Eastern Europe Pilgrimage with FR. ALEXANDER DEL CASTILLO

Upon arrival in Warsaw, have a guided half-day city tour to get acquainted with the history of Poland’s Capital. See the historical sights of Warsaw – the Old Town, Lazienki Park, Palace on the Isle, Warsaw Ghetto and Royal Castle. Visit the Katedra Sw Jana – St. John’s Cathedral and the St. Stanislaw Kostka Church. Then transfer to the hotel for check in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out at the hotel, have the captivating scenery unfolds before you on your long-distance drive to Czestochowa with a quick stop at Niepokalanow. Visit to St. Mary Immaculate (without guide). Continue driving to Glogowiec to visit the house and birthplace of Sister Faustina. Proceed to Czestochowa. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Have a guided visit to the Black Madonna (Jasna Gora) Monastery which stood the onslaught of the Swedish forces during the religious wars of the 17th century. Today, it has become a pilgrimage site for devotees all over the world, who venerate the icon of the Black Madonna, believed to have been painted by St. Luke. Drive to Oswiecim and have a guided tour to visit the Auschwitz & Birkenau concentration camps (please do not bring bags inside the camps). Continue to Wadowice to visit the House of Pope St. John Paul II (with audio guide). Then proceed to your hotel in Krakow for check-in, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Lagiewniki to visit the Faustina Chapel, including the Shrine of Divine Mercy. Drive back to Krakow to visit Mariacki Church (St. Mary’s Church) and St. John Paul Sanctuary. Continue to Wieliczka to have a guided tour to visit the UNESCO listed Wieliczka Saltmine. Return to Krakow. Have dinner at International restaurant before going back to the hotel for overnight.

Breakfast and check-out. Then have a long-distance transfer to Velehrad. Have a guided visit to the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Continue driving to Prague. Proceed to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast at the hotel, have a half-day guided tour which includes: Prague Castle (UNESCO listed), the enormous St. Vitus Cathedral with its glided grand chapels studded with semiprecious stones; the Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of St. George; the Daliborka Tower and the Golden Lane. Visit also St. Loreta Church. View the Strahov Monastery (Royal Canonry of Premonstratens). Then visit to St. Nicholas Church in the Old Town Square. View of Old Town Square, Astronomical Clock, The Dancing House, Charles Bridge and National Theater. Visit the Church of Our Lady of the Victory, which houses the image of Sto. Nino Del Praga. Have dinner at International restaurant before going back to the hotel for overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, start the long-distance drive to Melk. Have a guided tour to visit the Benedictine Abbey Melk, including Imperial Rooms, Marble Hall, Abbey Library, Coloman Courtyard and Abbey Church, North Bastion. Proceed to Mariazell to visit the Mariazell Basilica. Continue the long drive to Vienna. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, have a guided tour to include entrance to Schoenbrunn Palace (UNESCO listed) and visit to St. Stephen Cathedral. Start the long-distance drive to Venice-Mestre. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, transfer to Venice Tronchetto Terminal. We will have a private boat transfer to Piazza San Marco. Have a guided city tour on foot of Venice including a photo stop at the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Piazza, Bell Tower and the Bridge of Sighs. Visit San Marco Basilica, Lucy & Roche, Leonardo da Vinci Museum, and the Glass blowing factory. Then have another private boat ride leaving from Tronchetto. Have a short-distance drive to Padova to visit the St. Antonio Basilica (without guide). Then have a long-distance drive to Milan. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out at the hotel, have a guided tour of Milan which includes visit to Duomo (Cathedral), Basilica of St. Ambrogio and to St. Maria Delle Graczie (UNESCO listed). Drive to Turin. Visit the Cathedral of Turin (St. John Baptist Basilica). Continue the long-distance drive to Lyon. Transfer to the hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, we will visit the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere. Then drive to Ars Sur Formans. Have a guided tour to visit the house of St. John Vianney. Then continue to have a long-distance drive to Toulouse. Transfer to hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast and check-out. Have a short-distance drive to Lourdes– one of the great pilgrimage shrines in the world, where in the Grotto of Massabielle, a beautiful lady revealed herself to a young sick child named Bernadette, that she is the Immaculate Concepcion. Transfer to hotel for check-in. Rest of the time is free for private devotion (no coach provided). You may also join the pilgrims around the world for a torch light procession and Rosary in the evening. Have dinner and overnight at hotel.

After an early breakfast and check-out at the hotel, we will transfer to Lourdes train station to take a 2nd class TGV train going to Paris – the heart of Europe’s most romantic city. Upon arrival, we will visit the Sacre Coeur Basilica. Experience a one-way ride on the Montmartre funicular. Transfer to hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight.

After breakfast and check-out, have a guided tour of Paris that includes visit to the Chapelle De La Medaille Miraculeuse (St. Catherine) to see the incorruptible body of St. Catherine Laboure and the heart of St. Vincent de Paul. Visit also St. Vincent de Paul Church. View of Place De La Concorde, Arc De Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre Museum and Champs Elysees. Rest of the time is free at leisure before transfer to Paris airport to catch flight back to Manila.

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