The Way. The Truth. The Life.

Holy Week Pilgrimage

Holy Week is the most solemn, and meaningful, time of the year for Catholics. For centuries, Catholics have reenacted the events of Holy Week in homage to Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice for us.

A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visiting the sites of Holy Week, is an incredible way to connect deeply in prayer to Jesus. Below, you will see a brief breakdown of how modern-day Pilgrims (like early Christians before them) who are “literally” following in Jesus’s footsteps, remembering Holy Week, and Christ’s Passion in the very places where it took place:

Palm Sunday

On Palm Sunday, Jesus made His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem while riding a donkey. He was welcomed by crowds who worshiped Him and laid down palms before Him, before making His way to Bethany where He raised Lazarus from the dead.
Tour 111 visits Jerusalem and Bethany on Day 7.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, from the Mt. of Olives, Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and spoke to his Disciples of the imminent destruction that would befall the city. Dominus Flevit is a Church that now sits on the Mt. of Olives, commemorating the spot where Jesus wept for the city of Jerusalem. On Tuesday night, Judas conspires to betray Jesus.

Tour 111 visits Mt. of Olives and Dominus Flevit on Day 8. 

Holy Thursday

On Holy Thursday, Jesus and his Disciples celebrate the Last Supper in the Upper Room on Mt. Zion.  At night, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and prays in agony, alone, before his arrest. The Garden sits at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and still contains trees whose roots date back to the time of Jesus. Now, the Church of All Nations stands over the Rock of Agony.

He was then taken to the house of the High Priest, Caiaphas, where He was examined and eventually imprisoned. This is now the site of the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu as it commemorates Peter’s denial of Christ (three times) and Jesus’ forgiveness.

Tour 111 visits the Upper Room on Mt. Zion, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations (Rock of Agony), and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (House of Caiaphas) on Day 8.

Good Friday

On Good Friday, Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate at the Antonia Fortress. Pilgrims who visit the Holy Land walk the true Via Dolorosa, or, The Way of The Cross. The starting point is the same as where Jesus’s Road to Calvary began. The Stations of the Cross has you traveling through the markets of the Old City. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the sacred destination that is Calvary, Jesus’s Crucifixion site, and His Tomb.

Tour 111 walks the Via Dolorosa on Day 9 ending in Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead in the miracle of His Resurrection, and visited two of his Disciples at what Luke describes as Emmaus. What is now the Church of the Resurrection, in Abou Gosh , it is believed to be the site of Jesus’s Resurrection.

Tour 211 visits Emmaus on Day 10. 

The Holy Land is a deeply sacred place for all Catholics. Visits to the sites where Jesus lived and died bring the scriptures to life, like nothing else. Join us on one of our many departures to the Holy Land on Tour 111, Where Jesus Walked or Tour 211, Return to the Holy Land.