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Poland was erected, which includes 28 stations forbidden by the Nazis, and continued his duties
Pilgrimage through that tell the story of Jesus from Holy Thursday as a priest. At the end of July of the same year he
was deported, Kolbe offered to take the place of
until his burial. The image of Our Lady of Kalwar-
Lesser Poland and Silesia ia is kept in his Basilica. Once the Mass is cele- a family man who was destined, along with 10
5 days brated, the day continues to Wadovice, a town other people, to the “hunger bunker”. Unexpect-
edly that exchange was granted, no gestures of
famous for being the birthplace of Karol Josef
Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II. Visit of the Basilica solidarity and brotherhood were allowed, and
1st Day: Krakow - Lagiewniki - Wielickza - Krakow and the Pope’s birthplace, a modest house locat- that is how Kolbe died a martyr with a lethal ig-
(approx. 42,8 Km) Leav- ed on the main square on the first floor, today nition of carbolic acid on August 14, 1941 on the
ing for Lagiewniki to visit the Shrine of Divine used as a museum. vigil of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, after
Mercy, a sacred place where the remains of St. two weeks of agony deprived of food and water.
Faustina Elena Kowalska are kept. During her Curiosity: - During the Holy Week when the pro- Afternoon free for private visits or shopping in
five-year stay, the saint had numerous mystical cession along the Via Crucis takes place, the mys- Krakow, possibility to visit the Basilica of St. Mary
experiences. The famous painting of the Merciful teries of the Passion of Christ are laid out. or the Cathedral de Wawel.
Jesus by the saint is preserved inside. In the af- - In 1999 it became a UNESCO World Heritage
ternoon visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mines, a UNE- Site. Curiosity: - In 1971 Maximilian Maria Kolbe was
SCO World Heritage Site, through the Pilgrimage beatified by Pope Pole VI and in 1982 was canon- Business Proposals in Poland
Path “May God protect you”. We will go through - The house in Koscielna Street No. 7, after the ized, proclaimed a saint in 1982.
galleries and tunnels to admire sculptures carved Second World War, the entire building accommo-
in the salt directly from the miners, breath- dated municipal housing - The concentration camp has been visited by
taking views and extraordinary rooms, ending three Popes over the years; in 1979 by Pope Paul
with the most important of all: the Chapel of St. - After the election of Karol Josef Wojtyla at the John II, in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI and in 2016
Kinga with its many paintings engraved there. Pontifical threshold, the parish priest Dr. Don Ed- by Pope Francis.
The story goes that it was faith that gave strength ward Zachez set up an exhibition dedicated to
to the miners over the centuries, in fact, in the the Pope in the house where he was born. The 4th Day: Krakow - Czestochowa - Krakow
basements of the mine are carved over 40 places exhibition was completed and ready to be visited End of our pilgrimage with a visit to the most
of religion. After on the 64th anniversary of the Pope’s birth, May famous sanctuary in Poland: Jasna Gora in Cze-
the celebration of Holy Mass in the Kinga Chapel 18, 1984. stochowa. A place of pilgrimages since the Mid-
(possible if there is a priest in the group) return dle Ages, the shrine has preserved in one of its
to the surface in order to return to Krakow. 3rd Day: Krakow - Auschwitz/Birkenau - Krakow chapels the painting of the Black Madonna and
(approx. 136.6 km) Child, a work of Byzantine tradition that legend
Curiosity: - Built as a monastery, thus a com- A day dedicated to remembrance. attributes to the evangelist St. Luke. There are
plex closed to the public, after the Saint’s death In 1940 the old Polish army barracks were 50 pilgrimage routes all starting from Poland,
between the First and Second World War it be- converted into a concentration camp and the longest of which is 600 km long. The most
came the destination of numerous pilgrimages labor camp, thus Auschwitz was born. famous are: from Warsaw consisting of 9 stages
that marked the development of the Sanctuary In 1941 Himmler planned a new and extensive and 243 km long, as well as the oldest, and from
complex as we know it today. It was in 1997 that extermination camp: Birkenau. The Auschwitz Krakow consisting of 6 stages and 150 km long.
funds began to be raised for the extension of the camp complex (the largest ever built by the They are generally held in the period of Mid-Au-
Basilica and other buildings, and in June of the Nazis was composed of: 3 main camps and 45 gust, the date of the Assumption of the Blessed
same year the Holy Father signed the plan for the sub-camps) grew into a place of fundamental Virgin Mary.
Shrine. importance for “the final solution of the Jewish
question” and the most efficient extermination Curiosity: - In 1936 Pope John Paul II started the
On August 17, 2002 Pope John Paul II consecrat- camp in Nazi Germany. Sadly known as the uni- pilgrimage from Krakow.
ed the basilica built next to the monastery and versal symbol of the lagher, in 1947 it was used
that same day, in the same place, he entrusted as a memorial-museum under deliberation of the - All the kings of Poland came to swear allegiance
the world to Divine Mercy. Polish Parliament and in 1979 it was declared a to Poland and to Our Lady with a ceremony or-
UNESCO World Heritage Site. ganized in the Shrine of Czestochowa.
- The sanctuary was designed in the shape of a Even in the midst of such cruelty the faith re-
ship composed of an upper and a lower part. In mained alive: the Polish priest and Franciscan 5th Day: Krakow - return home
the lower part there is the chapel of St. Fausti- Maximilian Maria Kolbe became one of the pris- Free morning at the disposal of the group, trans-
na with the remains and the painting venerated oners of Auschwitz in May 1941. He celebrated fer to the airport. End of our services.
from all over the world. Mass twice in great secrecy, which was absolutely
- Situated right in front of the sanctuary stands a
77 metre high viewing tower which is the highest
point in Krakow.
- In 2010 the Pilgrimage Route was blessed by His
Eminence Cardinal Stanislaw Dzimsz.
- In the Kinga Chapel there is a sculpture in honor
of Pope John Paul II and a copy of Leonardo Da 405
Vinci’s Last Supper engraved directly in the salt.
- In the basement there are numerous lakes that
have a higher salt concentration than the Dead
Sea.
2nd Day: Krakow - Kalwaria Zebrzydowska -
Wadovice - Krakow (approx. 104,6 Km)
Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is the second most fa-
mous sanctuary in Poland after Jasna Gora in Cze-
stochowa. It is a Mannerist architectural complex
and a pilgrimage site. Built at the behest of the
King of Krakow Zebrzydowski, a copy of Jerusa-
lem was created, the oldest Way of the Cross in Cracovia - Krakow
Itinerari Religiosi Religious Tours