ITINERARY

Day 1. Monday, September 16, 2024: Transatlantic Flight

Take your transatlantic flight to the Holy Land.

Day 2. Tuesday, September 17, 2024: Tel Aviv – Tiberias

Upon arrival into Tel Aviv, transfer to Mount of Beatitudes Religious Guesthouse for dinner and overnight. (D)

Day 3. Wednesday, September 18, 2024: Mount of Beatitudes – Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes

Start the day by visiting the Mount of Beatitudes, the scene of Our Lord’s great Sermon on the Mount, located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Take the opportunity to spend time on your own in this peaceful and quiet place, perfect for meditation and prayer. For lunch, sample the traditional St. Peter’s Fish. In the afternoon, visit the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes which commemorates the miraculous feeding of 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. Dinner and overnight at Mount of Beatitudes. Talk and meditation on tomorrow’s visits. (BB, L, D)

Day 4. Thursday, September 19, 2024: Capharnaum – Church of Peter’s Primacy

This morning, visit Capharnaum, frequently mentioned in the Gospels and it was Our Lord Jesus Christ’s main base during His Galilean ministry. Visit the church built over the ruins of St. Peter’s house and the synagogue where Our Lord used to preach. Nearby, is the Church of St. Peter’s Primacy, standing over the place where Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples for the third time following His resurrection; the flat rock in front of the present altar is known as “Mensa Christi” or Christ’s Table. According to tradition, this is where Our Lord dined with His disciples and invested Peter with His authority. Talk and meditation on tomorrow’s visits. Dinner and overnight at Mount of Beatitudes. (BB, L, D)

Day 5. Friday, September 20, 2024: Tiberias – Bethlehem – Shepherds Field – Jerusalem  

Today travel to Bethlehem and visit the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Our Lord was born. Connected to the Church of the Nativity, visit St. Catherine's Church; descend to the grottoes of the Holy Innocents, St. Joseph and St. Jerome. Inside, visit St. Jerome's Chapel, where the saint wrote the Vulgate. Nearby, see the Milk Grotto where Tradition says the Holy Family found refuge during the massacre of the Holy Innocents before they could flee to Egypt. The name is derived from a “drop of milk” of the Blessed Virgin Mary falling on the floor of the cave and changing its color to white. Continue to Shepherds’ Field, the traditional place of the angel’s visit to the shepherds. Here, the Gospel of St. Luke tells us, an angel announced the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Talk and meditation on tomorrow’s visits. Continue to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. (BB, L, D)

Day 6. Saturday, September 21, 2024: Jerusalem. Gethsemane – Caiaphas House

Today, visit the garden of Gethsemane, near the foot of the Mount of Olives, named in the New Testament as the place where Our Lord Jesus Christ went with His disciples to pray the night before He was crucified. Also, visit the Church of All Nations, officially named the Basilica of the Agony, built over the rock on which Our Lord prayed the night of His arrest. Continue to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicanctu, where St. Peter denied Our Lord; and the Palace of Caiaphas, where Our Lord was imprisoned. (BB, L, D)

Day 7. Sunday, September 22, 2024: Jerusalem. Way of the Cross – Sepulcher Church. Transfer to Tiberias via Ein Karem

Early this morning, carry the cross and follow the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross, and end with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Then, have an in-depth tour of this church, including a visit to the tomb of our forefather Adam and the tombs of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, as well as a tour of the Holy Sepulcher chapels. Afterwards, journey to Ein Karem, to visit the Church of St. John the Baptist, built over the Grotto of the Nativity of St. John, and the Church of the Visitation that commemorates the Blessed Virgin Mary’s visit to her cousin St. Elizabeth. Continue to Tiberias for dinner and overnight. (BB, L, D)

Day 8. Monday, September 23, 2024: Tiberias. Nazareth – Cana – Magdala – Boat Ride

Travel to Nazareth where Our Lord Jesus Christ spent much of His life. Visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, the site in which the Blessed Virgin Mary received the news from the Archangel St. Gabriel that she would give birth to Christ Jesus. In the same compound, visit the Church of St. Joseph’s Carpentry which contains ruins dating to the 1st century, and is revered as the original workshop of St. Joseph and home of the Holy Family. Continue to Cana, Jesus first miracle site, where married couples may renew their wedding vows. Head back to Tiberias to visit the fishing village of Magdala, where St. Mary Magdalene lived. Here in 2009, a chance discovery revealed a 1st-century synagogue, where Our Lord likely preached during His ministry. To end the day, enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where Our Lord Jesus Christ did much of His preaching and many of His Apostles were fishermen. (BB, L, D)

Day 9. Tuesday, September 24, 2024: Tiberias – Tabor – Carmel – Caesarea Maritima – Jerusalem

This morning, visit Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Continue to Mount Carmel to visit the Carmelite Monastery of St. Elias, where this holy prophet triumphed over the false prophets of Baal. Next to it, visit Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery, built in an area that for centuries was frequented by hermits, and where the Carmelite Order was founded.  Afterwards, visit Caesarea Maritima, where St. Peter converted the Centurion Cornelius, the first pagan to become a Christian, and where St. Paul was imprisoned before his trial in Rome; visit the Crusader walled city and Roman ruins. Continue to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. (BB, L, D)  

Day 10. Wednesday, September 25, 2024: Bethany – Jericho – Baptismal site – Dead Sea – Views of the Judean Desert

Your first stop this morning is in Bethany, the town where Our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. Visit the Church of St. Lazarus and Lazarus’ Tomb. Afterwards, visit the traditional site of Our Lord’s baptism at the Jordan River. Continue to Jericho, one of the world’s oldest cities, and take a cable car to the top of Mount of Temptation, traditionally regarded as the mountain on which Our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil during His 40-day fast. On your way back to Jerusalem stop for views of the Judean Desert, a backdrop for the parable of the Good Samaritan. Also, enjoy an opportunity to go in the Dead Sea. (BB, L, D)

Day 11. Thursday, September 26, 2024: St. Anne – Ecce Homo – Mount of Olives – Last Supper – Assumption Church

Begin the day visiting the Church of St. Anne, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Next to it, visit the Pool of Bethesda excavations, identified as the scene of the healing of the paralytic. Then, visit the Flagellation Church that enshrines the spot where Our Lord was flogged. Next is the Ecce Homo Church that commemorates the place where Pontius Pilate presented Our Lord to the hostile Jewish crowd. After lunch, start a Mount of Olives walking pilgrimage visiting Bethpage, the Chapel of the Ascension, and the Church of Pater Noster, where Our Lord taught His disciples how to pray. In Mount Zion, see the Last Supper Room, where Our Lord shared the Last Supper with His Apostles, and the Assumption Basilica, where tradition reveals that Our Lady was laid in a tomb before her body was assumed into heaven. Tonight enjoy a farewell dinner with fellow pilgrims. (BB, L, FD)

Day 12. Friday, September 27, 2024: Jerusalem - Tel Aviv

Enjoy this morning at leisure in Jerusalem. In the early afternoon, transfer to Tel Aviv airport for your flight home. (BB, FD)

Day 13. Saturday, September 28, 2024: Homebound Flight

Early arrival in the USA to connect with flights that will take you home.