BENELUX, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg City, Paris, Lisieux, Nevers, Paray-le-Monial,
Ars-sur-Formans, La Salette, Bern, Innsbruck
&
Passion Play in Oberammergau
(Passion Play presented only once every ten years)

Spiritual Director – Rev. Fr. Juan Caboboy

May 8-21, 2010

DAY 1, May 8 (Saturday) -- Los Angeles, California/Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Our journey begins with a transatlantic flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Meals served in-flight).

DAY 2, May 9 (Sunday) -- Amsterdam
Upon arrival in Amsterdam, we will meet and greet our tour escort, receive a panoramic tour of the city on the way to the hotel. Once we check in, we will celebrate the Holy Eucharist in the hotel and hold a Welcome Dinner (BB, D).

DAY 3, May 10 (Monday) -- Amsterdam
After breakfast, we will go on a full-day city tour of Amsterdam, including a tour of the Van Gogh Museum, an a visit to a diamond factory. For dinner, we will dine in an Indochinese restaurant, then it's back to our hotel for the evening (BB, D).

DAY 4, May 11 (Tuesday) -- Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Brussels, Belgium
We will travel into Belgium and receive a half-day city tour of Brussels, including a stop at NATO Headquarters. We will also visit Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the oldest Catholic university in the world, as well as the grave of Blessed Damien of Molokai, who will be canonized October 11, 2009, at the Church of the Congregation of Sacred Hearts. Dinner and overnight in Brussels (BB/D).

DAY 5, May 12 (Wednesday) -- Brussels/Banneux, Belgium/Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Our day will begin with a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Banneux and its healing water. We will have a Eucharistic celebration in the Shrine, after which we will spend some time exploring it, and then continue to Luxembourg City. Dinner and Overnight in Luxembourg City (BB/D).

DAY 6, May 13 (Thursday) -- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg/Paris, France
After breakfast, we will leave for a half-day city tour of Luxembourg, then it's on to Paris, France. If time permits, we will visit the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Dinner and overnight in Paris (BB/D).

DAY 7, May 14 (Friday) -- Paris
One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Paris is also known as the City of Lights. We will embark on a full-day tour with a local guide, including visit to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Basilica of Sacre Coeur, and the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal on Rue du Bac, site of Marian Apparitions and keeper of the reliquaries of St. Catherine Laboure and St. Louise De Marillac. From there, we will go on foot a few blocks away, to the Shrine of St. Vincent de Paul, and visit the chapel which bears his reliquary. Our day will conclude with dinner (drinks not included) and a show. Overnight in Paris (BB/D).

DAY 8, May 15 (Saturday) -- Paris - Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel/Lisieux Excursion
We will head to southwest Normandy, for a half-day visit of the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel with a local guide. The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel is one of the most photographed icons of France, second only to Eiffel Tower. In the early days of the Abbey, the monks recorded many stories of miracles attributed to Michael the Archangel; the site has been regarded as a major pilgrimage destination since the 13th Century. Our next stop is Lisieux, which, at the turn of the 20th Century, was the hub of the French textile industry, producing almost a third of the country’s fabric. Today, the town is mostly known as the home of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Tourism has become the primary industry of this 2000-year-old city. As the capital of the Pays d’Auge, Lisieux invites 700,000 pilgrims a year to follow the footsteps of St. Therese, the town's Patron Saint. St Therese moved to Lisieux when she was only four years old, and remained there until her passing, at age 24. She joined the local Carmelite monestary shortly after her 15th birthday, living a cloistered life. There are many places associated with the life of this little saint, including her home, "Les Buissonnets", St. Pierre Cathedral (the church of her youth), Carmel (the Carmelite monastery where she lived and died), and the immense Basilica of St Therese, which was built in her memory. At the conclusion of our excursion, we will return to Paris. Dinner and overnight (BB/D).

DAY 9, May 16 (Sunday) -- Paris/Nevers/Paray-le-Monial/Ars-sur-Formans/La Salette
We bid fairwell to the City of Lights, and head due south. Our fist stop is Nevers. As a whole, this city is another nice little town in the Burgundy region, but what makes it special is the presence of one of the greatest saints of France, St Bernadette. We will visit her reliquary at l'Espace Bernadette Soubirous Nevers, a short walk to the northwest of the city center. St Bernadette spent the final fifteen years of her life here after leaving Lourdes, and we will get to see St. Bernardette's uncorrupt body. Our next stop is Paray-le-Monial, located in the South of Burgundy, and an historic magnet for religious order. The earliest religious structures in this town were built around a Benedictine monastery in 970 AD. In the 12th Century, a Romanesque basilica, now named the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, was built as a smaller version of the Cluny III Monestary. The city's Chapel of the Apparitions has also attracted an ever increasing number of pilgrims to Paray-le-Monial over the years, from Pope Pius IX’s visit in 1850, to the first pilgrimage in 1873, to the canonization of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1920. We will visit the chapel's convent and the Reliquary of St. Margaret Mary of Alcoque, and spend some time in meditation.

From Paray-le-Monial, we continue to Ars-sur-Formans. Upon entering the Basilica, the beautiful gilt bronze and glass reliquary containing the incorrupt body of St. John Baptist Vianney, donated by the priests of France on his canonization in 1925, sits immediately on the right. Known as the Curé d'Ars (the Parish Priest of Ars), his body was exhumed in 1904, 45 years after his death, and found to be darkened and dry, but completely intact. His face, which was still recognizable but showing signs of deterioration, was covered with a wax mask and his body clothed in religious vestments. His incorrupt heart was then removed in the year of his beatification (1905) and installed within a shrine located just outside the Basilica. In 1929, he was named the Patron Saint of Parish Priests throughout the world. After our visit to the Basilica, we will move on to La Salette, where we will check in to an area hotel. Dinner and overnight (BB/D).

DAY 10, May 17 (Monday) - La Salette, France/Bern, Switzerland
La Salette is the site of a well-documented sighting of the Virgin Mary, in 1846. We will visit the local Basilica, where we will celebrate Holy Eucharist, and spend some time in meditation. Afterward, we will move on to Bern, Switzerland. Dinner andOvernight (BB/D).

DAY 11, May 18 (Tuesday) -- Bern, Switzerland/
Innsbruck, Austria
Today, we will spend some free time in Bern before we continue to Innsbruck, Austria (BB/D).

Day 12, May 19 (Wednesday) -- Innsbruck, Austria/Oberammergau, Germany
We'll take in a city tour of Innsbruck, have some more free time, and then continue on to Oberammergau, Germany. Dinner and overnight in Oberammergau (BB/D).

DAY 13, May 20 (Thursday) -- Oberammergau Passion Play
Following breakfast, we will have free time for the rest of the morning. Then, in the afternoon, we take in the highlight of our trip: The Oberammergau Passion Play! This world-famous Passion Play has been performed by the villagers of Oberammergau, a tradition dating back to 1634.

The tradition dates back to a Bubonic Plague which ravaged Europe during the 1630s. The death toll among adults in the village rose from one in October 1632, to 20 by March 1633. The town folks vowed that if God were to spare them from the effects of the Plague, they would perform a play depicting the life and death of Jesus once every 10 years. Amazingly, by July of that year, the death toll subsided, when only one person died. As a result, the villagers believed they were spared by God, and the next year, they kept their part of the vow and presented the play for the first time.

The last passion play in the village was in 2000. Today. it is presented repeatedly over a five-month period on years ending in zero. The massive production involves over 2,000 performers, musicians, and stage technicians, all of whom are residents of the village. The play comprises spoken dramatic text, musical and choral accompaniment, and tableaux vivants. The tableaux vivants are a unique presentation, depicting scenes from the Old Testament using motionless actors, accompanied by verbal description. These scenes are the basis for the typology (the relationship between the Old and New Testaments) of the play. The tableaux vivants show King Ahasuerus rejecting Vashti in favor of Esther, the brothers selling Joseph into slavery in Egypt, and Moses raising up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. Each scene is presented as a prologue to a given scene within the play itself. The three tableaux mentioned are presented to the audience as prefiguring Christianity superseding Judaism, Judas betraying Jesus, and the crucifixion.

It can be said that the evolution of the Passion Play was about the same as that of the Easter Play, originating in the ritual of the Latin Church, which prescribes, among other things, that the Gospel on Good Friday should be sung in parts divided among various persons.

Audiences come from all over the world to see the play. Many come as part of a packaged tour, the first known example of which occured in 1870. Admission fees were first implemented in 1790. And since 1930, the number of visitors to this small Bavarian village has ranged from 420,000 to 530,000, when the Passion Play is presented.

There were at least two years in which the scheduled performance did not take place. In 1770, Oberammergau was informed that all Passion Plays in Bavaria had been banned, by order of the Ecclesiastical Council of the Elector, Maximillian Joseph, at the behest of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1780, the play was retitled The Old and New Testament. The new Elector, Karl Theodor, having been assured that the play was "purged of all objectionable and unseemly matter", approved the performance of the play. By 1830, the Catholic Church succeeded in halting the performance of all other Passion Plays in Bavaria, making Oberammergau the only village where it was still performed.

The First Act runs from 2:30 - 5:00pm, and the Second Act from 8:00 - 10:30. The Oberammergau play has a total running time of approximately seven hours, with a dinner served during intermission.

DAY 14, May 21 (Friday) -- Oberammergau - Munich, Germany/Los Angeles, California
After an early breakfast, we will transfer to Munich Airport, for our flight back home.

This rare chance to see the most famous of Passions is only $5100 per person*

THE RATE FOR THIS PILGRIMAGE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:

• Round-trip airfare from Los Angeles
• First-class hotel accommodations (based on double occupancy)
• Passion Play tickets, and accomodations in Oberammergau
• Buffet breakfast & dinner daily (BB, D)
• Sightseeing and admissions, as per itinerary
• All transfers and transportation by private, luxury air-conditioned motorcoach, with driver and guide
• Arrival meet-and-greet guide assistance, departure guide assistance
• Porterage (one baggage per person)

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE NOT COVERED:

• Tips/Gratuities (Drivers, tour escorts, local guides, hotel staff, etc.)
• Personal items/shopping, drinks with meals and "extras" at hotels
• Lunches en route, unless otherwise posted
• Travel protection insurance

* Price subject to change. See Travel Terms and Conditions for details.

Would you like to take this pilgrimage? If so, please print out this booking form, and mail it to us (along with your deposit) today!

We also have a limited number of tickets available for the Oberammergau Passion Play itself, along with two nights accomodations. Click here for details!