Pilgrimage in the footsteps of the Holy Pope John Paul II
The most important places connected with John Paul II
Itinerary
The pilgrimage begins straight after arriving in Kraków. Our guide will pick you up from the airport or train station, depending on the means of transport you will be arriving by.
Day 1
Karol Wojtyła's Krakow paths
You will spend your first day on a guided tour of the Warsaw Old Town (UNESCO). You will visit, among others, the St John’s Archcathedral and the Holy Cross Church, where the relics of the Holy Cross are kept. On this day, Holy Mass will be celebrated at the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, where Helena Kowalska spent the first months as a nun. Inside the church, next to the presbytery, there is a chapel of St Faustina, with her image and relics.
Day 2
In the Pope's hometown
In the morning you will go to Wadowice – the city where Karol Wojtyła was born. You will visit the John Paul II Family Home – a museum arranged in authentic interiors, where the future Pope John Paul II grew up. The museum presents his life and activities until he took over the Holy See in Rome. You will also see the Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where a baptismal font, in which Karol Wojtyła was baptised, is located.
In the afternoon, you will go to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska for the Holy Mass and visit the Passion and Marian sanctuary and the great number of Calvarian chapels, which are spread around the pilgrimage complex (UNESCO – 1999). This is a place of frequent visits and prayers of Karol Wojtyła from an early age. After sightseeing, you will return to Kraków.
Day 3
In the spiritual capital of Poland
After breakfast, you will go to Częstochowa – the spiritual capital of Poland. You will take part in the Holy Mass and visit – with a guide – the Jasna Góra Sanctuary, a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary, where John Paul II has prayed many times.
On the way back to Kraków, you will visit the Rakowicki Cemetery to see the vault of the Wojtyła and Kaczorowski families, where the Pope’s parents and brother are buried.
Day 4
Have No Fear!
In the morning you will go to the Łagiewniki – a district of Kraków, and visit the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, in which there are relics of St Faustina, whose beatification and canonisation was carried out by John Paul II. After a short visit and the Holy Mass, you will go to the ‘Have No Fear!’ John Paul II Centre, which is devoted to the life and work of the Pope. You will also visit the sanctuary of John Paul II, which contains his relics.
