"Pope Authorizes Official Pilgrimages to Medjugorje"
May 13, 2019
Medjugorje & Dubrovnik
11 days
Your trip includes
- Round-trip airfare from your desired Airport
- *
- All airport taxes & fuel surcharges
- Centrally located four-star hotels:(or similar)
- 7 Nights: Modern Pansion/Hotel, Medjugorje
- 2 Nights: GH Park Hotel, Dubrovnik
- Breakfast and Dinner daily
- Wine with dinners
- Assistance of local guide throughout
- Transfers as per itinerary
- Sightseeing and admissions fees as per itinerary
- Visit to Community Cenacolo
- Mass daily & Spiritual activities (English at 10:00am & Croatian at 6:00pm)
- Meeting with visionaries (Pending availability)
- Luggage handling (1 piece per person)
- Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents
Not included
- Lunches, Tips to your guide & driver.
Itinerary
Day 1: Depart for Medjugorje
Make your way to your local airport, where you will board your overnight flight. Your meals will be served on board.
Day 2: Arrive Medjugorje
Upon arrival in Europe, change gates to board your short connection flight to either: Dubrovnik, Split, or Sarajevo airport. Upon arrival, collect your luggage in the baggage claim area, and continue to the arrival's hall, where you will be greeted by a tour guide and/or driver, who will take you on the 2.5-hour drive to the village of Medjugorje. Enjoy dinner before retiring for the evening.
Days 3 - 8: Experiencing Medjugorje
The most beautiful features of Medjugorje are its simplicity and peace. While in Medjugorje, you may experience your faith grow, and share in the faith journey of pilgrims from all over the world. A local guide will accompany your group throughout your stay in the village. Some activities that will accompany you in your spiritual journey: Attend Daily Mass:Each morning at 10:00 AM, your group will assemble at St. James Church for Mass (English-Speaking). At the end of each Mass, regardless of language, there is a blessing of religious articles pilgrims can attend. On Feast Days and Sundays: English Mass is at noon. Climb Apparition Hill: This mountainous hill is where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. At the base of this hill is a Blue Cross, where Our Lady appeared to the children while they hid from the communist police in the early days of the alleged apparitions. While climbing, pilgrims are invited to recite the Rosary, pausing five times for each decade of the Rosary. At the top of the hill is the exact location of the first alleged apparition of Our Lady - enjoy private time for prayer in this Holy place. Climb Mt. Krizevac (Cross Mountain): In 1933, the villagers built a 30-foot high cross atop the mountain to commemorate Jesus' passion and death on the cross. You will have the opportunity to climb this mountain and venerate that very cross. While climbing, pilgrims pray the Stations of the Cross to meditate on Jesus' suffering Road to Calvary, pausing fifteen times for each Station. Apparitions: Each evening at 5 PM or 6 PM (depending on daylight savings time), your group will join the villagers and fellow pilgrims of Medjugorje in saying the Rosary, as all anxiously await the alleged arrival of Our Lady to the visionaries. Following the apparition, at 5:40 PM (6:40 PM during Daylight Savings Time), feel free to stay at St. James Church and attend the Croatian Mass. Following the Croatian Mass, there is a Blessing of the Sick. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Our Lady has always called us to be close to her Son. In response to her call, pilgrims will have the opportunity to adore the Blessed Sacrament at the altar outside of St. James Church. Adoration is on Tuesdays and Saturdays; Veneration of the Cross is on Fridays inside the church. Additionally, there is an Adoration Chapel on the grounds of St. James Church, where Adoration is held in the afternoon hours. Meetings with the Visionaries: Pending their availability, your guide will arrange meetings with the visionaries at their homes. Visit the Community of Cenacolo: Pilgrims will have the opportunity to visit the community of Cenacolo, founded by the Sisters of Charity, for young men and women who have taken the wrong path and are on the road to recovery. You will be able to listen to their inspirational words about their journeys back to Jesus Christ. Prayer at the Statue of the Risen Christ: The bronze statue of the Risen Christ, located on the grounds of St. James Church. Many pilgrims sit and pray on the benches surrounding this peaceful statue. This statue miraculously seeps droplets of water at all times of the day out of Christ's right knee.
Day 9, Medjugorje - Dubrovnik
After breakfast, you will transfer to Dubrovnik. Upon arrival in this city spend the afternoon at your leisure. Feel free to walk to the Old Town, also known as the Pearl of the Adriatic. This evening you will have dinner at a typical Dalmatian restaurant that serves local delicacies and wines.
Day 10, Dubrovnik
Following breakfast, enjoy a walking tour of the Old City. It will begin at St. Blasius Church, which is dedicated to the Patron Saint of Dubrovnik. This Baroque styled church was constructed by Venetian architect, Marino Gropelli in 1715; it was styled after the Venetian Church, St. Mauritius. You will know that you have reached this master piece by its large staircase leading to the ornamented main portal and the large dome that decorates the roof. Continue to the Gothic and Renaissance styled Rector's Palace, home to the History Department of the Museum of Dubrovnik. Next, you will stroll by the iconic Bell Tower Clock and Orlando's Column. To the left of this column, you will see the Sponza Palace. In the sixteenth century, members of the Academia dei Concordi met on the palace's first floor hall to discuss literature. As a result, the palace is the most important cultural institution of Dubrovnik. Lastly, you will visit the Dominican and Franciscan Monasteries. The location of the Dominican Monastery is strategically placed at the most sensitive point of Dubrovnik's defense barriers. While at the Franciscan Monastery, you will have the opportunity to visit the Pharmacy, the founding of which was collaborative, as it served both as the public pharmacy and for the needs of the monks. This afternoon, you will enjoy lunch on your own at one of the many small, family-owned restaurants along the narrow streets. The remainder of the day is at your leisure. This evening, enjoy dinner and an overnight in Dubrovnik.
Day 11, Return Home
After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, transfer to the Dubrovnik airport for your return flights home.
*Please note:
The last two nights in Dubrovnik requires a minimum of 10 pilgrims to operate. If less than 10 pilgrims,
these last two days will be based on an individual basis for personal prayer and reflection.
There may not be a Spiritual Director and tour escort with you.
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.
About your trip
About Medjugorje & Dubrovnik:
Spend the first few days of your Pilgrimage in Medjugorje, a small village located in Bosnia & Herzegovina. In 1981, six children witnessed the Blessed Virgin Mary on what is now known as Apparition Hill. The children, now adults, continue to see her along with the many Pilgrims who climb Apparition hill to witness and worship every evening. Since 1981, 40 million people have visited the now popular Pilgrimage site. In 2018 Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser the “Apostolic Visitor” to Medjugorje in steps to officially recognize Medjugorje as a sacred Catholic site. While sightseeing in Dubrovnik, visit St. Blasius Church to appreciate the Baroque architecture and the Domincian and Franciscan monasteries. Complete your Pilgrimage in the “Pearl of the Adriatic” and explore the Old Town where you will enjoy Dalmatian delicacies and wines. About the Six Medjugorje Visionaries