Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport Terminal 3 and assistance upon arrival by a local representative. Drive to Galilee, check-in in Galilee. Dinner and overnight.
After breakfast, we will visit the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, located in Tabgha (the ancient Heptapegon), on the northwest shore of the sea of Galilee. The church is modern but stands on the site of 4th and 5th century churches. It preserves a splendid early Christian mosaic as well as the traditional stone on which the miraculous meal was laid. Later on visit to the Mount of Beatitudes, where the so-called « Sermon on the Mount » took place, recorded in Matthew 5 and Luke 6. Afterwards we will head to visit Capernaum, which is frequently mentioned in the gospels and was Jesus’s main base during his Galilean ministry. It is referred to as Jesus’s « own city » (Mt 9 :1; Mk 2 :1) Then we drive to Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus and one of the most important Christian sites in the Holy Land. Visit to the Basilica of the Annunciation. The Basilica is a modern Catholic church built over the remains of byzantine crusader churches. It is placed upon the cave in which the Virgin Mary received the news from the Archangel Gabriel: that she would give birth to Jesus, our Savior. The site has been a pilgrimage destination since earliest times and remains an important stop for Holy Land pilgrims. Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.
After breakfast we drive towards the mountain of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor. It is a hill rising at 500 m above the Jezreel Valley. Due to its strategic location it has been an important fortress since ancient times. The Christian tradition has identified this mountain as the place of the Transfiguration of Christ. Then we continue to Bethlehem, the birth place of our Lord. Perched on a hill at the edge of the Judean desert just 8 kilometers south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is the childhood home of king David. Visit of the Nativity church, which enshrines the birthplace of Jesus. Holy Mass during the day. Check-in in Jerusalem for three nights. Dinner and overnight.
After breakfast we drive to the top of Mount of Olives to visit the Pater Noster church, built on the site of the ancient Eleona church. The place where Jesus taught his disciples the prayer of the Our Father. We continue going down the mountain and visit the Franciscan church of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Then we visit the Garden of Olives, with the Church of All Nations, which was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi in 1924. Officially named the Basilica of the Agony, the church is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem next to the Garden of Gethsemane. The church enshrines a section of a rock where Jesus prayed on the night of His arrest. Then we drive to Mount Zion and visit the Dormition Abbey, which commemorates the falling asleep of the Virgin Mary before Her Assumption. The church was dedicated by the German Benedictines in 1910. Later on we proceed to visit the Upper Room, the Cenacle. The chapel was originally built by the crusaders. Next, a visit to St. Peter in Gallicantu church, where the congregation of the Assumptionists has revealed the remnants of the prison at the house of Caiaphas in which our Lord spent the night prior to His trial before Pontius Pilate. Holy Mass during the day.
We will start the day by following the traditional path of the Way of the Cross, known as «Via Dolorosa »: a procession of 14 stations starting next to the Flagellation Chapel and ending at the empty tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. Then we visit this church, also known as the church of the Resurrection (Anastasis), the holiest Christian site in the world. This Basilica encompasses the Golgotha or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and the Holy Tomb (sepulchre) where He was buried. Time for prayer. Later on we will pass through the Jewish quarter to get to the Wailing Wall, an impressive heritage and the holiest site for the Jews, which was built by Herod the Great, finished around 19 BC. Herod the Great extended the mount’s natural plateau by enclosing the area with four massive retaining walls and filling the voids. Holy Mass during the day. Transfer to Ben Gurion airport for departure formalities (3 hours are required by the Israeli security). Have a good flight!