"Pope Authorizes Official Pilgrimages to Medjugorje"
May 13, 2019
Medjugorje, Dubrovnik, Croatian Coast & Slovenia
13 days
Your trip includes
- Round-trip airfare from your desired Airport
- *
- All airport taxes & fuel surcharges
- Hotel accommodations (or similar) in double occupancy
- ~3 nights: Modern Pansion/Hotel, Medjugorje
- ~2 nights: Hotel Argosy, Dubrovnik
- ~1 nights: Hotel President, Split
- ~2 nights: Jezero, Plitvice
- ~2 nights: Park or Golf Hotel, Bled
- ~1 nights: Regent Esplanade Hotel, Zagreb
- Service charges and hotel taxes
- Breakfast daily (mainly buffet) and 8 dinners
- Arrival and departure transfers
- Touring by modern air-conditioned motorcoach
- Professional Tour Director throughout
- Visit to Community Cenacolo
- Free Wifi (in Medjugorje)
- Mass daily
- Luggage handling (1 piece per person)
Not included
- Tips to your guide & driver. Items of a personal nature.
Itinerary
Depart USA
Board your overnight transatlantic flights from your hometown. Meals are served on board.
Arrive in Medjugorje
Upon arrival, you will find your luggage and exit the baggage claim into the arrivals hall where you will be greeted by a tour guide and/or driver. You will be escorted to the vehicle which will then take you on the 2 1/2 hour drive to the village of Medjugorje. Once there you will meet your fellow pilgrims and your spiritual leader. You will also be introduced to your host family in whose comfortable yet modest inn you will be staying for the next three nights. Enjoy a delicious dinner before retiring for the evening.
Medjugorje
The most beautiful feature of Medjugorje is its simplicity, and its peace. While in Medjugorje, you will have the opportunity to experience your faith grow, and share in the faith journey of pilgrims from all over the world. The local guide will accompany your group throughout your stay in the village.
Some activities that will accompany you in your spiritual journey:
Attend Daily Mass: Each morning, at 10:00A.M, your group will assemble at St. James Church for Mass (English-Speaking). At the end of each Mass, regardless of language, there is a blessing of the religious articles that you have with you.
On Feast Days, and Sundays: English Mass is at Noon
Climb Apparition Hill: This mountainous hill is where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. Also, at the base of this hill is a Blue Cross, where it is said Our Lady appeared to the children while they hid from the communist police in the early days of the alleged apparitions. When climbing, your group is invited to recite the Rosary, pausing five times for each decade of the Rosary. At the top of the hill, you will witness the exact location of the first alleged apparition of Our Lady to the visionaries, and enjoy private time in prayer.
Climb Mt. Krizevac (Cross Mountain): In 1933, the villagers built a 30' high cross atop a mountain to commemorate Jesus' passion and death on the cross. Your group will have the opportunity to climb this mountain, and venerate that very cross. When climbing, your group is invited to pray the Stations of the Cross (to meditate on Jesus' suffering Road to Calvary), pausing fifteen times for each Station.
Apparitions: Each evening at 5:00 PM (or 6:00 PM depending on Daylight Savings Time), your group can join the villagers and fellow pilgrims of Medjugorje at either St James Church or Apparition Hill to commemorate the time Our Lady appears to the Visionaries. There you can pray the Rosary, as you all await that time (5:40 PM or 6:40 PM during Daylight Savings Time).
*Afterward, Croatian Mass is held at St. James Church and is free to all to attend. It is broadcasted by the radio, simultaneously in order to translate the services from Croatian into many languages. Following the Croatian Mass, there is a Blessing of the Sick.
**For details about the Visionaries, please visit: www.206tours.com/visionaries
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Our Lady has always called us to be close to her Son. For this, you will have the opportunity to adore the Blessed Sacrament at the outside altar of St. James Church. Adoration is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays; Veneration of the Cross is held on Fridays inside the church. Additionally, there is an Adoration Chapel on the grounds of St. James Church. Adoration is held here in the afternoon hours.
Visit to the Community of Cenacolo: You will have the opportunity to visit the community of Cenacolo, founded by the Sisters of Charity, for young men and women who have taken a wrong path and are on the road to recovery. You will be able to listen to their inspirational words about their journeys back to Jesus Christ.
Prayer at the Statue of the Risen Christ: Located on the grounds of St. James Church, is the bronze statue of the Risen Christ. Many pilgrims sit and pray on the benches surrounding this peaceful statue. This statue miraculously seeps droplets of water at all times of the day, out of Christ's right knee.
* Your time in Medjugorje is intended to provide a personal retreat. As such, your time in Medjugorje is not designed to be a “tour” but rather, to provide opportunities for prayer and reflection as you feel called. Upon arrival in the village, you will have an orientation tour. For the remainder of your stay, you will not have a guide however, a representative of 206 Tours will be available should you have any questions or requests. Daily Mass in English and English confessions are available at St. James Church in Medjugorje.
If you would prefer our traditional pilgrimage/tour of Medjugorje, we would recommend you consider our Tour #1 (www.206tours.com/tour1) that provides a tour escort and spiritual leader throughout your stay.
Medjugorje – Dubrovnik
After breakfast, transfer to Dubrovnik where we will arrive in time to check in to our hotel. Afternoon at leisure to relax. Welcome dinner and overnight.
Dubrovnik
Morning walking tour of "Old Dubrovnik". We will visit the Franciscan Monastery, housing one of the world's oldest pharmacies; the old harbor; St. Laurence Fortress, the Sponza and Rector's Palaces; and other points of interest in this best preserved European walled city. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Dubrovnik - Split
Depart Dubrovnik and travel north along the spectacular Adriatic coast, past old fishing villages and new resorts, to Split. Enjoy a city tour featuring the historic inner city, built around the Roman Emperor Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. See the remnants of Split's Roman heritage, its Renaissance and Gothic structures, Jupiter's Temple, the Peristyle and the Cathedral. Dinner and overnight.
Split - Trogir - Plitvice Lakes
After breakfast, head to Trogir, the center of artistic activities. Scholars from around the world gather to study and paint here. Then, turn inland and travel to Plitvice Lakes National Park. Upon arrival, have your camera ready and take a walking tour around several of the lower lakes. Enjoy the breathtaking scenery of this natural wonder of 16 terraced lakes surrounded by thickly wooded mountains and lush vegetation. Dinner and overnight.
Plitvice Lakes - Opatija - Postojna - Bled
Return to the coast and travel along the beautiful bay of Kvarner to its popular resort, Opatija. After some free time, journey north to Postojna, home to one of the largest caves in Europe. Tour the fantastic subterranean world by miniature electric train. Afterwards, continue to Bled, beautifully set amidst the Julian Alps. Dinner and overnight.
Bled
A sightseeing tour of Bled features the charming town with the lakeshore, and imposing Bled Castle, perched on a cliff high above the lake. The balance of the day is at leisure for optional activities, such as visiting the small island in the middle of the lake. Overnight.
Bled - Jubljana - Zagreb
Start your day with a walking tour of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Visit the most significant sights of the old city centre: the picturesque Central open-air Market and the Three Bridges, both designed by famous architect Joze Plecnik, Baroque Town Hall and Robba's Fountain. Then, continue to Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. Dinner and overnight.
Zagreb
Start your day with a walking tour of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Visit the most significant sights of the old city centre: the picturesque Central open-air Market and the Three Bridges, both designed by famous architect Joze Plecnik, Baroque Town Hall and Robba's Fountain. Then, continue to Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. Overnight.
Zagreb - USA
After breakfast we drive to nearby Zagreb airport for your 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.