Pilgrimage to Austria, Germany & Einsiedeln (Switzerland)

Daily Itinerary

April 9, Tuesday, Day 1: DEPARTS NEWARK OR JFK FOR AUSTRIA We depart the USA on an overnight flight to Vienna. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the plane. Add-on flights are available upon request from most US cities.

April 10, Wednesday, Day 2: ARRIVE VIENNA We arrive in Vienna and are greeted by our English-speaking tour manager, who will be with us the entire time. We are transferred to the city center for a panoramic tour of the Imperial City followed by a walking tour which includes the Imperial Palaces and St. Stephen Cathedral. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Vienna. (D)

April 11, Thursday, Day 3: VIENNA: MELK MONASTERY This morning, we enjoy a cruise through the Wachau wine region of the Danube River to the picturesque Melk Monastery, where we disembark to visit the Monastery and celebrate Mass. (TBC) We return to Vienna for an afternoon at leisure, with an opportunity to visit one of the city’s many museums or the Imperial Palace of Schonbrunn. Tonight we visit Grinzing wine village, for dinner. Overnight Vienna. (B. Special dinner)

April 12, Friday, Day 4: MARIAZELL SHRINE Today we have a full-day excursion to the main Marian Shrine of Mariazell, where we celebrate Mass. The Shrine is the most important pilgrimage destination in Austria and one of the most visited in Europe known for the miraculous image of Our Lady. The miraculous image receives an elaborately designed merciful dress every year. The more than 150 dresses can be viewed in the treasury or carefully conserved. Many clothes were donated as offerings of gratitude to Our Lady. The design of a mercy dress is still considered a great honor today. Dinner and overnight in Vienna. (B.D)

April 13, Saturday, Day 5: MARIA PLAIN – SALZBURG Depart Vienna for a visit to the beautiful Shrine of Maria Plain, where we celebrate Mass. We visit Salzburg for a short walking city tour and to visit the Basilica. We also visit the church where Maria and the Baron from the famous Sound of Music film were married. Dinner and overnight in the Salzburg area. (B.D)

April 14, Sunday, Day 6: SALZBURG – ALTÖTTING Following breakfast, we depart for Germany and the pilgrimage site of Altötting. We visit the Main Marian Shrine in Germany and celebrate Mass at The Shrine of Our Lady of Altotting, also known as the Chapel of Grace, where the Black Madonna statue is housed. This chapel is the oldest Marian Shrine in Germany, dating back to 660 A.D. We will spend our day touring the town of Altotting, frequently referred to as the “German Lourdes,” since the miracles of the Black Madonna statue draw many Marian Pilgrims from around the world. We also will visit the St. Conrad Monastery and the resting place of St. Conrad Parzham, the doorkeeper for the Capuchin friars in the 1800s. Following lunch, we depart for Munich. Overnight in Munich. (B.D)

April 15, Monday, Day 7: FREISING – MUNICH This morning we visit Freising, where Pope Benedict and his brother Georg Ratzinger were ordained on June 29, 1951. Mass will be celebrated. We arrive in Munich in the afternoon and settle into our hotel. We will enjoy a typical German dinner with local food and music at the Chinesischer Turm Beer Garden tonight. Dinner and overnight in Munich. (B. Special dinner)

April 16, Tuesday, Day 8: MUNICH – DACHAU Our walking tour of Munich includes Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), the symbol of Munich with its towering twin onion-domed steeples. We also see Asamkirche, the most famous church in Munich, and the Marienplatz with its whimsical clock. We also visit the Citizen’s Hall Church, which houses the tomb of Blessed Rupert Mayer, a Jesuit who preached against Nazis and was executed in 1945. This holy man was an inspiration to and a special patron of the Ratzinger family, and they kept a copy of his portrait in their house. In the afternoon, we visit the concentration camp of Dachau, where Nazis committed atrocities and killed thousands of people, including many Catholic priests. Mass will be celebrated at Dachau. Tonight, dinner is at leisure to explore Munich on your own. Overnight in Munich. (B)

April 17, Wednesday, Day 9: ST. GALLEN – LUCERNE After breakfast, which is included each morning, we board the motorcoach to drive to Switzerland. Our scenic drive takes us along the beautiful Lake Constance to St Gallen. We are arriving around lunch to taste the renowned St. Gallen sausages. We will visit the famous Abbey of St. Gall and its incredible library in the afternoon. The entire abbey precinct was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Lucerne. (B.D.)

April 18, Thursday, Day 10: EINSIEDELN – LUCERNE Today, we travel to Einsiedeln Marian Shrine. We explore the magnificent Monastery with its elaborately decorated pastel ceilings, marble side altars, and a large high altar. The most important part of the Basilica is the Lady Chapel, which is reminiscent of Christ’s tomb in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Above the chapel’s altar is the Black Madonna, resplendent in rich robes and surrounded by gold clouds. We visit the Monastery and celebrate Mass. A short walk from the Abbey is the world’s largest nativity scene, the Diorama Bethlehem, with more than 500 carved wooden figures. The Panorama, a circular painting more than 300 feet long and 30 feet high, depicting Jerusalem and the Crucifixion, is a sight to behold. We have time to explore and shop in the little town before we return to our hotel near Lucerne. In the evening, we sit at a rustic table for dinner of cheese fondue, sizzling Bratwurst, and crisp Roesti potatoes. Overnight in Lucerne. (B. Special dinner)

April 19, Friday, Day 11: OUR LADY OF THE ROCK Today we travel to Orselina, located on the border between Italy and Switzerland, to see the pilgrimage church of Our Lady of the Rock (Madonna del Sasso), which can be reached only by foot (about a 30-minute hike to the top of the mountain walk) or by a funicular in Locarno. We visit the Shrine and celebrate Mass before returning to our hotel for an overnight. (B.D.)

April 20, Saturday, Day 12: DEPART TO THE USA Early this morning, we are transferred to Zurich Airport for our flight home. (B)

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