Great Saints of Poland with Fr. Kevin Gallagher and Fr. John Donia

We depart on an overnight flight to Warsaw. Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane. Quotes for Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request, starting 120 days before departure. We work with group tickets, which do not permit us to assist with seat selection. If you wish to have a pre-selected seat on the plane, please reserve your airfare directly with the airlines and purchase the Land Only trip package.

Welcome to Poland! We are met by our tour director and are transferred to the Old Town area. After a quick lunch, we enjoy a walking tour, which includes Barbican, Market Square, St. John’s Cathedral, Royal Castle Square, and Royal Castle (exterior view). We drive the scenic Royal Route through the glamorous Nowy Świat shopping street, mostly rebuilt after WWII, and end at Lazienki Park with its gardens, palaces, and Chopin Monument. We celebrate Mass and check into our hotel for a welcome drink and dinner. Overnight in Warsaw. (Welcome dinner)

After breakfast, which is included each morning, we depart Warsaw, driving to the Niepokalanow Sanctuary to see the Franciscan Monastery linked with St. Maximilian Maria Raymund Kolbe, a martyr from the death camp in Auschwitz. We celebrate Mass. Continue to Czestochowa for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, 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 viewing the famous icon of the Black Madonna, which is attributed with miraculous powers. We celebrate Mass at one of the chapels. Continue to Zakopane and check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

We celebrate Mass in the Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin of Fatima, followed by Holy Hour. We have time to explore the Shrine and the 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 for a stunning view of the Tatra Mountains. Lunch is at a local restaurant. The afternoon and dinner are at leisure. Overnight in Zakopane.

Today, we depart Zakopane and drive to Wieliczka, the oldest salt mine in Europe, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mines are a unique place where generations of Polish miners have created a world of underground chambers and decorated chapels carved from salt, including the famous Chapel of St. Klinga. We see St. John Paul II Chapel, where we celebrate Mass. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Krakow.

Following breakfast, we depart for Lagiewniki, the capital of the Divine Mercy, where we see St. Faustina’s convent chapel and her tomb. Following Mass, we are hosted on a tour of the Shrine by a Sister of Divine Mercy. 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 visited the newly constructed Shrine of Divinity, dedicated to St. John Paul II, on his last visit to Poland in 2002. 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. Tonight, enjoy dinner in a local brewery. Overnight in Krakow. (B. Special dinner)

This morning, we visit Wadowice, the hometown of St. John Paul II, and see his childhood home, which is now a museum. We see the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, where he was baptized, and where we celebrate Mass. Following lunch in Wadowice, we depart for a visit to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, 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” of 40 chapels set on the surrounding hills. Return to Krakow for dinner and overnight.

Today, we visit Auschwitz, the infamous 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. Mass will be celebrated. In the afternoon, we have a tour of Krakow, visiting places associated with St. John Paul II and the time he lived and studied there. Tonight, enjoy a farewell dinner with wine at a local restaurant. Overnight in Krakow. (B. Special dinner)

We depart for the USA and arrive stateside in the afternoon.