www.notredamecenter.org / english site
23/MAY/2013 4:51 PM
 
PLANNING YOUR PILGRIMAGE
11 days and 10 nights
(with Petra)
 


Notre Dame can arrange these itineraries for you through affiliated tour organizers. Whether you want to come on your own, join a group or bring your own group, contact us and we will put you in touch with the organizer closest to you.

 Holy Land and Petra in
Eleven Days and Ten Nights

  • The itinerary and Eucharistic celebrations are subject to changes.
Day 1: Home - Tel Aviv - Galilee

     Begin your spiritual journey with an evening departure from your hometown, on the overnight flight to Tel-Aviv.
     Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. Exit the terminal and meet your guide. Transfer to your hotel in Nazareth or Tiberias, with a stop on the way at Caesarea Maritima, if time permits (this depends on your flight arrival time). Dinner and lodging at your hotel.
 
Day 2:  In Mary’s Footsteps  

     This morning we drive to Cana to visit the Church commemorating the place where Jesus transformed water into wine. Then on to Nazareth to visit the Basilica of Annunciation (Holy Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation), Mary´s Well and the Synagogue.
     In the afternoon, we travel on to Haifa and Carmel. Ascending the Carmel Mountains we will visit the Stella Maris Convent, and the Prophet Elijah´s Grotto, before returning for dinner and lodging at your hotel.
 

Day 3: In Jesus’ and the Disciples’ Footsteps.

     We start the day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to see St. Peter´s Memorial, St. Peter´s House and the Synagogue. Then on to Mt. of Beatitudes where our Lord gave the Sermon on the Mount.       We proceed to Tabgha, the site of multiplication of fish and loaves, returning to celebrate Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Church in Capernaum.
     We then drive to the Jordan River at the southern end of the Sea of Galilee to renew our Baptismal Vows.
     We finish the day with a visit to Mt.Tabor and the church of the Transfiguration. Then drive back to the hotel for dinner and lodging.
 

Day 4: Visiting Ancient Cultures

     We leave Tiberias to cross over to Jordan by the Sheikh Hussein  Bridge where we will be met and assisted in a visit to the Roman city of Jerash, including the Cardo Maximus, the street lined by columns and flanked by temples, churches, theaters and innumerable mosaics. From there we travel south to Mount Nebo to celebrate Holy Mass at the mountain-top memorial of Moses with captivating views of the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, River Jordan and the Holy Land.
     We end the day with the journey to our hotel in Petra, where have dinner and overnight lodging.
 
Day 5: Crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land
     In the early morning we start our visit to Petra, the Rose Red City. 

     The visit will include the main sites such as the "Siq", a long winding fissure between two walls of overhanging cliffs, the "Khazneh" referred to as the Treasury, the Street of Facades, the Court House and the Amphitheater.
     If time permits we can also include visits to the High Place of Sacrifice and the Monastery. After the visit, we cross back into Israel by the Allenby Bridge. There we will be met and assisted in the journey to our hotel in Jerusalem, where we receive dinner and overnight lodging.

Day 6: Bethlehem – Ein Karem

     This morning we drive to Bethlehem to visit the place of our Lord’s birth in the Basilica of the Nativity, where we will celebrate Mass. We will also see the Chapel of St. Jerome, the Milk Grotto, and the Shepherds Fields.  In the afternoon we drive to the nearby village of Ein Karem to visit the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation.
     If time permits we will stop to visit the Holy Land Model, before returning to your hotel for dinner and lodging. Dinner and lodging at your hotel in Jerusalem.
 
Day 7: Jerusalem, the Passion of Jesus´ last hours 

     We start the day with Holy Mass at the Holy Sepulchre. After Mass we return to the hotel to have breakfast, before leaving on foot to visit the Old City of Jerusalem.
     We’ll start at the Temple area, where we will see the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and then St. Anne’s Church and the Pools of Bethesda. From there we trace the final footsteps of Jesus along the
Vía Dolorosa, from the Church of Flagellation, the Ecce Homo Arch and on to the Holy Sepulchre. There we will visit Calvary and the empty Tomb of our Lord, and the different sections of the church. We will have free time at the church for prayers and reflection before going back to the hotel for dinner and lodging.
 
Day 8: The Wilderness:  Bethany - Qumran - Dead Sea - Masada

     Today we drive to Bethany, the village of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, where we celebrate Holy Mass and visit Lazarus’ Tomb.       Then we travel through the Judean Desert on our way to Jericho, to visit the ancient city, Elisha’s spring, the Sycamore tree, the new city, where we will have a view of the Mount of Temptation.  From here we drive to the Dead Sea area to see the excavations of the Essene Monastery and the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden.
     We continue on to Masada and the Dead Sea coast, before returning for dinner and lodging at the hotel in Jerusalem.
 
Day 9: Mount of Olives – Mount Zion

     After breakfast we drive to the top of the Mt. of Olives to visit the Chapel of the Ascension, the Church of Pater Noster where Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, and then proceed down the Palm Sunday route to the Church of Dominus Flevit, where our Lord wept over the city, and then to the Garden of Gethsemane, where we will celebrate Holy Mass in the Church of All Nations.

     In the afternoon we go on Mount Zion to visit the Church of the Dormition Abbey, the Cenacle, and the Church of Saint Peter In Gallicantu. After this we return to our hotel for dinner and lodging.
 
Day 10: Jerusalem, going 
around.
     In the morning we celebrate Holy Mass on Mount Calvary,  after which we return to the hotel for breakfast. Then we leave again to visit Mini Israel where you can see miniature models of some of the sites you visited on this pilgrimage. After this we will return to the hotel for a special lunch meal.
     Enjoy the afternoon to re-visit the Holy Sites and do some shopping, before returning to the hotel for dinner and lodging.

 

Day 11:  Tel Aviv - Home


     Transfer to the airport for your return flight home.


  • Please note that overnight lodging in these itineraries, whether in Galilee or Jerusalem, is normally arranged in Christian hostels.
  • Towards the end of the pilgrimage there will be a special moment for the blessing of articles bought in the Holy Land.
  • You will be invited to watch the film ´The Passion of Christ´ by Mel Gibson.





« Please keep in mind...

The Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa are located in some very narrow streets in the market area of the Old City, which is normally full of people going about their daily life. Don´t be disappointed by this, but remember that the conditions must have been similar when our Lord passed on his way to Golgotha, in the midst of the crowds.
Cana of Galilee
Cana of Galilee
Tabgha
Tabgha
  
Jerash
Jerash
Petra
Petra
  
Jerusalem Model
Jerusalem Model
Ecce Homo
Ecce Homo
  
Judean Desert
Judean Desert
Dominus Flevit
Dominus Flevit
  
Calvary
Calvary