of St. Faustina. We visit the newly constructed Shrine of Divinity dedicated by Pope St. John Paul II on his last visit to Poland in 2002. We celebrate Mass at the Shrine. We have free time for lunch and shopping before returning to Krakow. The afternoon is at our leisure for shopping in the city center. We have our farewell dinner with a folklore show at a local restaurant tonight. Overnight Krakow. (B, Special dinner)

After breakfast at the hotel, we check out and transfer to the airport for our flight back home. (B)