Make your way to your local airport where you will board your first leg of flights to the Holy Land. Meals will be served on transatlantic flights.

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, make your way to the baggage claim area and collect your luggage. Proceed to the arrival’s hall, where you will be greeted by your tour guide and/or driver. Transfer to your hotel in Tiberias area in time to check-in. Enjoy dinner at the hotel before retiring for the evening.

This morning we drive to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation and St. Joseph’s workshop, now a church. Within the Church of the Annunciation, we will make our way down to the Grotto to see the remains of the house of the Blessed Mother, and where the Angel of the Lord announced the good news to Mary. Continue to Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle, changing water into wine (John 2.). The group will celebrate Mass in Church of Cana (pending confirmation). During your time at the Wedding Church, married couples will have the chance to take part in a ceremony to renew their wedding vows to each other. At the end of the day we return to the Sea of Galilee for dinner and overnight.

This morning we’ll take a boat ride on the beautiful Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1). Then we visit Capernaum, the fishing town where Jesus lived and launched His ministry that was to change our lives and the world. In Capernaum we see the Synagogue where Jesus taught (Mark 1:21-29) and gave the sermon on the Bread of Life We continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49). Then to Tabgha, where Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17). Nearby is St. Peter’s Primacy, where Peter confirmed his love of Jesus (John 21) and it was in this place that Jesus anointed Peter to lead His Church and was to become the first Pope. (John 21:9). Continue to visit the birthplace of Mary Magdalene in Magdala. During the time of Jesus, this village was a prosperous fishing village that exported fish and garum, a fish sauce reduction popular in Roman cooking. End the day with a stop at the Valley of the Doves. This is located at the foot of the steep cliffs of Mt Arbel and was part of the ancient Via Maris trade route linking Mesopotamia and Egypt. This route also linked Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee and would have been the path that Jesus walked when travelling between the two places. Today the valley is still undeveloped and we can imagine Jesus walking along this ancient way and resting by the stream. Return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight.

After breakfast, drive to the site of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor (Matthew 17:1-50). At this site, you will have some time to reflect on Christ’s Divinity. Celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Transfiguration and then continue south towards the Jordan Valley, to the oldest inhabited city in the world, Jericho (Joshua 6:12-25). In Jericho, you view the exact location, the Mount of Temptation, where the Devil tempted Jesus during his forty-day fast (Luke 4:1). Drive up to Jerusalem to check-in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning, you will have breakfast and then start the day with a visit to the village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist. It is known that there are two churches in Ein Karem, both representing the two homes of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The first is in a valley where the birth of St. John the Baptist is commemorated (Luke 1:39-80) in the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The second is on a hill where Elizabeth spent five months in seclusion (Luke 1:24) at the Church of the Visitation. Your group will visit both of these churches and have the opportunity to pray the Mystery of the Rosary as you walk up the hill to the Church of the Visitation. We will stop for lunch, and then make your way to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. In Bethlehem, you will have the opportunity to view the Shepherd’s Fields (Luke 2:8). In the caves of these fields, you are still able to see the soot marks of fires that shepherds lit to keep warm. We will stop for lunch, and then continue on the tour at the Manger Square, which stands in front of the Church of the Nativity. As you enter the Church, you will proceed down to the Grotto of the Nativity, which marks the spot of Our Savior’s birth (Matthew u2:1-18). Beneath the Altar, there is a silver star and a Latin inscription that states: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Following Mass in this Sacred space, your group will return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Drive through the Judean wilderness, the site where Jesus spent His 40 days of fasting. We head to the Jordan River for some time to reflect on the Baptism of Christ ( Matthew 3:13-17). In the afternoon we visit Qumran, the Essene site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. (Ezekiel 47:8-10). These writings have helped further the understanding of the Jewish background to Christianity. There is also time to swim or float on the Dead Sea, the lowest and saltiest place on Earth before return to Jerusalem.

Wake up and enjoy breakfast, and then make our way to the Mount of Olives, where you will be able to take in the beautiful, panoramic view of Jerusalem. Historically, the Mount of Olives was a mandatory transit point for Jesus during many iconic moments. After we visit Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Jesus brought His disciples here to pray the night before He was crucified (Luke 22:29-53). The Garden still contains trees with roots that date back to the time of Jesus. Beside the Garden is your next stop, the Church of All Nations, built over the “Rock of Agony”. This is where Jesus prayed alone on the night of His arrest. Throughout this time, you are invited to remain in prayer and to reflect on Christ’s agony that He experienced. Your group will visit the Pater Noster Shrine, where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) (Luke 11:1-4). You will have the opportunity to stop at Dominus Flevit, which is a Church that commemorates where Jesus wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), then visit the Upper Room on Mt. Zion. The Upper Room is where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30) and, where Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Death and Resurrection (Mark 16:14). In addition, your group will visit the nearby Benedictine Church of the Dormition. Tradition tells us that this Church is where Mary, the Mother of Jesus, “fell asleep.” The tour continues as you will visit the house of the High Priest Caiaphas (Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu). This Church commemorates where Jesus was examined and eventually imprisoned before the Council in Jerusalem. It also commemorates Peter’s Denial of Christ (John 18:15-18), Peters’ repentance, and Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Very early this morning we walk together in prayerful procession along the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross). We start at the Antonia Fortress, where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-19:16) and receives His cross. We end at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the place of the Crucifixion & the Resurrection, (Luke 23:26-33). After Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher we return to the hotel for breakfast. Later we revisit the Old City to see the Church of St. Anne’s, the traditional birthplace of the Virgin Mary. Nearby is the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man (John 5:1-9). End the day with a visit the Western Wall, which is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple destroyed in 70 A.D.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, transfer to the Tel Aviv airport for return flights home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
Occasionally local religious and national holidays, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of events or the missing of certain events/places. Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of events and places to be visited.