13 Day Sites of Pope John Paul II and Passion Play

OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY 2022

*** DAILY MASSES INCLUDED ***

DAY 01: USA / WARSAW.      Board a transatlantic flight bound for Poland. Dinner served on board.

DAY 02: WARSAW.  Upon arrival your guide and driver will meet you at the airport and bring you to your hotel.  Mass may be held at St. James Church, the church that St. Faustina went to when she arrived in Warsaw. The rest of the day is at leisure to relax. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 03: WARSAW.  After breakfast we visit all the landmarks of Warsaw: Old Town, Market Square, the Barbican, St. John’s Cathedral, Holy Cross Church, Warsaw Ghetto monument, Lazienki Park, the Chopin statue, and the magnificently restored Royal Castle. Mass may be held at 3-9 ZytniaStreet where Faustina entered the convent. We also visit the birthplace of Sister Faustina. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 04: WARSAW / SWINICE WARCKIE / CZESTOCHOWA / AUSCHWITZ / KRAKOW. After breakfast, we travel to Czestochowa, with a stop in Swinice Warckie to visit the parish church St Casimir where St. Faustina was baptized Helen Kowalska. Czestochowa is the site of Poland's greatest pilgrimage shrine, Our Lady of Czestochowa.  Visit Jasna Gora Monastery with the Black Madonna picture, one of the most important places of religious worship in the Christian world with tradition of pilgrimages that goes back to the 14th century. Our Holy Father has frequently visited Jasna Gorna Monastery, known as the Shrine of the Black Madonna. We celebrate Mass at the Pauline Monastery and view the priceless treasures contained within, including the Miraculous Icon. Then travel to Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi concentration camp. We will see the cell that imprisoned St Maximillian Kolbe and the Martyrdom Museum recalling the horrors of the Holocaust. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 05: KRAKOW.  After breakfast we have a city tour focusing on the life of Pope John Paul who spent many years in Krakow.  Visit St. Mary’s Church and hear the silver trumpet of the bugler from St Mary's Tower. Within the Cathedral you may pray before the extraordinary Wit Stwosz altar. The surroundings of the square have remained unchanged for almost 700 years and contain buildings of historic value such as St. Mary’s Church with the famous wooden altar, the Town Hall Tower, the Cloth Hall and the burgher’s houses. Tour the Cathedral, Coronation Chapel and the Royal Chambers where a superb collection of Arras tapestries is on view. Then visit St. Florians Church where John Paul practiced after becoming priest.  We also visit Jagiellonian University where John Paul studied. Time this afternoon to explore Market Square on your own.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 06: KRAKOW / WADOWICE / BUDAPEST.      After breakfast, we travel to Wadowice, the birthplace of Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul). Visit the house where John Paul II was born. It has since been turned into a shrine-like museum. We will also visit the church he attended and was baptized as a child. Next we continue on to Budapest. Often compared with Paris, this glamorous city has something to offer every visitor. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 07 – BUDAPEST.    After breakfast we will tour the older section of the city. After celebrating Mass at the 13th-century Cathedral of St Matthew, we will see the Citadel on Mount Gellert, the Royal Castle,  Fisherman's Bastion, the Parliament, Heroes' Square, and the Basilica exhibition. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 08: BUDAPEST – VIENNA.   After breakfast we motor through the lush Austrian countryside to Vienna, Austria's capital. Enroute we visit Esztergom to visit the Basilica and the Treasury.  Upon arrival to Vienna we have time at leisure to relax in this beautiful city.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 09:  VIENNA. This morning we will celebrate Mass at St Stephen's Cathedral, an imposing structure dating to the 13th century. We'll have time for Viennese pastry and coffee before seeing the Hofburg (Imperial apartments). Also see the State Opera House, home to the Vienna Boys' Choir. This sprawling, royal 'summer house' has 1,441 rooms including a Hall of Mirrors where Mozart performed at the age of six before a young Marie Antoinette.This afternoon visit the Melk Abbey and take a scenic Danube cruise. Return to Vienna for dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 10:  VIENNA / SALZBURG / OBERAMMERGAU . Our morning drive takes us to Salzburg where Mozart was born.  This lovely city is full of Baroque churches which we will see. Continue to Oberammergau for dinner and overnight.

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

DAY 12: OBERAMMERGAU / LINDERHOFF / MUNICH. After breakfast this morning we continue to Linderhoffs Castle - built by mad King Ludwig - a dazzling castle set high in the Bavarian Alps.  Our day finishes in Munich, the largest and liveliest city in Bavaria. Our afternoon sightseeing tour of Munich includes the gothic Rathdus (town hall) with its famous glockenspiel, the awesome twin-spired Frauenkirche, Marienplatz, imperial residence Alte Pinakothec and other principle places of interest. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 13:  MUNICH / NORTH AMERICA.  After breakfast we will transfer to the airport for our return the United States of America.  The end of a most enjoyable journey.