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Itinerary

Day 1   •  Departure

Departure to Tel Aviv with EL AL from Toronto or Boston. Connection from Pittsburgh may be via bus to Toronto or via flight to Boston, to be confirmed in March.

Day 2   •  Nazareth

Arrival at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport in the afternoon. Travel to Galilee, the most beautiful and fertile region of the Holy Land. Arrival at Nazareth in the evening, dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 3  •  Nazareth

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning, visit the Church of the Transfiguration at Mt. Tabor, stop at Cana, site of the wedding feast. In the afternoon, visit to the Shrine of the Annunciation and to the Church of St. Joseph, built where the Holy Family lived. Time to visit the Greek Catholic “Synagogue” Church and the Greek Catholic Parish Church. Dinner and overnight in Nazareth

Day 4   •  Nazareth

After breakfast, departure to the region of Lake Tiberias: we will take a beautiful boat ride, during which we will stop and connect with the Gospel readings regarding Jesus crossing the lake. Visit Capernaum (synagogue and Peter’s home where Jesus stayed) and to the two shrines at Tabgha (site of the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes and site of the Primacy of Peter), ascent to the Mount of Beatitudes. Quality time here. Stop in Magdala before heading back to Nazareth, the village of Mary of Magdala where a 1st century synagogue has been recently found. Dinner and overnight in Nazareth.

Day 5  •  Nazareth

Breakfast at the hotel. Descend through the Valley of the River Jordan, renewal of the Baptismal Promises in Qasr El Yahud. We then proceed towards the Dead Sea to experience the healing waters of the lowest geological point of the world. After that stop in Jericho. View of the Mount of Temptation and view of an old sycamore tree that reminds us of Zaccheus’ encounter with Jesus. Lunch in Jericho. Celebration of the Mass at Good Shepherd Church. Stop in the Judean desert for a quiet, prayerful experience before arriving in Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

Day 6  •  Jerusalem

After breakfast, visit of Jerusalem, the “City of God.”  Stop at the Western Wall, and view the magnificent ruins of the Temple of Herod where there is now the Muslim Mosque called “Dome of the Rock”. Walk through the Jewish neighborhood and discover the ruins of the ancient roman street “Cardo Maximus”. Visit Mount Zion: the room of the Last Supper and the Cenotaph of King David, the Church of the Dormition, and the Church of St. Peter Gallicantu where St. Peter denied Jesus. Free time to walk in the Old City. Today we will visit the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 7   •  Jerusalem

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning, departure to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Grotto of St. Jerome, the Roum Catholic Melkite Church, the Shepherd’s Field. In the afternoon, visit the village of Ein Kerem, birthplace of St. John the Baptist and place of the visit of Mary to St. Elisabeth.  Possible free time in Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight at hotel..

Day 8  •  Jerusalem

Breakfast at the hotel. Full day dedicated to the visit of the city sacred to the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The visit includes Mount of Olives: the Ascension chapel, the Church of the Pater Noster, the church where Jesus wept (Dominus Flevit), the Garden of Gethsemane with the Basilica of the Agony, the Virgin’s Tomb. In the afternoon time for our first visit to the Holy Sepulcher. Dinner and overnight. (Possibility for a few people to spend a quiet night inside the Holy Sepulcher when the church is closed to the public.)

Day 9  •  Jerusalem

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning, visit to St. Anne’s Church, the Pool of Bethesda, the Chapel of the Flagellation and Via Crucis along the Via Dolorosa, entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, containing the tomb where Jesus was buried and rose from the dead. Free time for the rest of the afternoon. Dinner and overnight.

Day 10  •  Jerusalem

After breakfast, departure to Tel Aviv airport, flight back home. If option flights via Boston are confirmed in March, the flight from Tel Aviv will take off after midnight Sept.24 and we will not spend the night in the hotel.