9 Day Holy Sites Catholic Pilgrimage

Arrive at Ben-Gurion International Airport, Meeting and assistance by Noah Tours representative. Drive, less than an hour, to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Visit the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of the Old City. Walk through the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:30), see the Grotto of Agony, and pray at the Church of All Nations, the Paternoster Church and the Chapel of the Ascension. Visit the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle (John 5:1-24). Visit King David’s Tomb, room of the Last Supper, Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, the House of the High Priest Caiaphas and the Dormition Abbey. Touch the emotion-filled stones of the Western Wall, and explore over 3,000 years of history, underground, on an enthralling tour of the Western Wall Tunnels. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Visit Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus. Visit the oldest church in the Holy Land, the Church of the Nativity at Manger Square. Explore St. Jerome’s Chapel, St. Catherine’s Church and the nearby Shepherd’s Field (Luke 2:8-20). Return to Jerusalem to see a model of First Century Jerusalem at the Israel Museum and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Visit Ein Karem, home to the Church of John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation. Finish your day with a powerful, thought-provoking visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s national memorial to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Overnight in Jerusalem

Enter the Old City via St. Stephen’s Gate. Literally follow in the footsteps of Jesus as he walked down the Via Dolorosa. Continue along the Via Dolorosa until you reach the five stations of the Cross at the Church of the Holy Sepulchere. Spend the afternoon by shopping or sightseeing in modern Jerusalem, which offers you a range of modern shopping malls, fresh produce markets, museums, fascinating neighborhoods, and more! Overnight in Jerusalem.

Enjoy a stunning cable car ride to Quarantal (the Mount of Temptation, Matthew 4:1-11) and see an active monastery carved into the cliffs. Moving northwards, drive through the Jordan Valley until you reach scenic Mount Tabor (Psalms 89:12), one of two places considered probable sites of the Transfiguration. A short drive then transports you into another world, the world of Jesus’ childhood in the holy city of Nazareth. Experience Mass in the Basilica of the Annunciation and visit the Church of St. Joseph. Visit Cana, site of Jesus’ first miracle, turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). Drive to Tiberias, one of Judaism’s «Four Holy Cities.» Couples wishing to renew their matrimonial vows can stop off at a local wedding chapel. Overnight in the Tiberias area.

Cross the glorious waters of the Sea of Galilee – from Tiberias to Capernaum, home to Jesus’ Galilean ministry. Visit the synagogue site where Jesus taught and worshipped, the House of Peter and the House of the Centurion. Walk up to the Mount of Beatitudes, with its stunning view of the Sea of Galilee. Here, Jesus delivered his famous Sermon the Mount. Visit Tabgha, site of the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes and the Church of St. Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus instructed Peter to «feed my sheep» (John 21: 15-17). Enjoy a view of the «Galilee Boat», an authentic fishing boat from Jesus’ times, and a film about how it was discovered and preserved. Overnight in the Tiberias area.

Visit Kursi, the New Testament Gergesenes, overlooking the western shores of the Sea of Galilee and site of the Miracle of the Gadarene Swine (Matthew 8:28-34). The miracle is celebrated in what remains of a beautiful 5th Century Byzantine church. Take a short break at Kibbutz Ein Gev to enjoy an animated version of «The Gospel Trail.» Jordan Park, site of Bethseida, the city of St. Phillip, St. Andrew and St Peter, and where Jesus healed the blind man (Mark 8:22-26). Overnight in Tiberias area.

Visit the Old City of Acre and the remains of a Crusader fortress. Travel up to Haifa and Mount Carmel, and visit Stella Maris (for Mass) on your way to the site of Elijah’s famous victory over the Prophets of Ba’al (I Kings 18:25). Drive southwards to the Roman city of Caesarea, where the centurion Cornelius was baptized by St. Peter, becoming the first gentile convert to Christianity (Acts 10), and where Festus tried Paul (Acts 25: 6-12). Visit the impressive excavations, the amphitheater and the Herodian port. See the Old Jaffa port where St. Peter had a vision of a sheet coming from heaven. Overnight in Tel Aviv

Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure flight.