13 Day Holy Land and Passion Play

OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY 2022

*** DAILY MASSES INCLUDED ***

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 in the afternoon, you will be met by our representative who will assist you with formalities.  A luxury motor coach will transfer you to your hotel in Tel Aviv for overnight.

DAY 03:  ALL THE PAST YEARS WITH HISTORY.  Morning departure to Caesarea Maritima 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 Synagogue where 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. 

DAY 04:  THE SEA OF GALILEE AND UPPER GALILEE.  In the morning, we 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 return to your hotel. 

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.  Drive to Shiloh to view the site where the Tabernacle was erected following Joshua's conquest of Canaan.  This site of ancient pilgrimage was where that Hannah prayed for a son, and Samuel served Eli the priest.  Continue to Bethel where Abraham built an altar and Jacob dreamed of the ladder ascending to heaven. Continue to Jerusalem via Beroth and Tel El Ful.  Overnight in Jerusalem.

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 in most languages of the World.  Visit the parish church of St. John the Baptist, and the Grotto of his birth.  Return to your hotel.

DAY 07:  MOUNTAINS OF JERUSALEM.  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 Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations which houses the Rock of the Agony of Christ on Holy Thursday.  In this Church is a beautiful mosaic donated by the United States. Visit the Cave of the betrayal of Jesus and the Tomb of Our Lady. Celebrate Mass at the Church of All Nations.  Visit the Cave of the betrayal of Jesus and the Tomb of Our Lady.  This afternoon 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 Pontius Pilate 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.  Visit Calvary and the Tomb of Our Lord followed by a short tour of the Basilica.

DAY 08:  JERUSALEM.  This morning, visit the Church of St. Anne, built on the site of birthplace of Anne (Hanna) - mother of Our Lady, where Mass will be celebrated.  Next door, we visit 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.  Visit 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 sire of the house of Caiaphas which encloses the dungeon where Christ was kept on Holy Thursday night and where Peter denied Christ thrice.

DAY 09:  THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA.  We have early morning Mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.  After breakfast, drive to Bethany and visit the new Church, built on the site of the house of Mary and Martha.  Visit the Tomb of Lazarus.  We proceed 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 along the shores of the Dead Sea to Ein Gedi where a precipitous cliff, filled with caves, rises some 2,000 feet.  Time is allowed for a float on the Dead Sea.  Proceed to visit Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a shepherd boy in 1947, before returning to Jerusalem.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 10:  JERUSALEM / TEL AVIV / NORTH AMERICA / OR OPTION TO MUNICH / OBERAMMERGAU.  Travel to Tel Aviv for our flight to Munich. Upon arrival at Munich Airport we are met by our tour escort and European motor coach and transferred directly to the tiny Bavarian village of Oberammergau for dinner and overnight.

DAY 11:  PASSION PLAY. The entire day is devoted to attending a performance of the world famous Passion Play, held once every ten years in this tiny village.  Dinner and overnight.

DAY 12:  OBERAMMERGAU / MUNICH.  Yet more splendid scenery awaits us today as we drive to Munich, the lively capital of the Bavarian region of Germany.  Our afternoon sightseeing will include the Marienplatz with the gothic Town Hall, Frauenkirche, Residenz Palace, Nymphenburg and other points of interest. We have dinner (typical Bavarian folkloric evening) and overnight at our hotel

DAY 13:  MUNICH / NORTH AMERICA. Transfer this morning to Munich Airport at the end of our memorable journey.