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Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

September 05-14, 2019

This itinerary incorporates moments for prayer and reflection at all the sites in addition to the Holy Masses. The travel agency who handles our land arrangements in the Holy Land strives to maximize the pilgrims' experience through their special access to delicate and holy sites and the provision of first-class services that make travelers go back in time and enjoy the countless things that Israel has to offer.  While every effort is made to operate the programme as described, changes to the itinerary, accommodations and services or order of the visits may be required due to local circumstances taking into consideration the comfort and well being of the group.

DAY 1:  SEPTEMBER 6

TEL AVIV ↣ SEA OF GALILEE

  • Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport Terminal 3 at 10h00 on flight AC 084 and assistance upon arrival by a local Representative 

  • Drive to Jaffa and visit the church of Saint Peter

  • Holy Mass during the day

  • Drive to Galilee, check-in in Galilee for three nights.

  • Overnight.at the hotel

  • Meals  Lunch | Dinner)

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  • Departure from Toronto Pearson International Airport 4:30 PM

DAY 0: SEPTEMBER 5

DEPARTURE 

DAY 2: SEPTEMBER 7

SEA OF GALILEE

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  • Tabgha
    ​The place where three episodes of our Lord’s life took place within 100 meters distance from each other

    • The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, located on the northwest shore of the sea of Galilee (the ancient Heptapegon).The church is modern but stands on the site of 4th and 5th century churches. It preserves a splendid early Christian mosaic as well as the traditional stone on which the miraculous meal was laid.

    • Mount of Beatitudes, the so-called « Sermon on the Mount », recorded in Matthew 5 and Luke 6.

    • St Peter’s Primacy church. The church is a modest Franciscan chapel that incorporates part of a 4th century church.It commemorates Jesus’s confirming Peter as the head of His church after a breakfast at the shore after his resurrection.
       

  • Capernaum,
    The place  which is frequently mentioned in the gospels and was Jesus’s main base during his Galilean ministry. It is referred to as Jesus’s « own city » (Mt 9 :1; Mk2 :1)

    •  Boat ride on the lake (Sea of Galilee)

  • Holy Mass during the day 

  • Overnight at the Hotel

  • Meals (Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner)

DAY 3: SEPTEMBER 8

NAZARETH ↣ CANA

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Photo by  Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada (Israel-05286)

  • Nazareth
    The hometown of Jesus and one of the most important Christian sites in the Holy Land.

    • Basilica of the Annunciation. The Basilica is a modern Catholic church built over the remains of byzantine crusader churches. It incorporates the cave in which the Virgin Mary received the news from the Archangel Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus. The site has been a pilgrimage destination since earliest times and remains an important stop for Holy Land pilgrims.

    • Town of Nazareth as well as the International Center of Mary of Nazareth which presents the life of the Holy Family.
       

  • Cana

    • Visit the church which is  the place where the first miracle of Jesus happened.
       

  • Holy Mass during the day

  • Overnight at the Hotel

  • Meals (Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner)

DAY 4: SEPTEMBER 9

MOUNT THABOR ↣ JERICHO ↣ JORDAN RIVER ↣ JUDEAN DESERT ↣ JERUSALEM

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  • Mt. Tabor
    ​The mountain of the Transfiguration.  It is a hill rising at 500 m above the Jezreel Valley. Due to its strategic location it has been an important fortress since ancient times. The Christian tradition has identified this mountain as the place of the Transfiguration of Christ.

    • Through a winding road, we take a taxi going to the top of the hill reaching the gate of the Wind and further on to the Basilica of the Transfiguration
       

  • Jericho
    ​The town of Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world.

    • At the eastern part of Jericho, next to the Jordan River, is the site called « Kaser el Yahoud » where according to tradition Jesus was baptized.

    • Tell es-Sultan, the old Jericho: we will stop next to a sycamore tree to mention the conversion of Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector.
       

  • Holy Mass during the day

  • Lunch at noon

  • Drive to Jerusalem

  • Check-in in Jerusalem for five nights

  • Meals (Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner)

DAY 5: SEPTEMBER 10

BETHLEHEM ↣ EIN KAREM ↣ JERUSALEM

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Photo by  Wknight94

  • Bethlehem​
    The birthplace of our Lord. Perched on a hill at the edge of the Judean desert just 8   kilometers south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is the childhood home of king David.

    • The Nativity church, which enshrines the birthplace of Jesus.

    • Later on, we continue to the nearby village of Beit Sahour. Visit of the Franciscan chapel at Shepherds’ field. Christian tradition has identified this place as the one where angels appeared to the shepherds, and announced to them the birth of Christ our Saviour.
       

  • Ein Karem
    ​The hometown of John the Baptist’s parents and where the Virgin Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth after the Annunciation.

    • The Church of the Visitation stands high up on the hillside of Ein Karem.

    • The Church of St. John the Baptist is  built on the traditional place of the    home of Zechariah and Elizabeth where John the Baptist was born.
       

  • Holy Mass during the day

  • Overnight at the Hotel

  • Meals (Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner)

DAY 6: SEPTEMBER 11

MOUNT OF OLIVES ↣ MOUNT ZION

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Photo by  Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia

  • Mount of Olives

    • At the  top of Mount of Olives is the Pater Noster church, built on the site of the ancient Eleona church, which is believed to be the place where Jesus taught his disciples the prayer of the Our Father.

    • On the western side of the Mount of Olives is the Franciscan church of Dominus Flevit where Jesus wept over Jerusalem upon his triumphant entry into the city.

    • The Garden of Olives, with the Church of All Nations, which was

    • designed by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi in 1924. Officially named the Basilica of the Agony, the church is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem next to the Garden of Gethsemane. The church enshrines a section of a rock that is believed to be where Jesus prayed on the night of His arrest.
       

  • Mount Zion

    • Dormition Abbey, which commemorates the falling asleep of Virgin Mary before Her Assumption. The church was dedicated by the German Benedictines in 1910.

    • Upper Room, the Cenacle. The chapel was originally built by the

    • Crusaders. This is the room believed to be where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper and appeared twice after his resurrections to the apostles all gathered in that room and also the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them at Pentecost.

    • St Peter in Gallicantu church located near the Cenacle is where the congregation of the Assumptionist has revealed remnants of the prison at the house of Caiaphas in which our Lord spent the night prior to His trial before Pontius Pilate.
       

  • Holy Mass during the day

  • Overnight at the Hotel

  • Meals (Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner)

DAY 7: SEPTEMBER 12

OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM ↣ VIA DOLOROSA ↣ HOLY SEPULCHER ↣ WESTERN WALL

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Photo by Yigald גקלקך 

  • Old City of Jerusalem

    • The Way of the Cross, known as «Via Dolorosa », which is a procession of 14 stations, starting next to the Flagellation Chapel, and ending at the Holy Sepulcher, at the empty tomb of our Lord Jesus.  

    • The church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church, which is also known as the church of the Resurrection (Anastasis), is the holiest Christian site in the world. This Basilica encompasses the Golgotha or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and the Holy Tomb (sepulcher) where He was buried.

    • St Anne’s church, which is a beautiful 12th century crusader church, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of Virgin Mary. It is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture. The church is right next to the Bethesda Pool, believed to be the site where Jesus healed a paralytic (John 5 :1-15). Here we can see ruins of a roman temple to the god of medicine, as well as remains of a Byzantine church built over the temple and the pool.

    • Going through the Jewish quarter to get to the Wailing Wall, an impressive heritage and the holiest site for the Jews, which was built by Herod the Great, in around 19 BC. Herod the Great extended the mount’s natural plateau by enclosing the area with four massive retaining walls and filling the voids 
       

  • Holy Mass during the day

  • Overnight at the Hotel

  • Meals (Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner)

DAY 8: SEPTEMBER 13

ISRAEL MUSEUM ↣ SAXUM ↣ EMMAUS

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Source: https://saxum.org/about-saxum/gallery

  • Jerusalem

    • Israel Museum to see the Jerusalem Second Temple period model which helps to better understand the topography of the city two thousand years ago as well as to localize the main buildings such as the Temple.
       

  • Kiryat Yearim Village, Abughosh/Emmaus
    Abu Ghosh is located in the middle of the Kiryat Yearim Ridge Route between Nicopolis and Jerusalem, nine miles (83 stadia) from the capital. This area is also one of the possible locations associated with the biblical locale of Emmaus, where Jesus appeared to two of his disciples after his resurrection, as told in the Book of Luke.

    • Saxum Visitor Center to visit its multimedia center.

    • The Crusader Church, now restored, remains one of the finest examples of Crusader architecture. Its tranquil setting adjoins a Benedictine monastery. In the crypt is a spring used by the Roman Tenth Legion when it camped here after capturing Jerusalem in AD 70.
       

  • Thanksgiving Mass at Saxum

  • Overnight at the Hotel

  • Meals (Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner)

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  • In the morning, after breakfast,  transfer to Ben Gurion airport for our flight back to Toronto at 11:30 AM  (3 hours are required by the Israeli security before departure time).

  •  Arrive Toronto at 4:25 PM.

  • Bon Voyage!

DAY 9: SEPTEMBER 14

JERUSALEM ↣ TEL AVIV ↣ TORONTO

LET'S GO ON A JOURNEY!

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