March 17, 2010

Pilgrimages to honor Year for Priests, tour Holy Land, see Passion Play

By John Gleason

As spring approaches and the weather grows warmer and more comfortable, thoughts of many turn to travel, and for some that travel means a pilgrimage to sacred places.  One such trip led by Anthony Lilles, academic dean for St. John Vianney Seminary, will mark the Year for Priests with a tour of the Holy Land. Lilles described the tour as “a reunion.”

“In 2000, I helped lead a trip to the Holy Land for the Great Jubilee,” he said.  “Some of us from that journey still get together a couple times a year and we decided we should make another pilgrimage on this 10th anniversary.”
Lilles said the 2010 itinerary would start in Galilee and include holy sights in Nazareth, Capernaum, the Mount of Beatitudes, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

“We will renew our baptismal promise at the Jordan River and married couples can renew their marriage vows when we visit Cana,” he said. “But, of course, following in the footsteps of Christ on the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha will be a unique opportunity to renew our faith in the Lord.”

Lilles called taking a journey such as this “a great sacramental.”

“It’s a journey of faith to a deeper friendship with God,” he said. “Like life, it always involves adventures and disappointments. If there are hardships along the way, there are also wonderful graces and fellowship.  In such a journey, we can learn to submit everything to Christ and renew our hearts in the Lord.”

The pilgrimage will take place June 12-23.  Cost of the trip is $3,460 per person based on double occupancy. Registration deadline is March 30.  Call for more information, 303-431-4714.

The pilgrimage led by Lilles is one of many guided tours taking place through parishes in 2010.  Below are other pilgrimages.

Oberammergau Passion Play, Aug. 27-Sept. 3
Travel to Germany on tour led by Deacon Bill Senger.  Visit Salzburg and Munich; tour the Neuschwanstein Castle and Nymphenburg Palace and attend performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play. Cost of the seven-day tour is $3,799. Reservations deadline is the end of May.  Space limited to 20 people. Call Christian Travel Tours at 303-349-7017.
“This is a beautiful time to visit this area,” Deacon Senger said. “We’ve visited there before at this time of year and there is just nothing like it.”

Oberammergau Passion Play, Sept. 11-24
A 14-day fall pilgrimage to Israel, Rome, Venice and Oberammergau Passion Play led by Msgr. George Schroeder.  Space is limited to 44 people.  Cost is $4,428 plus airfare and extras.
Msgr. Schroeder said that since the tour was going to travel all that distance to see the Passion Play, why not go and see where the action of the play takes place? 
“We’ll have four days in Israel, two days in Rome, then drive to Venice for a day before heading to Oberammergau,” he said. “It’s a wonderful time of the year to go as the weather is cooler in Israel but also we’ll hopefully see some of the magnificent color in the Bavarian Alps.”  Details can be found through Signature Tours International in Colorado Springs at 719-599-4567 or download the brochure by going online at . 

California missions, Sept. 19- 27
Travel to the West Coast this fall for a combination cruise and tour of California missions. A two-day cruise from Vancouver takes you to San Francisco where starts a bus tour of missions in the “City by the Bay,” Carmel, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.  St. Frances Cabrini parishioner Betty Clark, who’ll lead the excursion, hopes those who’ve never had the chance to see these historic missions will make plans to come along.  Cost of the trip is $2,300 per person/double occupancy, which includes airfare, shipboard accommodations and some meals.  Call 303-956-2737 for further information.

Holy Land, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5
Journey to the land where Jesus lived on a tour of the Holy Land led by Father Steven Voss and Deacon Richard Baker.  Visit the Sea of Galilee and spend several days in Jerusalem walking the streets once traveled by our Savior.  Cost of the 10-day trip begins at $2,749 per person plus tax.    An information meeting will be scheduled in April for interested parties.  Call Deacon Baker for time and directions, 303-431-9039.