On arrival in Krakow, our group will be met by the Joe Walsh Tours Pilgrimage co-ordinator and transferred to your hotel in Krakow for 4 nights on a half board basis.
Krakow Tour: We will enjoy a guided tour of this uniquely historical city that survived World War II and retains a charm and elegance reminiscent of its colourful past as an ancient Royal City. Here you will see the Royal Castle, Main Market, St. Mary’s church (which has the worlds biggest Gothic altar) Wawel Castle and Cathedral overlooking the River Vistula.
Lagiewniki: Our Lord appeared to Saint Faustina Kowalska here in 1931, thus establishing the devotion to the Divine Mercy. We will have a private mass in St Faustina Monastery.
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, features enormous excavation chambers, 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 from salt crystals.
Wadowice: Pope John Paul II was born in Wadowice on 18 May 1920. We will visit his childhood home, a modest two room flat, which has been turned into a small museum called the House of John Paul II and displays objects relating to his early life. We will also visit the church where he was christened, which is located beside his home.
Kalwaria Zebrzydowksa: We also visit the Kalwaria Zebrzydowksaa monastery complex, erected in the early 17th century by Mikloj Zebrzydowski and located a short distance from Wadowice (15 minutes). The monastery is built on the side of the Zar Mountain and around 40 chapels surround the monastery, resembling the topography of Jerusalem.
After breakfast we depart Krakow for Czestochowa visiting Auschwitz en route.
Auschwitz: Auschwitz Concentration Camp is a Unesco World Heritage Site and has been preserved as a memorial to those murdered here. It is estimated that between 900,000 and 1.5 million Jews and others were murdered in these extermination camps. The prison blocks that survive have been turned into a museum charting the history of the wartime Poland.
Later today we arrive at our hotel in Czestochowa, where we stay for one night on a half board basis.
Czestochowa: Here we will visit Jasna Gora Monastery, Poland’s national shrine to Our Lady. The renowned Black Madonna icon has in the past symbolised unity and freedom to the Polish people. Painted by St. Luke the Evangelist the Black Madonna gets its name as a result of the soot residue, caused by centuries of candles burning, that discolours the painting. Our visit to the monastery also includes the Miraculous Picture Chapel and the Basilica.
Transfer to Krakow airport for our return flight to Dublin.
