10 Day Holy Land with 3 Days Tiberias

DAY 01:  BEGINNING OUR PILGRIMAGE.    Depart   North America via jet service.  Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.

DAY 02: INTO THE LAND OF THE BIBLE. Upon arrival into Tel Aviv, you will be met by your tour guide who will assist you with formalities.  A luxury motorcoach will transfer you to your hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.  Tonight we celebrate Mass at the hotel.

DAY 03: ALL THE PAST YEARS WITH HISTORY.  Morning departure to Caesarea Martima in the Plains of Sharon to visit the ruins of the Crusader's City, surrounded by a moat and a city wall enclosing the ruins of the Roman City.  Visit the Roman Theater and proceed along the shores of the Mediterranean to Haifa.  Visit Mount Carmel and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  Visit the Cave of the Prophet Elijah.  Proceed to Nazareth where we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation enclosing the remains of the House of Joachim and Ann and the site where the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she was to become the Mother of God.  Mass is celebrated here followed by a visit to the Home of the Holy Family, St. Joseph's workshop, Mary's Well and the Synagoguewhere Jesus preached. . Continue to Cana, where Christ performed his first miracle, the Transformation of Water into Wine, and where any married couples can renew their marriage vows.  Proceed to your hotel in Tiberias for dinner.

DAY 04: THE SEA OF GALILEE AND UPPER GALILEE. In the morning, we visit the ‘Jesus Boat’.  Then cross the Sea of Galilee by boat from Tiberias to Capernaum, now in ruins but once a thriving town where Peter lived and where much of the public ministry of Christ took place.  See the Church of the Primacy of Peter, where Christ taught the Eight Beatitudes to his Disciples.  Mass will be celebrated at the Mount of Beatitudes.  Continue to the ruins of Magdala where Mary Magdalen lived.  In the afternoon, drive to the Golan Heights, overlooking Upper Galilee.  Visit Tel Dan and the Banias (Caesarea Philippi).  Cross the River Jordan via Jacob's Daughters Bridge and continue to Pilgrim’s Park for renewal of baptismal vows in the River Jordan.  Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 05: ALONG THE JORDAN VALLEY.  After breakfast, we leave Tiberias and drive to the top of Mt. Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration where Mass will be celebrated.  Continue to Megiddo, Armageddon, a very important point on the Via Maris connecting Egypt and Damascus.  It is a city which has witnessed many wars and suffered many destructions throughout the different periods of time.  Proceed to Bethshean and then south through the Judean Wilderness to Jericho stopping at the site of Inn of the Good Samaritan.  Visit Elijah's Fountain and the ancient city of Jericho from which you can view the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights.   Continue to the Holy City of Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.  Upon arrival, stop at the Mt. Of Olives for a photo-op.

DAY 06: JERUSALEM AND BETHLEHEM.   Drive to Bethlehem. Visit the Basilica of the Nativity, built over the site of the birthplace of Christ where Mass will be celebrated.  Visit the Cave where Christ was born and it is the occasion to sing the traditional Christmas Hymns.  A visit is made to the Chapel of St. Jerome, who lived here for many years and translated the Bible into Latin.  The nearby Church of St. Catherine is the venue for the midnight Mass which is broadcast all over the World from Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.  Continue to the Shepherds field, recalling the "great throng of the heavenly hosts" who appeared to the Shepherds and told them of the birth of the Savior.  In the afternoon, visit Ein Karem, the place of the Visitation where Our Lady came to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  View the plaques with the Magnificat inmost languages of the World.  Visit the parish church of St. John the Baptist, and the Grotto of his birth.   Return to your hotel for dinner. 

DAY 07: MOUNTAINS OF JERUSALEM.  This morning tour the Old City of Jerusalem, visiting the Chapel of Flagellation, the chapel of Condemnation and the Lithostrotos, the site of the Antonia Fortress where Julius Caesar resided at the time of Christ and where Christ was tried and condemned to death.  Beginning the way of the Cross here, join the walk along the Via Dolorosa led by the Franciscans - ending at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site of the Crucifixion and the Tomb.  Mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.  Visit Calvary and the Tomb of Our Lord followed by a short tour of the Basilica.  This afternoon, we drive to the Mount of Olives and visit the Church of the Ascension, the spot where Christ ascended into Heaven; the Pater Noster Church commemorating Christ's teaching of the Our Father to his disciples; Dominus Flevit, the spot where Christ wept over Jerusalem and onwards to the Church of All Nations.  Visit the Cave of the betrayal of Jesus and the Tomb of Our Lady.  We return to our hotel for dinner and rest.  This evening, we will have the opportunity for meditation in the Garden Gethsemane where Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified.  Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight. 

DAY 08: JERUSALEM.  This morning we request a meeting with his Beatitude, Foual Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.  (if available). Then we visit the Church of St. Ann, built on the site of birthplace of Our Lady, where Mass will be celebrated.  Continue to the Pool of Bethesda, where Christ healed the paralytic.  Visit the Temple area, the spot where the original temple was built and which was the scene of many episodes from the life of Christ, such as the expulsion of the money changers.  Here now stands the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest spot in the world for the Moslem faith.  View the El Aksa Mosque and then the Wailing Wall which is the most sacred spot in the world for the Jews.  In the afternoon proceed to the Shrine of the Book, enclosing the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Continue to Mount Zion, visiting the room of the Last Supper, Church of the Dormition and then visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu built on the site of the house of Caiphas which encloses the dungeon where Christ was kept on Holy Thursday night and where Peter denied Christ thrice.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 09: MOUNTAINS OF JERUSALEM / AIRPORT.   After breakfast, continue to tour Yad Vashem - the immensely moving memorial to the six million martyrs of the Holocaust.  Then drive to Bethany and visit the new Church, built on the site of the house of Mary and Martha.  Celebrate Mass.  Visit the Tomb of Lazarus.  Stop for Farewell dinner at a local restaurant before we return to the Tel Aviv airport for check-in and our late evening flight home.

DAY 10: ARRIVE NORTH AMERICA. This morning we arrive in North America -   the end of our most enjoyable pilgrimage.