Pilgrimage to Poland with Fr. Larry Richards

We depart this evening on an overnight flight to Krakow. Dinner and breakfast are served on the flight. Add-on airfare is available from most major cities.

Welcome to Poland. We are met by our tour director and transferred to the mountain area of Zakopane. We celebrate Mass and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure, hiking or exploring the town while we acclimate to a new time zone. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Zakopane. (D)

Following breakfast, we make our way to the Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin of Fatima, a chapel constructed in 1999 in gratitude for Pope John Paul II’s survival from an assassination attempt. Here we celebrate Mass. Lunch will be at a local restaurant. We continue our tour with a cable car ride to Kasprowy Wierch for a stunning view of the Tatra Mountains. Return to Zakopane for a folklore show and dinner accompanied by wine at a local restaurant. Overnight in Zakopane. (B.L. Welcome dinner)

After breakfast and a leisurely morning, we depart the mountainous area driving to central Poland and the town of Czestochowa. En route, we stop at Zywiec Brewery to taste local beer. Częstochowa is a place known worldwide, primarily due to the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the icon of the Black Madonna, located in the monastery of the Pauline Fathers at Jasna Góra. We visit the Shrine where Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Czestochowa. (B.D)

This holy site in central Poland houses Our Lady of Jasna Gora, also known as the Black Madonna. Tradition tells us that Saint Luke painted the icon on a tablet manufactured by Saint Joseph for the Holy Family that was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople and given to Princess Anna, wife of Vladimir of Kyiv. After Prince Ladislaus founded the Jasna Gora Monastery in 1382, he entrusted the care of the Icon to the Hungarian Pauline monks who lived there. The icon is known as the Black Madonna because the faces and hands of the Virgin and Child are dark. The slash marks on Our Lady’s face were likely committed during a robbery and attack on the monastery by iconoclasts. The defense of Jasna Gora in 1655 during the Swedish invasion was a monumental point in Polish history. When King John Casimir made his vows in 1656, he crowned Our Lady of Jasna Gora as Queen of Poland. The Polish people belove her, and St. John Paul II entrusted his pontificate to Mary as Our Lady of Czestochowa under the motto of Totus Tuus. During our visit, we see the Treasury, the Knight’s Hall, the Refectory, the Basilica of the Holy Cross, and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. We join in the Mass. Dinner and overnight in Krakow. (B.D)

This morning, we visit 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. In the afternoon, we visit Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a popular pilgrimage place for Pope St. John Paul II when he was a young man, and, 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” of 40 chapels set on the surrounding hills. Return to Krakow for dinner and overnight. (B.D)

Today we drive to Wieliczka to 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. Mass will be celebrated at the Salt Mines. After lunch, we tour Krakow, including Wawel Royal Castle (exterior view) and the Wawel Cathedral, one of central Europe’s most beautiful Renaissance residences. We continue to Krakow’s Old Town to see the main Market Square, St. Mary’s Church, Cloth Hall, and City Hall Tower. Tonight’s dinner is at the local brewery. Overnight in Krakow. (B. Special dinner)

This morning, we visit Auschwitz. In this Nazi concentration camp, St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) faced martyrdom, and St. Maximilian Kolbe died in the Death Block from starvation after volunteering his life for that of a fellow prisoner. Following Mass, we return to Krakow for an afternoon of leisure. Dinner is at leisure in Krakow. (B)

This morning, we depart for Lagiewniki, the capital of the Divine Mercy, where we see St. Faustina’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 St. John Paul II Have No Fear Center nearby. 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 accompanied by wine in 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 home. (B)