Pilgrimage to Poland with Fr. Janusz Korban

Depart Rapid City International Airport on an overnight flight to Warsaw. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flight. Quotes for add-on flights and optional Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request. We work with group airfares that do not allow seat selection. If you wish to reserve specific seats on the flights, we recommend purchasing your own airline tickets and the land-only option with us.

Welcome to Poland. We are met by our tour guides and transferred to the Old Town area. After a quick lunch, we visit Lazienki Park, featuring its gardens, palaces, and the Chopin Monument. We then drive the scenic Royal Route through the glamorous Nowy Świat shopping street, mostly rebuilt after WWII, before our walking tour of Old Town, which includes Barbican, Market Square, St. John’s Cathedral, where we celebrate Mass, Royal Castle Square, and Royal Castle (exterior view). We arrive at our hotel and enjoy a welcome drink during checkin. Overnight stay in Warsaw. (Welcome dinner at the hotel)

After breakfast, which is included each morning, we depart Warsaw, driving to the Niepokalanów Sanctuary to see the Franciscan Monastery linked with St. Maximilian Maria Raymund Kolbe, a martyr from the death camp in Auschwitz. Continue to Częstochowa, where we visit the Jasna Góra 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. Dinner and overnight in Częstochowa.

This morning, before we journey to Krakow, we visit Checiny Castle, have lunch, and attend Mass in Kielce. We stop in Morawica to visit Fr. Janusz’s sister, who welcomes us with refreshments. Continue to Kraków and check into our hotel. Dinner will be at the hotel.

Today, we depart around 10 AM and have an early lunch before we visit Auschwitz. The infamous Nazi concentration camp is 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. We celebrate Mass at Harmeze, a Franciscan Shrine built on the site where St. Maximilian Kolbe worked while he was a prisoner. Return to Kraków for dinner at leisure. Overnight in Kraków.

Following breakfast, we depart for Zakopane. We celebrate Mass in 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. We continue our tour with a cable car ride to Gubalowka for a stunning view of the Tatra Mountains. After spending some time at leisure exploring the downtown area on our own, we return to Kraków, stopping en route for a late lunch. Overnight in Kraków. Dinner is at leisure.

Today, we start with celebrating Mass at the Dominican Church, followed by a visit to Kraków’s Old Town to see the central Market Square, St. Mary’s Church, Cloth Hall, and City Hall Tower. After lunch, we 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. Kinga and the St. John Paul II Chapel. On the way back to Kraków, we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant with a folklore show. Return to our hotel in Kraków for the overnight. (B Special Dinner) The Salt Mine requires 2 hours of continuous walking and is not recommended for individuals with claustrophobia. There are shops and restaurants near the Salt Mines where pilgrims can wait while the group is on the tour

This morning, we visit Wadowice, the hometown of St. John Paul II, where we will visit his childhood home, now a museum. We see the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, where he was baptized, and where we celebrate Mass. Following our included lunch, we visit Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a popular pilgrimage site for St. John Paul II when he was a young man, and, in the 17th century, the Palatine of Kraków 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 Kraków for dinner and an overnight.

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 image of the Merciful Jesus, which is revered for its grace, and the relics of St. Faustina. We visit the newly constructed Shrine of Divinity, dedicated to St. John Paul II, on his last visit to Poland in 2002. We have free time for lunch and shopping before we visit the St. John Paul II – Have No Fear Center nearby. We return to Kraków and have the afternoon at leisure for shopping in the city center. Tonight, enjoy a special dinner at the hotel with wine. Overnight in Kraków. (B. Special dinner)

Early this morning, we depart for the USA and arrive in the afternoon.