Catholic Church of St. Ann - Holy Land Pilgrimage - Fr. Robert Lwin

                                          DAILY ITINERARY
                    11 - DAY PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND

                                       June 12 – 21, 2024

June 12 (Day 1): Beginning of tour Depart from Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport for an overnight flight to the Holy Land. Meals will be served on board.

June 13 (Day 2):  Arrival Tel Aviv – Nazareth We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. After clearing customs, we will be met by our guide and driver. Travel north to Nazareth to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

June 14 (Day 3): Nazareth – Cana – Mount Tabor – Nazareth

We depart this morning to celebrate Mass at the Church of the Annunciation, where the word became flesh. Following Mass, we will visit the Basilica of the Annunciation and the Church of St. Joseph before a stroll through the Old Market of Nazareth.  After lunch, we will drive to the village of Cana, the site of Jesus’s first miracle, and married couples may renew their wedding vows. Next, we make our way to Mount Tabor, the site of the transfiguration. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

June 15 (Day 4):  Mount of Beatitudes – Capernaum - Bethsaida – Caesarea Philippi 

In the morning, we will take a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to the seaside village of Kibbutz Ginnosar to view the historic archaeological discovery of The Jesus Boat. Next, we will drive to the Mount of Beatitudes, where we have time for personal meditation followed by Mass. Following lunch on our own, we travel to Capernaum to see the remains of the village synagogue and the new church built atop St. Peter’s house. Moving on, we will visit Tabgha and the Franciscan Church of St. Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus made his appearance after the resurrection. Next, we will visit the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes and travel to Bethsaida the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. This is one of three cities that make up the "Gospel triangle” and where Jesus spent two of his three years of public ministry. Then, we visit Korazim and continue to Caesarea Philippi, to visit the ruins of pagan altars and learn about Peter’s confession in Matthew 16 (“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”) Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

June 16 (Day 5): Haifa – Mount Carmel - Caesarea Maritime – Jaffa - Bethlehem

Following breakfast, we will check out of the hotel in Nazareth and travel north to the seaport city of Haifa and Mount Carmel to visit the Carmelite Monastery and Stella Maris Church to celebrate Mass. We will visit the Baháʼí Gardens and then travel to Caesarea Maritima, the site of Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins and the springboard to Christianity in the west. This is the place where Cornelius, the first gentile convert to Christianity was baptized and one of the stops on St. Paul’s travels. We will see the ancient city of Jaffa and drive to Bethlehem for dinner at the hotel.

June 17 (Day 6): Shepherds’ Field – Bethlehem

We start the day by visiting Bethany where Lazarus was raised from the dead and move on to Bethlehem, to see Shepherds’ Field and the Franciscan Church of the Shepherd to celebrate Mass. Following lunch on our own, we visit the Church of the Nativity where we see the site of Jesus’s birth in the manger. A short distance from there, we will stop by the Milk Grotto where tradition says Mary was nursing the baby Jesus, and a drop of her milk fell upon the stone and turned it white. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

June 18 (Day 7): Qumran - Dead Sea - Jericho 

After breakfast, view the St. George Monastery on our way to the Dead Sea (also known as the Salt Sea.) Along the way, we will stop at Qumran where Bedouins and archaeologists discovered caves containing the Dead Sea Scrolls, from the Second Temple period. Following lunch on our own, we make our way to the Dead Sea, where we have the opportunity to swim (float) at 1,290 feet below sea level. Next, we drive to see the old city of Jericho, the Zacchaeus tree, and view the Mount of Temptation. We return to the hotel in Bethlehem for dinner and overnight.

June 19 (Day 8): Mount of Olives – Mount Zion - Bethlehem

This morning, we will visit the place of the ascension and pass by the Church of the Pater Noster. We will view the beautiful city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and walk to the Dominus Flevit Chapel, where Jesus wept before his passion. After celebrating Mass, we will walk to the church in Gethsemane, called the Church of All Nations, and the Garden of Gethsemane. Following lunch on our own, we will drive along the Kidron Valley, stopping at the Church of Peter Gallicantu, where Jesus was held in the house of the high priest Caiaphas. Later, we will visit the upper room on Mount Zion, where Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Last Supper and Jesus appeared to them after his death and resurrection. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

June 20 (Day 9): Via Dolorosa – Holy Sepulcher – St. Anne - Western Wall

We will start early and head to the Old City of Jerusalem to walk the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows) and proclaim the Stations of the Cross. The final five stations are located inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where we will celebrate Mass, visit the site of his crucifixion and tomb. After returning to the hotel for breakfast, we depart to the Old City again and visit the Church of St. Anne (Mary’s mother) and the Pools of Bethesda. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

June 21 (Day 10): Depart and arrive home

OPTIONAL POST-TOUR EXCURSION TO JORDAN

June 21 Day 10: Jordan –  Mt. Nebo – Petra

After breakfast, we depart to cross the border to Jordan. We visit Mt. Nebo, the place where prophet Mousa (Moses) gazed over the Promised Land before he died. We visit an old monastery and enjoy a view of the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, and parts of the Holy Land. Then we continue to drive towards Petra for a traditional Bedouin Dinner & overnight.

June 22 Day 11: Full day Petra – Amman

After breakfast, we visit the Site of Petra, the 2,000-year-old Nabatean city featured in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. We walk through the narrow passageway up to the treasury, a massive royal tomb carved out of solid rock. In the afternoon we transfer to Amman for dinner and overnight.

June 23 Day 12:  Amman – Jerash

After breakfast at the hotel, we visit Jerash, north of the capital Amman. Inhabited since the Bronze Age, it’s known for the ruins of the walled Greco-Roman settlement of Gerasa (one of the cities of Decapolis). These include the 2nd-century Hadrian’s Arch, the Corinthian columns of the Temple of Artemis, and the huge Forum’s oval colonnade. We then return to Amman for dinner and overnight.

June 24 Day 13:  Arrive USA

We enjoy breakfast at the hotel, then check out and transfer to the airport for our flight back to the USA.

NOTE: The schedule is subject to change due to various factors and at your Tour Leaders’ and Guide’s discretion.