Pilgrimage to Poland with Fr. Haro

We depart on an overnight flight to Warsaw from Chicago .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 aquick 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 scenic Royal Route through the glamorous Nowy Swiat shopping street, mostly rebuilt after WWII, 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, we depart Warsaw driving to the Niepokalanow Sanctuary and the Franciscan Monastery linked with St. Maximilian Maria Raymund Kolbe – a martyr from the death camp in Auschwitz. Continue to Lichen, which is the site of Poland’s largest church. The Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń, completed in 2004, which houses the icon of the Virgin Mary called Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland. It was constructed to accommodate a large number of pilgrims (around 1 million each year) who come to venerate the image of the Virgin Mary, which according to tradition, has been miraculous. Mass will be celebrated. After, we continue for the overnight in Lodz, check into our hotel. (B, D)

After breakfast, we continue to Czestochowa. 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. Check into our hotel. (B, D)

Today we continue to Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp where St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) faced martyrdom, and St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe died in the Death Block from starvation after volunteering his life for that of a fellow prisoner. In the afternoon, we continue to Krakow, where we visit the Nowa Huta district built by communists, the Mogila Abbey, and the St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe Parish to celebrate Mass. Dinner and overnight.( B, D )

Following breakfast, we depart to Zakopane. We celebrate Mass in the Sanctuary of the Holy Vir-gin of Fatima, a chapel constructed in 1999 in gratitude for Pope John Paul II’s survival from an assassination attempt. We continue our tour with a cable car ride to Gubalowka for a stunning view of the Tatra Mountains. Hiking in these mountains, was one of John Paul II favorite leisure activities when he was living in Poland, and often when he visited after moving to Rome. Lunch will be at a local restaurant. Return to Krakow for dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)

Today, 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)

This morning, we visit Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which was a popular pilgrimage place for Pope St. John Paul II when he was a young man and, where 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. Dinner is at leisure. (B)

This morning, we depart for Lagiewniki, the capital of the Divine Mercy, where we see St. Fausti-na’s convent chapel and her tomb. We 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. Next, we visit the nearby St. John Paul II - Have No Fear Center. 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)