Poland & Divine Mercy: JP II, Maria Faustina and Maximilian Kolbe – August 2016
13 August 2016 to 22 August 2016
Journal
St. Maximilian Kolbe, Old City Warsaw, Nazis, Communists and the Courage of the Poles
Great second day with Teresa Tomeo, myself, Fr. Darryl Roman and 70 excited pilgrims. Visited the City of the Immaculate Virgin founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe and prayed Mass in the wooden chapel he built. Saw the museum and watch 1,000’s of Polish people celebrate multiple Masses on the Feast of the Annunciation which is a national holiday!
Then we toured the Old City of Warsaw to see and understand their 1,050 year hist
About the Pilgrimage
Judy Evans and her husband Rick are regular travelers with us. They joined us again in Poland. She wrote a beautiful journal of the trip with pictures. Nicely written, easy to read, choice pictures and very insightful. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Click here to read the whole story.
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It was one thing to go to Poland to follow the footprints of Pope John Paul II, it is quite another now that he is SAINT John Paul II – especially in the Year of Mercy. It was here that the Divine Mercy Devotion originated and it was Pope John Paul II and St. Maria Faustina who brought this great gift to the world.
We will follow them both and pray the Divine Mercy in the Basilica of the Divine Mercy with the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy . One of them will give us a talk and welcome us to the convent. We will spend time praying and meditating in the basilica in front of the relics of St. Faustina.
The hometown of St. John Paul II has turned his childhood home into a museum. We will follow him throughout his life, even to the mountains of Zakapone where he went to relax, hike and ski. We will spend time at the spectacular new John Paul II Center in Krakow.
Poland has been richly blessed with saints and spiritual riches. We will visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp where many Catholics died as martyrs. We will venerate St. Maximilian Kolbe and pray at the cell where he was starved to death, giving his life as a substitute for another man.
Poland is rich with culture, great local cuisines, majestic churches and a proud people with a thousand years of Catholic heritage. We will delve into it all with the best English speaking and Catholic guides the country can offer. Excellent hotels, services, buses await us with an itinerary that covers it all.
Day 1: Arrival
Day 2: Maximilian Kolbe and Warsaw
Day 3: Czestahova & Zakopane
Day 4: Zakopane
Day 5: Mountain Sunrise, JPII’s Birthplace, Kalwaria and Kraków
Day 6: Divine Mercy Kraków
Day 7: Cathdral Mass; Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Day 8: Wieliczka Salt Mines in Kraków Poland
Day 8: Farewell Dinner, Comments and Fun