Divine Mercy Pilgrimage to Poland 2026 & 2027

Board a flight bound for Warsaw, Poland to begin your Divine Mercy Pilgrimage. Dinner is served on board.

Your pilgrimage tour guide is at the airport to warmly greet you, and soon you’ll be comfortably settled at your hotel.  Upon arrival, attend Mass at St. James Church, the church that St. Faustina belonged to when she came to Warsaw.  The rest of the day is for relaxing.  This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner and a show at a local restaurant in Warsaw.

After breakfast, explore the Old Town of Warsaw, characterized by its beautiful, maze-like cobblestone streets and picturesque architecture that symbolize Poland’s successful reconstruction following its devastation during World War II.  Visit the Market Square, the city’s heart, bustling with restaurants, cafes, and shops; the Barbican defensive structures rebuilt after World War II; and the Warsaw Ghetto monument, which commemorates the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943.  Stroll through Royal Łazienki Park, a beautifully landscaped area featuring a large bronze statue of the renowned Polish composer Frederic Chopin.  Recent research shows that listening to Chopin’s music can produce health benefits and help keep the doctor away!  Admire the magnificently restored Royal Castle, the official residence of Polish monarchs. Visit the Shrine of Saint Faustina in Warsaw, with Mass available at 3-9 Żytnia Street, where Faustina entered the convent.  Enjoy dinner and an overnight stay in Warsaw.

After breakfast, we will travel to Czestochowa, stopping in Swinice Warckie to visit the parish church of St. Casimir, where St. Faustina, born Helen Kowalska, was baptized.  We will attend Mass here.  Next, we will continue to Niepokalanow to see a Franciscan friary founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Basilica of the Virgin Mary.  Our next stop will be Poland’s greatest pilgrimage site, Our Lady of Czestochowa.  We will have dinner and spend the night in Czestochowa.

This morning, you will attend Mass and visit the Jasna Góra Monastery, home to the image of the Black Madonna. It is one of the most holy places of religious worship in the Christian world, with a pilgrimage tradition dating back to the 14th century.  Three popes have visited the Jasna Góra Shrine of Our Lady: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis I.  The group will celebrate Mass at the Pauline Monastery and venerate the priceless treasures it holds, including the Miraculous Icon.  Next, travel to Zakopane, stopping along the way in Wadowice, the birthplace of Karol Wojtyła. Visit the house where Pope John Paul II was born, which has since been transformed into a shrine-like museum. You will also visit the Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the church where he was baptized as a child.  After that, continue to Zakopane, a resort village nestled in the splendor of the Tatras region and a favored retreat for Pope John Paul the Great.  This afternoon, we will take a cable car ride to the nearby mountaintop for extraordinary views.  Dinner and overnight will be in Zakopane.

Before departing from the beautiful Zakopane to the vibrant city of Krakow, you will take a short walk along one of John Paul II’s trails in the Zakopane region, an enchanting area nestled in the Tatra Mountains located in the valley between Gubalowka and Giewont.  Zakopane and its surroundings are a treasure trove of mountain folklore, showcasing many examples of traditional wooden architecture.  Enjoy the breathtaking landscapes of Poland’s highest mountains and a brief walk down colorful Krupowki Street for some last-minute shopping at the local market.  On your way to Krakow, you will stop at the Wieliczka Salt Mines, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which features a stunning chapel, a statue of Pope Saint John Paul the Great, and a depiction of the Last Supper.  Upon arriving in Krakow, settle in and perhaps enjoy a leisurely walk in the old city before or after dinner.

After breakfast explore Market Square and hear the silver trumpet of the bugler from St Mary’s Basilica Tower. Within the Basilica you may pray before the extraordinary Wit Stwosz altar. The surroundings of the square have remained unchanged for almost 700 years and contain buildings of historic value such as St. Mary’s Basilica with the famous wooden altarpiece, the Town Hall Tower, the Cloth Hall, and the burgher’s houses.

Tour the Wawel Cathedral, Coronation Chapel, and the Royal Chambers where a superb collection of Arras tapestries is on view. 

 In the afternoon you will visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the notorious Nazi concentration camp which has the most visited museum in Poland. You will see the cell that imprisoned St. Maximillian Kolbe and the Martyrdom Museum recalling the horrors of the Holocaust.  Pope John Paul II canonized the conventual Franciscan Friar in 1982 and declared him a martyr of charity.  Recall that in 1998 Pope John Paul II also canonized Carmelite nun St. Edith Stein who was martyred here as well.  Also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, she is now a Patron Saint of Europe.  Return to Krakow for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we will depart for a day’s excursion to Łagiewniki, the capital of Divine Mercy. This is where the message of Divine Mercy originated, which Christ Himself wanted to share with our generation through the mediation of St. Faustina.  At the Sanctuary, you will find a miraculous image of Merciful Jesus and the relics of St. Faustina. Our visit will also include the Basilica Shrine of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina’s convent chapel, and her tomb.

We will also visit the new John Paul II Be Not Afraid Center and Shrine located next door.  We will celebrate Mass at the Shrine before exploring the Center, where we will have the opportunity to pray by the relic of St. John Paul II.  The sanctuary is comprised of a lower church and an upper church, both of which house important relics.  Among these relics is the blood of the Polish Pope, which is enclosed in a glass casket placed inside the marble altar; the cassock worn by Saint John Paul II during the assassination attempt in 1981, displayed in a glass case in the upper church; the papal pastoral cross; and the chasuble with mitre.  Additionally, the sanctuary features the cross in front of which Pope John Paul II prayed during his final Stations of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum in 2005.  On display in the Chapel of the Chaplaincy is a slab from John Paul II’s tomb located in the Vatican Grottoes of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  After our visit, we will return to Kraków for our farewell dinner.

Your Divine Mercy Pilgrimage to Poland comes to an end.  Leave Krakow for the return flights home.