Living Gift and Grit Poland and Rome with Sarah and Andrew Swafford

We depart on an overnight flight to Krakow from JFK Airport. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the plane. Domestic add-ons are available upon request. (Group air price will be available in September. You may choose to purchase land only, which assumes you will meet the group upon their arrival at Krakow Airport)

Welcome to Poland. We are met by our tour director and transferred to the mountain area of Zakopane. We celebrate Mass before taking a cable car ride to Gubalowka for a stunning view of the Tatra Mountains. In the afternoon, we enjoy river rafting (TBC). We have a welcome drink at the hotel, settle into our rooms and enjoy dinner accompanied by wine. Overnight at the hotel in Zakopane.

Following breakfast, we drive to Wieliczka, Europe’s oldest salt mine, now a UNESCO 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 in the Salt Mines. Lunch is on our own. In the afternoon we visit the small, modest apartment where Karol Wojtyla moved with his father in 1938, as a young man just entering the university. Two rooms (the kitchen and bedroom) are open for visitors and arranged as they were when the two men lived here. Dinner and overnight in Krakow.

Following breakfast, we drive to the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz. St. Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein) and St. Maximilian Kolbe both died at this horrific camp along with thousands of Poles and other Eastern Europeans. Lunch is on our own. In the afternoon we visit the Divine Mercy Shrine, where we see St. Faustina’s rooms, the convent chapel, and her tomb. We learn about St. Faustina’s life here on a tour led by one of the sisters and meet with the Sisters of Divine Mercy. The Sanctuary houses the grace-working image of the Merciful Jesus and the relics of St. Faustina. We celebrate Mass and visit the newly constructed Shrine of Divinity dedicated by Pope St. John Paul II on his last visit to Poland in 2002. Next, we visit the St. John Paul II Have No Fear Center nearby. Overnight in Krakow.

Following breakfast, we depart to Częstochowa, where we see the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the icon of the Black Madonna, located in the monastery of the Pauline Fathers at Jasna Góra. 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. The icon is known as the Black Madonna because the faces and hands of the Virgin and Child are dark. Our Lady of Jasna Gora, Queen of Poland, is beloved by the Polish people; 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, Knight’s Hall, the Refectory, the Basilica of the Holy Cross, and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. We celebrate Mass at the Shrine. After lunch, we return to Krakow to visit the churches of St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Florian and St. Mary’s. We visit Jagiellonian University, where St. John Paul II studied. The evening is a time to explore Krakow on your own. Overnight Krakow

This morning, we visit Wadowice, the hometown of Pope St. John Paul II, to see his childhood home, now a museum. We visit the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, where he was baptized and where we celebrate Mass. We return to Krakow in the afternoon to visit Wawel Hill, where we explore the Royal Castle. Our next stop is the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, one of Krakow’s oldest and best-known churches, located next to the Bishop’s palace. The Franciscan Church was one of the favorite prayer sites of the bishop, archbishop, and cardinal Karol Wojtyla (later known as Pope John Paul II.) In Kanonicza Street, we see a reconstructed “Pope’s Room” and the famous “Pope’s window,” which honors Saint John Paul II. Tonight we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Krakow. (B. L. Special dinner).

After breakfast at the hotel, we check out and are transferred to the airport for our flight to Rome. Upon arrival in Rome, our first stop is at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls where we celebrate Mass and walk through the first Holy Door of our Pilgrimage. Walking through the Holy Doors, open only during the Jubilee Year, prepares us to receive a Plenary Indulgence. Settle into our hotel in Rome for dinner and overnight. (B.D) *Itinerary dependent on flight arrival.

We start the day driving on the Via Appia Antica to see the Chapel of Quo Vadis, where we see a stone with the imprints “of His holy feet”. We see the original stone in the nearby Church of San Sabastian, followed by an exploration of San Clement Church. Our walk through the historic center of Rome continues to the Colosseum (outside view), passing along the Roman Forum to reach the Trevi Fountain. Following a lunch break, we continue the walking tour to the Pantheon, formally the church of St. Mary and the Martyrs, (outside) visit Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, where St. Catherine of Siena is buried, and Piazza Navone, with the famous Bernini fountains, where our walking tour ends. Mass will be celebrated in St. Augustin Church, which houses the relics of St. Monica. (TBC) The rest of the day is at leisure to explore Rome; dinner is at leisure tonight. Overnight in Rome.

Following breakfast, we start the day at the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Mass will be celebrated. A short walk takes us to the second Holy Door of our pilgrimage at the Basilica of St. John the Lateran. Nearby, we see the Holy Stairs. In the afternoon, you have time to explore Rome on your own. Dinner is at our hotel tonight. Overnight in Rome.

Today, we are at the Vatican Square for the Angelus blessing by the Holy Father, followed by a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in Christendom, which was built on the site where St. Peter was martyred. Here we walk through the third Holy Door of our pilgrimage. We tour the Basilica and the Scavi Tunnels beneath St. Peter’s (TBC). Following our included lunch, we visit St. Mary Major to celebrate Mass and walk through the fourth and final Holy Door of our pilgrimage. Nearby is the church of Santa Prassede, which we visit. Tonight we have dinner at Ristorante La Locanda, where we get to taste Birra Nursia, the famous beer made by the monks of Norcia. Overnight in Rome. (B. L. Special dinner)

We are transferred to the airport for our flight home.