Lands of the Bible 2012 - Knights of Columbus Council 8008

Your pilgrimage begins as you depart Ottawa for Rome, Italy. We board our bus at the VIA Rail train station bound for Montreal. We depart Montreal for Paris, France. After a quick transfer, we depart for Rome, Italy. Depature from Edmonton or Toronto is also available.

Arrive at Rome Airport. Begin your tour of some of the city's most well-known sights including Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere, the Janiculum, the Cestia Pyramid and the Baths of Caracalla. On reaching the Lateran district, you will visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the oldest Roman church and one of Rome's four major basilicas. Close to the chapel, you'll also be able to admire the "Scala Santa", the 28-step staircase that, according to Catholic tradition, Jesus climbed when summoned by Pontius Pilate during his trial. Legend has it that the steps were subsequently taken from Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine. After our panoramic tour of Rome, we will go to our hotel check-in, and get refreshed for mass. Mass at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls Basilica followed by a welcome banquet.

After breakfast (breakfast provided) we will continue our experience the glory of Rome when you visit The Vatican, home to one of the greatest museums in the world. And, of course, you'll enter St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, where you'll view Michelangelo's frescoes which have been restored to their full, colourful glory. If time permits, you will see the "Vatacombs" (rarely seen underground tombs of former Popes) or climb to the top of the dome. We will have lunch (lunch provided) on the way to the port. At the port of Civitavecchia we will board the Celebrity Silhouette. Final boarding call is 3:30 PM with a 5:00 PM sailing.

We will spend these two days at sea. First, traveling from the Tyrrhenian Sea passed the famous Stromboli volcano and into the Ionian Sea. The second day, we travel from the Ionian Sea to the Libyan Sea.

We will journey to Cairo, Africa's largest city, and visit the Citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali. Continue to the banks of the River Nile where a boat awaits to transport you on the same waterway traversed by Kings and Queens of Egypt. Enjoy a buffet lunch, belly dancing and a folkloric presentation as you glide past Cairo's waterfront landmarks. After the cruise, drive to the Giza Plateau, to visit The Pyramids of Giza. Reboard the coach and drive down the valley to marvel at the Sphinx. The last stop will be at the Papyrus Institute where the ancient art of paper making from reeds will be demonstrated. There will be some free time for souvenir shopping in the adjacent gift shop before the return drive (approximately 2.5 hours) to Alexandria.

Today we will visit site in Alexandria. We will visit ancient Catacombs, the Citadel, Mosque of Abu El Abbas, National Museum, St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral and St. Catherine Church. We will enjoy lunch at local restaurant (lunch included).

Your visit to Jerusalem begins with a visit to the Mount of Olives and the site where Our Lord wept Over the city, now known as Dominus Flevit. Afterwards, visit the Church of All Nations built over the rock on which Our Lord prayed the night before he was crucified. Continue to the Church of the Paternoster, built on the traditional site where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer; its name refers to the “Our Father” prayer. Nearby is the Tomb of the Virgin Mary and the Cave of Gethsemane, the site of Christ’s betrayal by Judas. Afterwards, pass through St. Stephen’s Gate where St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death. Continue to the Church of St. Anne, marking the place where the parents of the Blessed Mother lived. Visit the nearby Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the paralytic, and see the Ecce Homo Arch, the site where Pontius Pilate presented Our Lord to the crowds. Follow the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross, walked by Our Lord on the way to His crucifixion. Celebrate Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of His crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Your sightseeing ends with a visit to the Wailing Wall of the Temple.

Travel to Caiaphas’ Palace in Mount Zion, known today as St. Peter in Galicantu, where St. Peter once denied Our Lord in one of its courts. Next, visit the Church of the Dormition, commemorating Our Lady’s Assumption, and the nearby Hall of the Last Supper. Proceed to Bethlehem and enjoy a stop at Shepherds’ Field, where the angels appeared on the first Christmas night. Celebrate Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built on the birth site of Our Lord. Visit St. Catherine’s Church and the grottoes of the Holy Innocents, where St. Jerome wrote the Vulgate. This afternoon, travel to Ein Karem to visit the Church of St. John the Baptist, built over the Grotto of his birthplace. See the Church of the Visitation commemorating Our Lady’s visit to St. Elizabeth.

This excursion will give you the chance to visit Christianity’s holiest sites, Nazareth. You will admire the Church of the Annunciation where tradition recounts that the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would give birth to the Son of God. After a few moments for prayer, you will continue your tour, crossing Canaan to the Sea of Galilee, where you will be able to take some unforgettable photos. You will have lunch in Tiberias. Get a taste of the local flavor when you enjoy lunch at a communal settlement known as a Kibbutz. A highlight of the tour will be a visit to the museum that houses an ancient boat dating from 2,000 years ago, from the time of Jesus. Your tour will continue to Capernaum, which Christians believe to be the place where Jesus began to preach. You will then travel to Tabgha, considered the most peaceful and beautiful of all the Christian sites in Israel. According to tradition, it was the site of three of the most important episodes of the New Testament: the Sermon on the Mount, the miracle of the loaves and fishes and the appearance of Jesus after the Resurrection. Continue to the port city of Haifa and view the magnificent Hanging Bahai Gardens located on Mount Carmel. Ascend Mt. Carmel where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal and overlook modern day Haifa (I Kings 18).

After 5 days of intense itineraries, we will spend this day at sea. A Rememberance Day service will take place at 11:00 AM.

Journey to Ephesus, the marble city where St. Paul spent three years of his ministry. It was to this community that St. Paul may have written his Epistle to the Ephesians. Visit The Grand Theater, where St. Paul preached. A short distance from Ephesus, visit the House of Virgin Mary were Mary was said to spend her last years. We will have mass at the House of the Virgin Mary. We will also see the remains of St. John's Basilica where St. John, the Evangelist, lived and died. Your tour will include a “Biblical lunch”. Lunch is provided.

Prepare for an early morning departure to visit Corinth (Acts 18: 1-18), a city that inspired St. Paul’s most familiar letter. You will visit the Archaeological Museum, the Market Place, and Temples. Walk among the ruins and stand on the Bema where Paul stood. Read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and visualize his address to the Gentiles as he began the task of building Corinth’s church. After mass (weather permitting) we travel to see the splendours of the ancient city of Athens. Follow your guide on a journey to the ancient Acropolis where you will see the Propylaea, the Parthenon and the Erectheum. View Mars Hill where Paul preached the gospel to the intellectual Athenian community of his day (Acts 17: 15-34). View the ruins of the Agora, ancient market place and center of Athenian public life, where Paul preached to the skeptical Athenians. You will view the Olympic Stadium, where the modern Olympics began and where the games returned in 2004.

We will spend this day at sea, travelling from the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea and then into the Sea of Marmara.

We will travel to the town of Syracuse, Sicily where we will visit Our Lady of Tears Basilica and Shrine. The reliquary is the heart of the Shrine because it contains the indisputable evidence of the event: The tears of Mary. After some time for prayer and discovery we will tour Basilica of St. John the Evangelist. It was built by the Normans and destroyed in 1693. We will enjoy a light lunch in Syracuse and then enjoy a panoramic tour of other site in Syracuse while we make our way back to our ship in Catania.

We dock in Naples, Italy. We will pass Mount Vesuvius as you begin the drive enroute to our first stop, Sorrento, where we will visit an inlaid wood work factory/shop. We will then proceed to Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii where we will have mass. We will also visit San Gregorio Armeno a street where the tradition of representing the Holy Family as true art lives on. This narrow street is crowded on both sides with hundreds of artisan workshops with colorful displays of Nativity scenes. If time permits, we will visit a cameo factory/shop. Lunch is provided.

In the early morning we dock in Civitavecchia, Italy. We board our motor coach for the airport and begin our journey back home! We leave Rome on a flight to Paris, France. After a short stop-over, we board our plane for Montreal, Quebec. Upon arrival in Montreal, we transfer to a bus that will take us back to the VIA Rail train station in Ottawa.