Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, you will proceed to Baggage Claim, collect your luggage, and follow signs to “Groups Assembly Exit.” You will be greeted by our local Trinity Tour Travels guide and driver, who will accompany you throughout the pilgrimage. From the airport, you will travel by bus to the hotel in Nazareth. Depending on your arrival time, visits to initial sites may begin this day prior to a Mass of Thanksgiving and Welcome Dinner at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel, and then the day begins at the Basilica of the Annunciation. We visit the home of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Grotto, where the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and exclaimed, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Lk 1:28). Mass is celebrated here this morning. We visit St. Joseph’s Workshop, where men will have the opportunity to consecrate their families to the patron saint of holy families, St. Joseph!

We then visit Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle at His mother’s request (Jn 2:3-5). A most special vow renewal awaits married couples at the Wedding Church of Cana. 

Traveling on toward Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration, we stand near the site where Peter, James and John stood to witness where the glorified Lord appeared with Moses and Elijah (Lk 28-36).

Dinner and overnight in Nazareth.

Breakfast at the hotel followed by a drive toward Tiberias, along the Sea of Galilee. We arrive at the peaceful and pristine Mount of Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-16), where we recall the Sermon on the Mount and celebrate Mass. We travel to nearby Tabgha to visit the Church of the Multiplication, where Jesus fed the crowds who came to hear Him (Jn 6:1-13). We then board for a sail across the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water after feeding the 5,000 (Mk 6:45-51). A most memorable lunch (St. Peter’s Fish!) before we continue to the Church of Peter’s Primacy, where Peter declared his love for Jesus three times and where Jesus anointed Peter to lead His church and become the first pope (Jn 15:15-17). This magnificent day ends in Capernaum to visit the spectacular ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus gave the Bread of Life Discourse (Jn 6) and the Church of St. Peter, which is built over the ruins of his house near the Sea. 

Dinner and overnight in Nazareth.

Breakfast at the hotel, followed by check-out. We travel to Caesarea Maritima along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the old capital of the Roman Province of Palestina Prima, built by Herod the Great. We visit the ruins of his palace, the ruins of the Roman Theatre and the Hippodrome, and see the harbor from where St. Paul sailed to spread the Gospel throughout the ancient world. It is also here where St. Paul was taken prisoner to Rome and where St. Peter baptized the first Gentile convert, Cornelius (Acts 10).

We continue to Haifa to visit Mt. Carmel and the cave of Elijah, where the great prophet hid and lived before his fateful encounter with the priests of Baal (1 Kgs 18). From the top of Mt. Carmel, we enjoy a breathtaking view of the Haifa Port and the Mediterranean Sea. Mass is celebrated at the Stella Maris Monastery, site of the first Carmelite Order of the Catholic Church.

Schedule permitting, we drive through Tel Aviv to arrive at Jaffa (Joppa) to visit the Church of St. Peter. It is in Jaffa that Peter raised a disciple, Tabitha, from the dead (Acts 9:36-42), and where he had a “trance” and saw heaven open and something like a sheet descending by four corners fall upon the earth carrying all kinds of animals that God had cleansed (Acts 10:9-16).

Check-in, dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

Breakfast at the hotel in Bethlehem prior to a drive to Ein Karem to visit the Church of the Visitation, where the Blessed Mother visited her cousin, Elizabeth and proclaimed the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55). Here, we also visit the Church of John the Baptist, built on the site of his birth (Lk 1:5). We drive to the town of Beit Sahour to visit The Shepherds’ Field, where the angel announced the birth of Christ to the humble shepherds. Returning to Bethlehem, we visit the actual site of the birthplace of Jesus at the majestic Church of the Nativity and celebrate Mass in one of its side chapels. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

 Breakfast at the hotel prior to our drive to Bethany, home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus (Lk 10: 38-42), where Mass is celebrated. We travel to the Jordan River, site of the baptism of Jesus (Mk 1:9), where we renew our own baptismal vows. We then proceed to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We enjoy some time in the Dead Sea, the deepest, hypersaline, and therapeutic lake in the world. We end the day at Jericho, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world (Jos 6:12-24), and where Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, climbed a tree to see Jesus (Lk 19:1-10)! We stop at the foothills of the Mount of Temptation to view where Jesus was tempted while in the wilderness for 40 days (Lk 4:1).

Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

Breakfast at the hotel followed by an unforgettable day visiting the Mount of Olives, the Pater Noster (where Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13) and where the Ascension of our Lord is commemorated), the Psalm Sunday Road, Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-44), and the Garden of Gethsemane (Basilica of the Agony), where Jesus prayed to the Father for the chalice to pass from Him (Mt 26:39) and where Mass is celebrated this day. We proceed to Mount Zion, the Wailing Wall, the Dormition Abbey (final resting place of the Blessed Virgin Mary), the Cenacle (The Upper Room: Last Supper-Lk 22:7-23 and Pentecost- Acts 2:1-4), and King David’s Memorial. We end this evening where Jesus climbed to meet his trial at the palace of Caiaphas, also known as Peter in Gallicantu. This is also where Peter denied Jesus three times (Lk 22: 54-62). We have time for prayer in the prison pit where Jesus was held overnight.

Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

A very early wake-up call. Breakfast this day will be prepared and boxed and will await you on the bus following a full, very early morning. We begin in Old Jerusalem at the Via Dolorosa, where before dawn, we walk and pray the Stations of the Cross. This ancient road leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection (Jn 19:17-41, Jn 20). Holy Mass will be celebrated here. We pause to venerate the Stone of Unction, where Jesus’ body was cleaned and anointed for His burial. We visit Jesus’ tomb inside a small cave. 

We proceed to visit the Church of the Flagellation, the site where Jesus was flogged and scourged prior to His crucifixion.

Lastly, we visit the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church of St. Ann. This beautiful and acoustically sound structure stands just across the way from the Pools of Bethesda, where the paralytic waited 38 years for his healing (Jn 5:2-6).

A most amazing day ends with an unforgettable Farewell Boudin Dinner at a culturally rich restaurant in Bethlehem! Overnight at the hotel in Bethlehem.