Arrival in Warsaw

Arrival in Warsaw. Meeting the tour guide. Transfer to the city centre.
Holy Mass at St James Church in Ochota, Warsaw. This is the church where St. Faustina went after arriving in Warsaw for the first time, called by the voice of the Lord.
Check in at the hotel.
Dinner. Overnight in Warsaw.

Warsaw

Breakfast at the hotel.
Guided tour of Warsaw: Lazienkowski Park with the Frederic Chopin monument, The Warsaw Ghetto and Umschlagplatz – thousands of The Jews were deported to the concentration camps from here – the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Palace of Culture and Science, Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street, the Old Town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The Castle and St. John’s Cathedral. The Old Town was completely destroyed during World War II and reconstructed thanks to the commitment of the Polish nation.
Holy Mass at St Faustina Church at Zytnia St.
Free time for lunch.
Visiting Saint Stanislaw Kostka’s Church. It’s the burial site of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered by the communist militia officers in 1984. The theme of this part of the journey is: ‘The Church during Communism’. The true story of his martyrdom has probably been not revealed yet. Holy Mass.
Free time.
Dinner. Overnight in Warsaw.

Warsaw – Niepokalanow – Glogowiec – Swinice Warckie – Czestochowa

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out.
Transfer to Niepokalanow. /55km/
Visit at the Sanctuary of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, which was founded by Father Maximllian Kolbe. Holy Mass.
Continue to Swinice Warckie. /130km/
Arrival. Visiting Glogowiec and Swinice Warckie: two places important to St. Faustina Kowalska. Glogowiec was where she was born, and Swinice Warckie was where she was baptized. Free time for lunch during the visit.
Continue to Czestochowa. /200km/
Arrival. Check in at the hotel.
Dinner. Overnight in Czestochowa.
Optional: An evening walk to Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa and prayer in front of the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary called the Black Madonna.

Czestochowa – Oswiecim/Auschwitz – Zakopane

Breakfast at the hotel.
Guided tour of the most important pilgrimage place in Poland – the monastery in Czestochowa: Jasna Gora with the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary – the Black Madonna. Holy Mass at the Sanctuary.
Continue to Oswiecim / Auschwitz. /100km/
Arrival. Free time for lunch in the city.
Guided tour of the area of the former concentration camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The camp was built by Nazis during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Today this place is a World Heritage Site of UNESCO.
Continue to Zakopane, in the Tatra Mountains. /130km/
Arrival. Check in at the hotel.
Dinner. Overnight in Zakopane.

Zakopane – Wieliczka – Krakow

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out.
Visit to the so called the capital city of the Polish mountains. A famous ski resort, but also a place of interesting architecture, traditions and of faith. We will visit the traditional Jaszczurowka Chaplet, then continue to Krupowki Street, where you can buy anything from smoked cheese to jewelry. Afterwards, we will continue to Krzeptowki Sanctuary, built to thank God for saving John Paul’s life in the 1982 attempt. It was designed and built in the local architecture style. Holy Mass here or in Wieliczka or in Zakopane.
Free time for lunch in Zakopane centre.
We will take the Gubalowka funicular to see the spectacular view of the Tatra Mountains range.
Continue to Wieliczka. /96km/
Guided tour in the Wieliczka Salt Mine – one of the oldest salt mines in the world. Many famous people have visited this place, such as Mikolaj Kopernik, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Dmitrij Mendeleev, Boleslaw Prus, Ignacy Paderewski, Karol Wojtyla, etc. In 1978, Wieliczka Salt Mine was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Transfer to Krakow centre /15km/, check in, dinner and overnight in Krakow.

Krakow

Breakfast at the hotel.
Guided tour of Krakow. The Wawel Hill with the castle, its beautiful courtyard and the Royal Cathedral. Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture of the Old Town (Stare Miasto), the biggest market square in Europe (Rynek Glowny), the Town Hall, Collegium Maius – an ancient building belonging to the Jagiellonian University, the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), Saint Mary’s Church (Kosciol Mariacki) with Veit Stoss’s famous altar. Walking to the antique walls of the Old Town through Florianska Gate and to the Barbican. We will also see places related to the life of Karol Wojtyla, the bishop of Krakow, like to Franciscan Church. In 1978, Krakow was listed as the UNESCO’s World Heritage.
Free time for lunch.
Continue of the visit: St Stanislaus Church, optionally: Kazimierz – the Jewish Square. Holy Mass at one of Krakow churches.
Free time in Krakow centre.
Dinner. Overnight in Krakow.

Krakow – Wadowice – Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – Krakow

Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to Wadowice. /53km/
Arrival. We will visit Karol Wojtyla’s hometown. Before the WWII, it was a town with a significant Jewish community. Karol grew up in the house next to the parish church. We will visit the church where he was baptised and the museum, recently reopened, presenting the life of the Greatest of the Poles, as many call him – from his first days in Wadowice till his death as a bishop of Rome. Holy Mass.
Free time for lunch in Wadowice
Transfer to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.
Situated some 15km from Wadowice, also among the hills of Beskidy Mountains, Kalwaria Sanctuary is where young Karol would peregrinate. He visited this place with his father after his mother’s death and from that time on, Our Lady became his new mother. He would come back here many times, as a priest, bishop of Krakow and also Pope. The place itself is a charming Bernardine Monastery, dating back to the 17th century, with “meditation paths” spread among the surrounding hills and forests. It is a perfect place for a prayer and listening to the Lord.
Continue to Krakow. /40km/
Arrival. Free time.
Dinner. Overnight in Krakow.

Krakow – Divine Mercy and John Paul II Sanctuaries – Nowa Huta

Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to Lagiewniki, 20 minute ride from the city centre.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy’. Visiting the monastery in Lagiewniki. The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy is where Saint Faustina Kowalska lived and died. This Monastery was proclaimed ‘The center of Divine Mercy’ by Pope John Paul II during his stay in Poland in 2002. It is also a place related to Karol Wojtyla. He would pass here every day on his way to work at the local quarry during the WWII German occupation of Poland. A new Sanctuary was built recently at this place, called the White Seas (Biale Morze), commemorating the Saint John Paul II. Holy Mass at one of the sanctuaries.
Return to the centre and free time for lunch.
Continue to Nowa Huta.
Nowa Huta (literally New Ironworks) was to be a city WITHOUT God. It was designed and built during the communists regime, to be an alternative for the antiquated and conservative Krakow. Karol Wojtyla, during his bishopric in Krakow, struggled the local authorities and finally made it to the first church to be built here. It is called Arka Pana, the Lord’s Ark.
Return to the centre, free time.
Farewell dinner in the city centre. Overnight in Krakow.

Krakow – and the trip back home

Breakfast at the hotel. Check out. If there is time, we can celebrate a Mass this morning.
Transfer to the Krakow Airport and check in for the flight back home.