in the footsteps of Saint John Paul II ...
few facts from our pilgrimage:
After a tiring but prayerful coach journey to Poland we began our pilgrimage with mass in Zakopane. This is the mountain region of Poland which John Paul II visited often throughout his life and even during his time as Pope. On our first day we made a five hour walk to Morskie Oko which is a mountain lake that the Pope visited. The second day was another hike, but this time we took a road through the Koscieliska valley which is part of a national park. That night we had the opportunity to visit a tourist attraction in Zakopane which was an upside down house. The coming week had many highlights, these included a two hour rafting trip down the Dunajec River on the third day, as well as the opportunity for us to catch our own lunch of mountain trout.
After three days we left Zakopane and made the journey to Krakow. Our first point of call was to visit the Shrine of Divine Mercy which is a part of the convent that St. Faustina lived in. We had mass in a new basilica which St John Paul II consecrated. This was a very moving experience for all of the pilgrims and the sister who gave us the tour spoke very well about the life of St. Faustina, her special relationship which Jesus Christ and her mission to proclaim the message of divine mercy for all.
The next day was a truly spectacular experience. We had the privilege of visiting Wieliczka Salt Mine. We followed the pilgrims route through the salt mine which had many religious symbols as well as underground chapels used by the miners. There was also a statue of St. John Paul II made entirely of salt and a relic also. We finished our stay in the mine with mass in one of these very old underground chapels.
Following our journey to the salt mine and in keeping with the theme of St John Paul II's life, our final day brought us to Wadowice which was his hometown. We prayed at the church which he was baptised in and received his first holy communion. We also visited the house where John Paul II was born and the new high-tech museum which is attached to the house and showcases his life from his childhood to his death. This was a stunning and inspiring experience and we gained an in depth knowledge of the man who became pope and is now a saint. After this we had mass at the basilica he used to attend and served at as an altar server. This was a fitting end to a pilgrimage which was centred around his life and taught us much about the call to sainthood. Before leaving Krakow we had a guided tour of the city and its main attractions as well as the old Jewish quarter known as Kazimerz.
it was really blessed time... :-)