Depart the USA today on board your overnight transatlantic jet flight to Tel Aviv, arriving the following day. Enjoy a full meal service as well as in-flight entertainment such as movies, music, etc.

Upon your arrival in Tel Aviv, our local guide will meet you at the airport exit and escort you to your modern, deluxe motor coach. After a short journey to Nazareth, you will have the remainder of the afternoon  to unpack, relax, and adjust to the new timezone. Dinner is our only activity this day. Dinner & overnight in Nazareth.

After breakfast, we will set out to explore the magnificent city and archaeological remains of Caesarea, once the capital of the Roman province. From Caesarea, we will travel north to the city of Haifa and visit Stella Maris, the Carmelite monastery consecrated to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which stands atop the cave where Elijah lived.

Afterwards, we will travel back to Nazareth. ​We will visit and celebrate Mass in the Church of the Annunciation that stands atop the house of Mary. While in Nazareth, we will also visit the Upper Basilica, the nearby archaeological museum, and the archaeological remains of Nazareth from the time of Jesus.

Our last visit of the day will be to Cana of Galilee. Those among us who are married may renew their wedding vows in the Franciscan Chapel.  We will end with dinner and an overnight in Nazareth.

After breakfast, we will start the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, followed by a visit to the Ancient Boat Museum that houses a 2000 year-old fishing boat, providing a good example of how fishing boats looked during the time of Jesus.

Next, we visit and celebrate Mass on the Mount of Beatitudes. Following Mass, we will visit Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000. We will also visit the site known as "Peter's Primacy."

From there, we will take a short drive to Capernaum. There we will see the house of the mother-in-law of Peter and an ancient synagogue that dates back to the time of Jesus and where much of His teaching took place. We will return to Nazareth for dinner and our final overnight in Mary's hometown.

After breakfast and hotel check-out, we will depart for Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration. Here we will celebrate Mass and reflect on Christ's human and divine natures.

Driving along the Jordan Valley, we will make our way to the ancient city of Jericho, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The Mount of Temptation will also be in sight. During the tour of the ancient city, we will visit the Sycamore Tree Site reminding ourselves of the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus.

After Jericho, we will drive to the site where Jesus was baptized on the Jordan River (Bet Arabah). We will have the chance to renew our baptismal promises. We conclude the day by driving to Bethlehem, checking into our hotel, and having dinner. 

After breakfast, we will make our way to the Israel Museum. Among many things on display, we will view the Shrine of the Book housing some of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran. A short drive will take us to the village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist. We will visit the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation.

In the afternoon, we begin our tour of Bethlehem at Manger Square, which stands in front of one of the oldest Christian churches, the Church of the Nativity. Here we will venerate the very spot where Jesus was born. Afterwards, we depart for the cave at Shepherds' Field where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This field is also the setting of the book of Ruth. We concluded by returning to Bethlehem for our final overnight in Bethlehem and dinner.

After breakfast, we will drive to the Mount of Olives and take in the panoramic view of the holy city of Jerusalem. We will walk along the Palm Sunday path and stop at the beautiful church, Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept (Luke 19:41). We continue along the Jewish cemetery that overlooks the Eastern (Golden) Gate - known as the Thrones of Judgment (Psalm 122).

Among the 2000 year-old olive trees, we will visit the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations where we will see the Rock of Agony on which Jesus prayed. We will also visit the nearby Gethsemane cave where Jesus was arrested. Proceeding along the Kidron Valley to Mount Zion, we visit the House of Caiaphas and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu.

Next, we journey to the Cenacle that commemorates the Upper Room. We conclude the day with a journey into the Old City of Jerusalem, passing the Armenian and Jewish Quarter, where we will see the Roman Cardo, Hezekiah's broad wall that leads to the Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall, a section of the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount and Judaism's holiest site. We check into our hotel in Jerusalem and have dinner.

After breakfast, we start the day with Mass at Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. This will be followed by a visit to the empty tomb. Later, we depart for Masada where we will visit the fortress built by King Herod the Great (UNESCO World Heritage Site). We will also have a dramatic ascent by cable car to the Masada mountaintop and see the archeological remains of this ancient community.

After lunch, we travel along the shores of the Dead Sea to Qumran and visit the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. While there, we will see the buildings that formed the public center of the Essenes community. We will have some free time to enjoy a dip in the relaxing and healing waters of the Dead Sea. We return to Jerusalem for dinner and an overnight.

We begin our final full day with breakfast and a powerfully spiritual walk along the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross). We begin this walk at Antonia Fortress where Jesus was condemned to death by Pilate. We will pass by and see the Stations of the Cross and walk through the markets of the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Here is the site of Calvary and the empty Tomb of Christ. It is here that we will celebrate Mass in the church.

Afterwards, we will visit the Pools of Bethesda, where the healing of the paralyzed took place (John 5). We will have the opportunity to praise the Lord with hymns in the nearby perfectly intact Crusader Church of Saint Anne.  In the afternoon, we will have time to revisit the Old City of Jerusalem. We close this holy pilgrimage with a farewell dinner in Bethlehem. Final overnight in Jerusalem.

The following morning, wish everyone "shalom" and revel in the memories as the bus transports you to the airport for your flight home.