HOLY LAND & JORDAN PILGRIMAGE for Fr. David Ducote

In the Footsteps of Jesus Christ

November 2–13

Price: $5,889 per person, based on Double Occupancy and a minimum of 24 Paying Passengers.

Single Supplement available for $1350.00

RESERVE NOW

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Monday, November 2 – Departure

New Orleans → Amman

Depart New Orleans on connecting overnight international flights to Amman, Jordan. Meals and in-flight services provided on the transatlantic segment.

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Tuesday, November 3 – Arrival in Jordan | Dead Sea

Amman → Dead Sea

Arrive in Amman in the afternoon and meet our professional tour guide. After clearing customs and immigration, we drive to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. Here we will check-in to our first class hotel and have time to enjoy a swim. or rather a float in the mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea, renowned for its healing properties. Tonight you will enjoy dinner and a good nights sleep in the Judean Desert.

Overnight: Dead Sea

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Wednesday, November 4 – The Wilderness & Footsteps of the Magi

Dead Sea → Petra → Wadi Rum

After breakfast, depart south along the Dead Sea toward Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, where you will reflect on the journey of the Magi, who followed the star through the desert in search of the Christ Child. Also known as the Rose City, Petra was carved out of the red rock of the mountain. Walk through the Siq, a narrow passage to the first monument – the Treasury.  Visit the Monastery, House of Justice, the Royal Tombs, and the Theater. The walk includes a visit to the Petra Museum. The Museum holds numerous artifacts from the Neolithic period of Nabataean history. The museum also contains Roman architecture and a Byzantine chapel. Petra was immortalized in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Lunch at the archaeological site. Continue on to the vast biblical wilderness of Wadi Rum, where you will spend two nights experiencing the unique grandeur of the fiery red desert. Tonight you will enjoy a traditional Bedouin-style dinner before retiring under the clear and star filled skies.

Overnight: Wadi Rum Desert Camp 

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Thursday, November 5 – The Desert of Exodus

Wadi Rum

Enjoy a full day immersed in the beauty of the desert. While in Wadi Rum you will enjoy a 4×4 Jeep Tour through the protected desert reserve, traversing through towering sandstone mountains and natural arches, stopping at ancient rock inscriptions and visiting Bedouin sites. There will be time for prayer and reflection in the wilderness, recalling the Exodus and Jesus’ time in the desert.

Overnight: Wadi Rum Desert Camp 

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Friday, November 6 – Mount Nebo & the Promised Land

Wadi Rum → Mount Nebo → Jordan River → Bethlehem

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Mount Nebo from which Moses saw the Promised Land.  It rises more than 4,000 feet above the Dead Sea and is located on the east side of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.  This mountain was mentioned in Deuteronomy 34, “Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah.” While here, you will tour the Holy site where Moses died and was buried.  The Franciscans bought the site in 1932 and were responsible for excavating most of the church and monastery’s ruins and reconstructing much of the basilica.  Today, Mount Nebo is an active Franciscan monastery and the headquarters of the Franciscan Archaeological Institute.  In 2,000, Pope John Paul II visited the summit of Mount Nebo during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During his visit, he planted an olive tree next to the Byzantine chapel, as a symbol of peace.  Pope Benedict XVI visited Mt. Nebo in 2009.  Don’t miss the Staff of Moses!

From here you will travel north to visit the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist along the Jordan River. Here you will have time for prayer and to renew the baptismal vows. Afterwards you will cross the river on the Allenby / King Hussein Bridge into Israel and continue on to Bethlehem for dinner and overnight. 

Overnight: Bethlehem

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Saturday, November 7 – The Birth of Jesus

Bethlehem → Ein Karem → Nazareth

After breakfast at the hotel you will visit the Church of the Nativity.  The grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.  The church was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great a short time after his mother Helena‘s visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 325–326, on the site traditionally considered the birthplace of Jesus. 

Next, we visit the Chapel of the Sheperds’ Field.  The chapel commemorates the annunciation of Jesus‘ birth to the shepherds.  The chapel has five apses that mimic the structure of a nomadic tent in gray.  The words of the angel to the shepherds are inscribed in gold.  An image depicting Jesus’s birth and the shepherds’ adoration can be seen. 

From Bethlehem depart for the village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of St John the Baptist. Here we will visit the Church of St. John the Baptist and pray at the Church of Visitation where the Blessed Virgin Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth, and proclaimed the ‘Magnificat’.

In the afternoon, travel to Nazareth arriving in time for dinner, followed by a Candlelight Procession and Rosary at the Basilica of the Annunciation. 

Overnight: Nazareth (3 nights)

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Sunday, November 8 – The Hidden Life of Christ

Nazareth

Celebrate Mass in the Basilica of Annunciation and walk down to the Grotto, where the remains of the house of the Blessed Mother are visible. Here is where the Angel of the Lord announced the good news to Mary. Visit the museum and archaeological site where you can see the remains of Nazareth at the time of Christ, as well as the workshop of St. Joseph – which is now known as St. Joseph’s Church. Visit Mary’s Well and the Church of the Angel Gabriel and have lunch before driving to Mount Precipice, the traditional site where, according to Luke 4:16-30, an angry mob attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff after he declared himself the Messiah. Here we will reflect on Jesus’ rejection by the townspeople while taking in the panoramic views of the Jezreel Valley and Mount Tabor.

Overnight: Nazareth

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Monday, November 9 – The Public Ministry of Christ

Sea of Galilee Region

Some of today’s highlights are a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to see the synagogue and St Peter’s house, a visit to Tabgha to see the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes with the splendid mosaic about the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and to the nearby Church of Peter’s Primacy where Peter was told: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” Visit Magdala, where Jesus taught and Mary Magdalene lived to see the well-preserved 1st-century synagogue and the “Magdala Stone.” There will be an unforgettable Mass on the Mount of the Beatitudes where the Sermon on the Mount was given. Dinner at your hotel in Nazareth.

Overnight: Nazareth

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Tuesday, November 10 – Cana & the Transfiguration

Nazareth → Jerusalem

Begin with a visit to Cana, the village of Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine. Here couples may renew their wedding vows at the Wedding Church. From here you will travel to Mount Tabor, the scene of the Transfiguration, where you will have Mass and take in the views of the Jezreel Valley before driving to Jerusalem. 

Overnight: Jerusalem

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Wednesday, November 11 – The Final Days of Jesus’ Life

Jerusalem Area

On the first day in Jerusalem, you will be presented with an overview for a better understanding of its geography and some of the key sites surrounding the area. This includes a dramatic view of the Old City from the Mount of Olives, revealing a city with 4,000 years of history. From this vantage point see much of what makes Jerusalem such a unique city to the three major religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. You will visit the Church of the Pater Noster where the Lord’s Prayer is inscribed in 140 languages, the place of the Ascension from where Our Lord ascended into Heaven and Bethany where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. You will walk the Palm Sunday route down the Mount of Olives, stopping at Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, then continue on to the Garden of Gethsemane, and to the Church of All Nations containing the Rock of Agony where Jesus prayed His last prayer before His arrest. 

Overnight: Jerusalem

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Thursday, November 12 – Jerusalem

The Way of the Cross – The Passion

Early in the morning, the group will retrace the last steps of Jesus, walking along the Via Dolorosa, or Way of Sorrow, through the markets of the Old City praying the Stations of the Cross, reflecting on the greatness of His sacrifice. Finally, you will arrive at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Mass.  After breakfast at your hotel, return to the Old City of Jerusalem to visit St. Anne’s Church, the home of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her parents Saints Joachim and Anne. Pass the Ecce Homo where Pilate proclaimed “Behold the man”; then the Western Wall of the Temple of Jerusalem, the holiest place for those of the Jewish faith. Nearby is the Dome of the Rock and the Haram al-Sharif or Temple Mount. At the Cenacle you will visit the Upper Room of the Last Supper, and then go to Dormition Abbey where it is believed that the Blessed Mary was assumed into heaven. At the end of the day you will visit the House of Caiaphas, also known as St. Peter in Gallicantu where Peter denied Him thrice.  Farewell Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Overnight: Jerusalem
(or late-night transfer to Tel Aviv Airport)

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Friday, November 13 – Return to USA

Arrival back in the United States.

Price: $5,889 per person, based on Double Occupancy and a minimum of 24 Paying Passengers.

Single Supplement available for $1350.00

Max group size will be 40 pilgrims. This Pilgrimage will sell out so book today!

Price Includes:

• Roundtrip Airfare from New Orleans (or most major US cities), including 1 checked bag per person.
• Hotel accommodations in First Class Hotels based on double occupancy
  • 1 night: Dead Sea – Holiday Inn, or similar 
  • 2 nights: Wadi Rum – Special Request Hotel 
  • 1 night: Bethlehem – Orient Palace or Casa Nova
  • 3 nights: Nazareth – Nazareth Palace Hotel
  • 2 or 3 nights: Jerusalem – Notre Dame Centreor Leonardo Hotel
• Professional English Speaking Catholic Tour Guides
• Admission fees for sightseeing tours per itinerary – Whisper Headsets where necessary.
• Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Daily, including wine with dinners
• Transportation by deluxe motor coach, with Bottled Water Available for purchase onboard.
• Daily Mass & Spiritual activities
• Luggage handling (1 piece per person)

Complementaries included:

• Name and Luggage tags
• Neck Wallet
• Travel Bag

Not Included:

• Electronic Travel Authorizations and visas for both Israel and Jordan
• Travel Insurance – optional but recommended
• Gratuities for Guides and Drivers
• Additional Baggage Fees, if applicable
• Fees for Seat Assignments or upgrades, if applicable
• Airport transfers when selecting Land Only and arranging your own flights
• Any Personal Expenses