Make your way to your local airport for your overnight flight. Your meals will be served onboard.

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, make your way to the baggage claim area and collect your luggage. Proceed to the Arrival’s Hall, where you will be greeted by your tour guide and/or driver. Drive up to Galilee for dinner and overnight.

This morning we drive to Cana. It was here that Jesus performed His first miracle, changing water into wine (John 2.). During your time at the Wedding Church, married couples will have the chance to take part in a ceremony to renew their wedding vows to each other. Then to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation and St. Joseph’s workshop, now a church. Within the Church of the Annunciation, we will make our way down to the Grotto to see the remains of the house of the Blessed Mother, and where the Angel of the Lord announced the good news to Mary. Celebrate Mass in this Church. After lunch visit Mt Precipice for a view over the valley of Armageddon and remember how some of the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus. At the end of the day we return to the Sea of Galilee region.

This morning we take a boat ride on the beautiful Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1). Then we visit Capernaum, the fishing town where Jesus lived and launched His ministry that was to change our lives and the world. In Capernaum we see the Synagogue where Jesus taught (Mark 1:21-29) and gave the sermon on the Bread of Life We continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-49). Then to Tabgha, where Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17). Nearby is St. Peter’s Primacy, where Peter confirmed his love of Jesus (John 21) and it was in this place that Jesus anointed Peter to lead His Church and was to become the first Pope. (John 21:9). Continue to visit the birthplace of Mary Magdalene in Magdala. During the time of Jesus, this village was a prosperous fishing village that exported fish and garum, a fish sauce reduction popular in Roman cooking. End the day with a stop at the Valley of the Doves. This is located at the foot of the steep cliffs of Mt Arbel and was part of the ancient Via Maris trade route linking Mesopotamia and Egypt. This route also linked Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee and would have been the path that Jesus walked when travelling between the two places. Today the valley is still undeveloped and we can imagine Jesus walking along this ancient way and resting by the stream.

This morning we ascend Mt Tabor (Matthew 17:1-50). At this site, Christ’s Divinity was revealed. Celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Transfiguration. From the top of Mt Tabor, enjoy a dramatic view the Valley of Armageddon, before driving to Caesarea Maritima located on the shores of the Mediterranean. Built by Herod the Great, Caesarea was where St. Peter baptized the first gentile convert, Cornelius (Acts 10). We will see the Roman theatre Herod’s Palace, view the Hippodrome, and the harbor from which St. Paul sailed on his journeys to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the ancient world. Continue the drive up to the Judean Hills where you enjoy your first view of holy, complicated, Jerusalem from Mt Scopus.

This morning we go the village of Ein Karem to visit to the Church of St John the Baptist, which marks his birthplace (Luke 1.5). Nearby is Church of Visitation that commemorates the visit of our Blessed Mother to her cousin, Elizabeth, staying with her for 3 months (Luke 1.39). Many people pray the Mystery of the Rosary as they walk up the hill to the Church. Later drive to Bethlehem to visit the fields where the Angel appeared to the shepherds to proclaim the birth of Jesus Christ, (Luke 2:8). We enter the caves where shepherds took shelter in ancient times and see the soot marks of the fires they lit to keep warm. Continue to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. We enter the church through the door of humility and proceed down to the Grotto of the Nativity, which marks the place of Our Saviour’s birth (Matthew 2:1-18). Beneath the altar, there is a silver star and a Latin inscription that states: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Following Mass in Bethlehem return to the hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and an overnight.

We start the day on the Mount of Olives with a breath-taking panoramic view of Jerusalem. Visit the Pater Noster Shrine where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) (Luke 11:1-4). Then we walk down the Palm Sunday Road, which reminds us of Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Along this route there stands Dominus Flevit which marks the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Continue down to Gethsemane; it was here that Jesus brought His disciples to pray the night before He was crucified (Luke 22:29-53). The Garden still contains trees with roots that date back to the time of Jesus. Next to the garden is the Church of All Nations, built over the “Rock of Agony”, where Jesus prayed alone before His arrest. From Gethsemane Jesus was taken to the house of the High Priest Caiaphas on Mt Zion, where we see the dungeons in which He was imprisoned. Also at this place, marked by the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, is where Peter denied Christ three times and wept bitterly (John 18:15-18), repented and was forgiven. On the upper part of Mt Zion, we visit the Upper Room, where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, (Matthew 26:17-30).

Very early this morning we walk together in prayerful procession along the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross). We start at the Antonia Fortress, where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-19:16) and receives His cross. We end at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the place of the Crucifixion & the Resurrection, (Luke 23:26-33). Later we return to the Old City to visit to the Church of St. Anne’s, the traditional birthplace of the Virgin Mary. Nearby is the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man (John 5:1-9). End the day with a visit the Western Wall, which is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple destroyed in 70 A.D.

Following breakfast, we will travel down the Jordan Valley through the Judean wilderness, where Jesus spent 40 days of fasting. We arrive at the Jordan River where He was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17). After renewing our Baptismal Promises, we continue to the oldest inhabited city in the world, Jericho (Joshua 6:12-25). Here, we will celebrate Mass and view the Mount of Temptation, where the Devil tempted Jesus during his forty-day fast (Luke 4:1). South of Jericho is the ancient site of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written and discovered (Ezekiel 47:8-10). These writings have helped further the understanding of the Jewish background to Christianity. Time and weather permitting, you will have the opportunity to take a float in the Dead Sea, the lowest and saltiest place on Earth. Return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight.

Following breakfast and heartfelt farewells, transfer to the Tel Aviv airport for return flights home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
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.