Group Leader: Kathleen Hayes
Spiritual Director: Fr John Walsh
Thursday 9 October 2008: Upon arrival in Warsaw, our group will be met by the Joe Walsh Tours Pilgrimage co-ordinator and transferred to the Hotel Mercure F. Chopin in Warsaw for 2 nights on a half board basis. We will have a panoramic tour of Warsaw then attend a private mass in Fr George Popieluszko Church, who was known as the Solidarity Priest. The cause of his Canonisation is already in place. We will take a drive to The Convent of Sister Faustina for a short lecture and free time. This is the Convent where she first entered the congregation. We will return to our hotel for dinner.
Friday, 10 October 2008: After breakfast we will travel to Niepokalanow where we will attend a Private Mass at the chapel of St Maximillian Kolbe. In 1941, the Nazis imprisoned Father Maximilian in the Auschwitz death camp. There he was offered his life for another prisoner and was condemned to slow death in a starvation bunker. On August 14, 1941, his impatient captors ended his life with a fatal injection. Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian as a "martyr of charity" in 1982. We return back to Warsaw for free time for shopping. Dinner in the hotel.
Saturday, 11 October 2008: After breakfast we depart by coach for journey to Czestochowa. Czestochowa is where the Jasna Gora Monastery, Poland's national shrine to Our Lady is located. The renowned Black Madonna icon has in the past symbolised unity and freedom to the Polish people. The Black Madonna was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. It is known as the Black Madonna because of the candle soot residue that has discoloured the painting. Upon arrival we will attend a private mass at The Jasna Gora Monastery. Check in to Hotel Mercure Patria where we will stay for 2 nights on a half board basis.
Sunday, 12 October 2008: Breakfast in the hotel. We will attend a private mass in front of the icon of The Black Madonna and tour of the sanctuary. Free time for shopping.
Monday, 13 October 2008: This morning after breakfast we depart Czestochowa for Krakow visiting Auschwitz en-route.
Auschwitz, for many Polish people is a symbol of national persecution. Above the entrance to Auschwitz are inscribed the words “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work makes free”). The camp has been preserved as a memorial, and the prison blocks that survive have been turned into a museum charting the history of wartime Poland.
In total, between 900,000 and 1.5 million Jews and others were murdered in the extermination camps here. The camp is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
We will visit the museum and then have free time for lunch in a local restaurant. Continue our journey to Krakow and check in to The Hotel Novotel Bronowice where we stay for five nights on a half board basis. Attend a private mass, return to hotel for dinner.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008: After breakfast we will have a short walking tour of Krakow Old Town, followed by a drive to Łagiewniki where we will spend the full day at The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy. This is where Our Lord appeared to Saint Faustina Kowalska in 1931, establishing the devotion to the Divine Mercy, we will have an opportunity to venerate her relics. We will attend a private mass in one of the chapels, then enjoy free time in sanctuary. Return to hotel for dinner.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008: After breakfast we travel up to the beautiful mountain resort of Zakopane a favoutite resort for Pope John Paul II, where we can admire the wonderful scenery, and time amongst the cafes, souvenir shops and art galleries. Free time for lunch (own arrangements). We will have a Private mass in Zakopane in The Krzeptowki Church. This is the church that the locals built in honour of our Lady of Fatima, after Pope John Paul’s attempted assassination in 1981. We will then return to Krakow. Dinner at the hotel.
Thursday, 16 October 2008: After breakfast we will enjoy a full day trip to Wadowice. Today is the anniversary of Pope John Paul II election to the papacy. We will visit two places, Wadowice where he was born and Kalawaria the local shrine where he and his father visited often after his Mother died, when he was still a young boy. Enjoy lunch (own arrangements) in one of the many restaurants, afterwards attend a private mass. Return to Krakow for dinner in the hotel.
Friday, 17 October 2008: Breakfast in the hotel. We will attend a morning mass at St Francis Church. Afterwards enjoy free time for some shopping. In the afternoon we depart for Wieliczka, famous for having the oldest operational Salt Mine in Europe which has been working for over 700 years. The mine, a centuries old tourist attraction cannot be compared to anything else in the world. The most popular attractions are the enormous excavation chambers, the underground salt lakes and chapels. The largest of the chapels – the Blessed King – is located 101 metres below the surface. It is made entirely out of salt, richly furnished with sculptures and large chandeliers made form salt crystals. Entrance included. Afterwards enjoy a farewell dinner in The Halit Restaurant with a folklore show.
Saturday 18 October 2008: After breakfast we will have a morning mass before we depart for the airport and our return flight.
