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HOLINESS TRAILa spiritual, three-days pilgrimige to southern poland to see places connected with John Paul II
program prepared especially for pilgrims who come to poland to celebrate the beatification of John Paul II

Dear International Pilgrims! If you wish to share with us the experience of a long-awaited moment of the beatification of John Paul II and you are not able to travel to Vatican to witness it, we invite you to Krakow and its surroundings. Here you will find many places connected with the Pope and his extraordinary journey to holiness. We propose to you a three-day pilgrimage filled with prayers and anticipation for the event of beatification.

Using the experience that we have gained during the preparation for the 750th anniversary of St. Hyacinth’s death few years ago, we will do our best to make this pilgrimage an unforgettable, spiritual event for you. Let’s meet in Krakow!

Program: Day 1. Kraków, Wieliczka Salt Mine

Krakow is not only the centre of art, entertainment and culture. It is also the spiritual capital of Poland and the seat of bishops; and it is Krakow that gave the world the most eminent bishop ever - Karol Wojtyla, pope John Paul II. Despite the 27 years he spent in Rome, here you can find - as John Paul II mentioned himself - a big part of his heart and soul. What's more: Krakow is the only city to have places connected with his whole life. Many of them still remind of the days when he wandered around Krakow. During this special pilgrimage, you will visit the sites of John Paul II. We will show you where he studied Polish philology before he decided to devote his life to God, where he studied as a seminarist and worked as a priest and then bishop. We will enter the crypt where he celebrated his first holy mass. We will visit the house where he lived and the place where he worked as an ordinary worker during the Second World War. And obviously we will show you the churches related to his work and prayer including the most important one - Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki, which he consecrated in 2002.

In the afternoon we will drive towards Wieliczka Salt Mines where you will walk through the unique, underground pilgrimage trail called as the miner’s greeting – “God Bless”. You will see there a mysterious salt world together with numerous underground chapels where in the past the miners, exposed to constant perils, placed their health and wellbeing in the hands of the Almighty, the Holy Mother of God, and the holy patrons. There is a meaningful sculpture of John Paul II located in the biggest and the most beautiful chapel of St. Kinga to celebrate the fact of her canonization in the monastery of Stary Sacz.

Day 2. Wadowice, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Auschwitz-Birkenau

Somewhere at the feet of Beskid Mountains, in the small town of Wadowice we would like to show you the house where Karol Wojtyla - future Pope John Paul II - was born. You will visit a cultural centre where some family photograph and his personal belongings from the museum (which is renovated) may be seen. You will also see the church where he was baptized, where he took his First Communion, and where he used to step by everyday on his way to school. After the visit we will invite you for the "papal desert" - famous cream cake served by the local cafés. It tastes so good that John Paul II would mention it during his pilgrimages to his home town.

After this sweet Wadowice adventure we will continue to Sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - one of the most important pilgrimage centers in Poland. It is right here where young Karol Wojtyla used to come and pray in front of the miraculous image of Our Lady Of Kalwaria since his early years. It is right here where he came as a Pope.

In the afternoon we would like to take you to the Museum Auschwitz - Birkenau which was founded on the place of the biggest extermination camp created by Nazis in Europe. We will go there with you and we will try to tell you the story of this place and share your feelings about it. During the visit you will see, among others, some places visited by both popes – John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Day 3. Virgin Marry Sanctuaries in Ludzmierz and Zakopane

Today we will drive towards Polish highest mountains – the Tatras. In the late morning we will visit the beautiful Sanctuary of Ludzmierz - home to Our Lady known as the Shepherdess of Podhale, where one can see a medieval wooden figure of Madonna. Perhaps the most well-known story regarding the shrine is an incident during the crowning of the statue by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in 1963, attended by the future Pope John Paul II as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kraków. The statue accidentally slipped during the ceremony and the future pontiff caught the scepter which had fallen out of the statue's grasp, a scene that was later interpreted as a prophecy of the young Bishop's future selection as Pope.

Later we will transfer to the nearby Zakopane – an extraordinarily picturesque town lying at the foot of the Tatra Mountains where you can see not only beautiful views, but also some wooden churches made in so called "zakopanian" style and you can pray in a big Virgin Marry Sanctuary (Krzeptówki) which was founded by highlanders to commemorate the protection of the pope John Paul II during the assassination trial in 1981. After a whole day of impressions let's come back to Krakow to attend the last holy mass while being in the land of John Paul II.