Depart on our overnight flight to Israel. Meals and drinks served aloft.

Your immersion in ancient Israel where Christ walked begins. After being met by our pilgrimage manager, we proceed to the resort town of Netanya where we will spend our first night in the Holy Land on the shores of the Mediterranean. (D, Mass)

Pending a morning arrival, after being met by our pilgrimage manager, we proceed to the coastal town of Old Jaffa, celebrating Mass in the church of Saint Peter the Apostle on the anniversary of Fr. Peter’s ordination to the priesthood. It was here that Simon Peter resuscitated Tabitha and had the vision of the sheet (Acts 10:11), which preceded the pagan centurion Cornelius’ baptism shortly after in Caesarea. Proceed to our hotel to check in before our dinner and overnight. (D) Mass – Overnight Netanya

Set out for a morning drive along the Mediterranean Coast to Caesarea, the capital of the Roman Procurators of Judea where St. Peter preached and St. Paul was imprisoned for two years. Caesarea Maritima was the port where St. Paul’s final missionary journey, the prison journey, began, leading him to Rome. This is especially meaningful for us as a parish dedicated to St. Paul, since we made a pilgrimage in 2025 to Malta and Italy, following in his footsteps along that very journey. We will visit the Roman Theater, Crusader’s Moat and see the stunning architecture and art of the Byzantine Churches. This afternoon we enter the port city of Haifa to ascend Mt. Carmel, the sacred mountain where the Prophet Elijah contested 450 prophets of Baal proclaiming, “The Lord, He is God,” and Elisha, his disciple, took refuge. We will visit Stella Maris, the church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Star of the Sea, located near the cave in which Elijah lived. We take our last excursion of the day to the summit of Mt. Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration and the culminating point of Christ’s public life. Christ revealed his divinity here to three of his apostles as he spoke with the prophets Moses and Elijah. It is also the second time and place where God told people from Heaven that Christ was his beloved Son to whom they should listen (Matthew 17:5). We then continue on to Tiberias for check-in at our hotel, our home base for the next three nights. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Tiberias

Enjoy a scenic morning boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, the setting of so many moments in Christ’s life. We will visit the Church of Peter’s Primacy on the shores of Galilee. A rock at the center of the Church is believed to be the actual table where the apostles ate breakfast with Christ after His Resurrection. It is where Peter’s role as the Vicar of Christ was further established as Christ asked him to “Feed my sheep” (John 21:16). We continue to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’s three-year public ministry where he called his first disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew. Here Christ healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever, brought a child back to life, cured a leper, healed the centurion’s servant, and cast out a demon from a young boy. After Mass we will visit the synagogue where Jesus taught. At Tabgha, we ponder the site where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed more than 5,000 people. Our next site on this grace-filled day is the Mount of Beatitudes where Christ gave his famous Sermon on the Mount. Finally, we drive to Magdala, birthplace of Mary Magdalene, known as “the Apostle to the Apostles,” where we will visit the chapel and surrounding ruins. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Tiberias

We drive to Cana in Galilee to pray where Jesus performed his first miracle, at the request of his mother, Mary, turning the water into wine. The Catholic Church points to this miracle as establishing the Sacrament of Marriage. If you wish, you may renew your wedding vows here as a lasting remembrance of this holy site. Afterwards, travel a short distance to Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus. Celebrate Mass in the Church of the Annunciation that holds the Cave of the Annunciation just behind the altar. This is the actual room where Gabriel appeared to Mary and “The Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). See St. Joseph’s Carpentry Shop, where the foster father of Jesus worked, and Mary’s Well, where the Virgin Mary drew water with her son for their daily living. We will also visit the Synagogue Church in Nazareth, known as Madrasset El-Masshiach, a small, historic Melkite Greek Catholic church located in the Old Market area. It is believed to sit on the site of the ancient synagogue where Jesus studied and famously preached (Luke 4:16–27) and is considered a significant Christian site commemorating the place where Jesus was rejected by the local congregation. Later, we ascend the Golan Heights, a fertile plateau with expansive views over Israel. We stop at the Banias Spring, a waterfall that rises from under a cave and is one of the sources of the Jordan River. It was here in Banias, known in Biblical times as Caesarea Philippi, where Peter made his confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah and where Jesus gave Peter his new name, declaring him the Rock upon which He would build His Church (Matthew 16:16–19). We return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Tiberias

This morning, we depart Tiberias and travel south towards Jordan, stopping at Kursi, where Jesus met a possessed man and miraculously cast out a legion of demons into a herd of swine (Luke 8:26). We continue to the Sheikh Hussein Bridge where we cross from Israel into Jordan and drive to Tell Mar Elias near Ajloun, where we will visit the archaeological site and ruins of Byzantine churches believed to be the birthplace of the prophet Elijah. Close by is Anjara and Our Lady of the Mountain Church, where tradition says Jesus and his mother Mary stopped with his disciples and rested in a cave when they traveled between Jerusalem and Galilee. Today this cave is a holy place for pilgrims and the site of a miracle validated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in which a statue of Our Lady of Anjara wept tears of blood in 2010. Afterwards, we visit the archaeological park of Jerash, renowned for its impressive Greco-Roman ruins. Here pilgrims can reflect on the early Christian transformation of pagan spaces into sacred sites like the 4th-century Cathedral. Walking the Cardo Maximus, we connect with the world of the Decapolis mentioned in the Gospels and imagine the cultural landscape that surrounded Jesus and the Apostles during their travels through the region. The site’s majestic colonnades and intricate mosaics serve as a physical bridge to the era when the Roman Empire first encountered and eventually embraced the Christian faith. We continue to Amman, the capital of Jordan, and proceed to our hotel for check-in. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Amman

This morning, we drive south to Petra, one of the most magnificent sites in the Middle East and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The “Rose Red City” of Petra is literally carved into the sides of a deep gorge, and the only entrance is through the “Siq,” a narrow slit in the rock enclosed by beautiful limestone cliffs. We ride on horseback (no riding experience required) between the 100-foot cliffs, where we will see a remarkable sight: temples, tombs, and dwellings chiseled right into the limestone walls. Following our sightseeing of Petra, conditions permitting, we return to Amman via the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, passing the Cave of Lot and the mountain fortress of Machaerus where John the Baptist was imprisoned. This scenic drive offers views of these biblical landmarks and passes near the Baptism Site of Jesus before we arrive in Amman for overnight. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Amman

This morning, we depart Amman and drive to Madaba, a Byzantine center of master mosaics, to see the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land. We continue south to Mt. Nebo where Moses viewed the Promised Land but was not permitted to enter due to his disobedience (Deut. 34). Next, we visit Bethany beyond the Jordan, the Baptismal Site of our Lord on the Jordanian side of the river. Renew your baptismal vows in the very river where Christ was baptized by John the Baptist (Mark 1:9). Ponder how the children of Israel crossed the River Jordan opposite Jericho when they came to the Promised Land. These are the waters the prophet Elijah divided and crossed with Elisha and in which Naaman the Syrian dipped seven times to cure his leprosy. Pilgrims come every year to immerse themselves in these holy waters. We cross the Allenby Bridge from Jordan back into Israel and drive to Bethany near Jerusalem to see the House of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and the Tomb of Lazarus where Jesus raised him from the dead. This is where Jesus declared to Martha that He is “the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25). We continue a short distance to Jerusalem for check-in at our hotel, our home base for the next four nights. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Jerusalem

We enter the Old City of Jerusalem through St. Stephen’s Gate to visit the Church of St. Anne, where the Blessed Virgin Mary was born. Afterwards, we see the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the paralytic man. We then take some time to visit the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) before prayerfully walking the Via Dolorosa, following the Stations of the Cross with the Franciscan Friars to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We climb the steps up Mt. Calvary to pray at the site of the Crucifixion. Venerate the site where Jesus’ body was anointed, the tomb where He was buried and rose from the dead, and the Chapel of St. Helena where she found the true cross. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Jerusalem

We start this morning with a drive to the top of the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem and visit two churches located on the mount: the Church of the Pater Noster, where Jesus taught his disciples how to pray the “Our Father,” and the Ascension Chapel, the site where Jesus ascended into Heaven. We descend the mount on the path Christ walked on the “Palm Sunday Road” to Dominus Flevit, where Christ wept over Jerusalem and her future destruction. We then enter the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ had his agony and was betrayed. Here we celebrate Mass in the Church of All Nations at the Rock of Agony, the very rock where Christ prayed and sweated blood before he was to be crucified. This afternoon we travel to Mt. Zion, where Christ celebrated the Last Supper in the Upper Room. Together we journey to pray the rosary at the Church of the Dormition, the traditional site where Mary was assumed into heaven. Our final stop is at one of the most striking churches in Jerusalem, St. Peter in Gallicantu, that hosts a wide array of art styles. A golden rooster sits atop it, recalling the place where Peter denied Jesus three times (Matthew 26). It was the palace of the high priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was brought after his arrest and kept in the dungeon that sits underneath the Church. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Jerusalem

We begin this morning at one of the most joyous sites connected to the Holy Night Christ was born, the church located in the Shepherd’s Fields in Bethlehem, marking the spot where the shepherds heard the chorus of angels proclaiming Jesus’ birth. In the city of Bethlehem, meaning “House of Bread,” we visit the Nativity Church that sits above the traditional Grotto of Jesus’ Birth. Ponder the Manger, the Grotto of St. Jerome, and the Church of St. Catherine, the parish church for Bethlehem’s Catholics. We will also visit the Milk Grotto Chapel, a place where many couples pray for the Virgin Mary’s intercession to conceive a child. In the afternoon, we drive to Ein Karem, one of the most beautiful sites in the New City of Jerusalem, where St. John the Baptist was born. Pray at the Visitation Church where Mary proclaimed her service to God in her Magnificat prayer. This evening we return to our hotel in Jerusalem for a traditional Middle Eastern farewell dinner and our final overnight. (B, D, Mass) Overnight Jerusalem

Our time pondering the wonder and awe of the Holy Land comes to an end. We catch our return flight home from Tel Aviv. (B)