Come with us to Rome and the Holy Land!

Join InsideCatholic on a
Pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land,
led by Deal W. Hudson and Fr. Paul Tartaglia
 
December 1-12, 2008
 

For Information and Booking Call World Pilgrim Tours, Inc. at 1-800-438-8281
 
InsideCatholic and friends’ visit to the Holy Land will include not only traditional sacred sites but travelers will also meet and talk with Christian leaders and families struggling to keep the Christian presence alive in cities like Bethlehem — once predominately Christian.
 
Visiting pilgrims will not be mere passive observers of by-gone days. We will engage the issues that are confronted on a daily basis by brethren Christians living in Jerusalem and on the West Bank.
 
We hope that the time we spend in the Holy Land will provide encouragement and support to the remaining Christian communities who are determined to live and worship in the cities of their ancestors.
 

 
Schedule
 
 
DAY 1 DEPART – U.S.A.
 
Group assembles at the JFK AIRPORT, New York, for trans-Atlantic flight to Israel.
 
 
DAY 2 ARRIVE – ISRAEL
 
Upon arrival at the Tel Aviv Airport, we are met, assisted with luggage and taken by private, deluxe motor coach to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
 
 
DAY 3 GALILEE
 
Breakfast at the hotel – Our guide delights in showing us the sights along the Mediterranean Ocean to Caesarea on the Plains of Sharon for a visit to the Crusaders’ City. Here, a visit to the Roman Theatre. Our sightseeing excursion continues to Haifa, visiting Mt. Carmel and Shrine of Our Lady. We celebrate Mass. A visit to the Bah’ai Temple and then it’s off to Megiddo (the Biblical site of the Battle of Armageddon). Dinner and overnight Tiberias on the Shores of the Sea of Galilee.
 
 
DAY 4 GALILEE
 
Breakfast at the hotel. We cross, by boat, the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum where Peter lived and much of Christ’s Ministry took place. We visit the Church of the Primacy; proceed to Tabgha, the place of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish; stand atop the Mount of Beatitudes; and celebrate Mass. Return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
 
 
DAY 5 JERUSALEM
 
Breakfast at the hotel. Our excursion today takes us to Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, and to the Church of the Annunciation. Mass is celebrated here followed by a visit to the Home of the Holy Family. Drive to the top of Mt. Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration, continuing to Beit She’an, along the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
 
 
DAY 6 JERUSALEM/ BETHLEHEM
 
Breakfast at the hotel. This morning a drive to the “Little Town of Bethlehem” to visit the Church of the Nativity. Mass is celebrated here. We visit the Chapel of Jerome and the nearby Church of St. Catherine. Continue to the Shepherd’s Field. Afternoon sightseeing to the Church of St. Ann, built on the site of the birth place of Our Lady where Mass will be celebrated. We continue to the Pool of Bethesda; the Temple Area; and the Wailing Wall. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
 
 
DAY 7 JERUSALEM
 
Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to the top of the Mt. of Olives for a panoramic view of the Old Walled City. Then, we walk down the Palm Sunday Road to the Church of the Ascension; Dominus Fievit; Garden of Gethsemane; the Church of All Nations (Mass is celebrated). We visit the Cave of Betrayal of Jesus and the Tomb of Our Lady. Afternoon visit to the Chapel of Flagellation; the Chapel of Condemnation; and the Lithostrotos; and Antonio Fortress. Following the Way of the Cross, we reach the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. A visit to Calvary and the Tomb of Our Lord. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
 
 
DAY 8 WILDERNESS OF JUDEA
 
Breakfast at the hotel. We drive to Bethany for a visit to the New Church built over the site of the House of Mary and Martha where Mass will be celebrated. Then, a visit to the Tomb of Lazarus. We continue to Jericho, stopping at the Inn of the Good Samaritan. A visit to Elisha’s Fountain and the ruins and excavations of the Old Walled City of Jericho. Continue to Qumran and then to Massada, taking the cable car to the top. Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
 
 
DAY 9 JERUSALEM/ ROME
 
Breakfast at the hotel. Private transfer to the Tel Aviv Airport for our flight to Rome, Italy, where we are met, assisted with luggage and taken by private deluxe motor coach to our hotel. Afternoon sightseeing is the Colosseum, where gladiators fought each other and wild animals. It is said that Christians were thrown into the arena to defend themselves against the gladiators and wild animals. Next, you visit the Forum, the Circo Maximus and St. Paul’s (outside the wall). Dinner and overnight in Rome.
 
 
DAY 10 ROME/PAPAL AUDIENCE
 
After a delicious breakfast, we have a PAPAL AUDIENCE before beginning our sightseeing of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
 
 
DAY 11 CATACOMBS
 
Breakfast at the hotel. Mass at the Catacombs. Early Christians met in secret in the Catacombs as well as buried their dead. Afternoon free. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
 
 
DAY 12 ROME/ HOME
 
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the Rome Airport for flight home.
 
For Information and Booking Call
World Pilgrim Tours, Inc
1-800-438-8281
 
 
This pilgrimage has limited space available so call now to make your reservations!
 
 
 
Deal W. Hudson, PH.D. is director of InsideCatholic.com and president of the Morley Institute in Washington, DC. Dr. Hudson was publisher of CRISIS Magazine from 1995 to 2004. His articles and comments have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, The New Yorker, The Economist and by the Associated Press.
 
Dr. Hudson’s latest book, Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States was released in March of this year.
 
President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Hudson to the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in recognition of his leadership among lay Catholics in the United States. In October 2003, he attended the 25th anniversary celebration of John Paul II’s papacy as a member of the official delegation from the United States.
 
 
Fr. Paul Tartaglia was born in Albany, New York where he attended Catholic schools as a child. He was a seminary student at both St. Thomas in Bloomfield, CT, and St. Bernard’s in Rochester, N Y. Following seminary Father Tartaglia taught Theology and Latin at a high school in Troy, N Y. Next, he was a professor of Old Testament Theology and History and the Gospel of St. John at St. Rose College.
 
Fr. Tartaglia then taught Spiritual Theology at St. Anthony’s Seminary in Albany. He received his Masters of Divinity while studying in Rome, Italy. Subsequently, Father Paul did a two year practicum on Psychology and Spiritual Theology.
 
During his priesthood, Fr. Tartaglia has been the pastor of three parishes and has done retreat work for many dioceses in the U.S., and Canada as well two dioceses in India. He has also conducted many retreats for Sisters in both the U. S. and Canada. Since l986 Father Tartaglia has been the spiritual guide for yearly trips to Europe and Asia as well as many trips to the Holy Land.
 
 

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