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$200 discount for check or Zelle payment
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Pilgrimage to Poland & Slovakia
w/ Fr Juraj Nuota & Ss Cyril & Methodius Parish

May 11 - 21, 2026

BEST TIME TO GO

Spring  & Fall

CLIMATE CHARTS

TIME ZONE

ET +6 hours 

AIR ITINERARY

Ss Cyril and Methodius Parish and Fr Juraj Nuota invite you on a transformative pilgrimage to Poland and Slovakia, two countries rich in secular and Catholic history. Poland, home to beloved Saints Faustina, Maximilian Kolbe and John Paul II and Slovakia, the birthplace of Christianity in Eastern Europe.

 

Our pilgrimage will take us to sites in Poland such as Wawel Castle and St Mary's Basilica in Krakow, Wadowice (birthplace of St John Paul II), Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (the Polish Jerusalem), the Divine Mercy Sanctuary and convent of St Faustina, and Auschwitz (the infamous WWII concentration camp). In Slovakia we will visit L’utina, the largest pilgrimage site of the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia, Levoca and the Basilica of St. James with the highest gothic altar in the world, Hronsky Benadik and its monumental Benedictine monastery, Nitra Castle and the Cathedral of St Emmeram, Šaštín-Stráže and the Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows, the National Shrine of Slovakia, and Bratislava, the enchanting capital city of Slovakia.


Poland and Slovakia are countries of incredible natural, cultural and spiritual beauty.  Jesus promises a wealth of blessings and profound spiritual experiences, and Fr Juraj hopes you will join us!

DAYS 1 & 2 : Detroit > Kraków
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Overnight flight to Kraków with dinner and breakfast served on board. Upon arrival, we will be greeted by our tour escort.  Transfer to our hotel for check in.  It’s a short walk to Kraków Town Square for lunch before we visit St. Mary′s Basilica and its extraordinary medieval artifact, Europe′s largest wooden altar. After we celebrate Holy Mass the rest of the afternoon is free before our Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant.  (L|D)

DAY 3: Kraków / Wadowice / Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

After breakfast at the hotel, we travel to Wadowice where St John Paul II was born and raised.  We will visit the oldest church in Wadowice, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where young Karol Józef Wojtyła developed a profound and personal devotion to Our Lady.  We will see the baptistery where the future pope was baptized. After Mass at the Shrine, we visit the Wojtyla family house, which is now a museum. After lunch at a local restaurant, we drive to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, known as the “Polish Jerusalem.” The shrine is dedicated to the Passion of Christ and also to the miraculous Icon of the Virgin Mary.  We then return to Kraków with the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.  (B|L)

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DAY 4: Wawel Hill / Divine Mercy Sanctuary / Sanctuary of St John Paul II

Today we celebrate Holy Mass at the altar of St Stanislaus at the 900-year-old Wawel Cathedral.  We will then enjoy a guided tour of Krakow including Wawel Hill, the former seat of power of medieval Polish monarchs and home to the beautiful Wawel Cathedral and Coronation Chapel. This is the Polish national sanctuary and where Karol Józef Wojtyła (Saint John Paul II) celebrated his first Mass.  After lunch on our own, we visit the Divine Mercy Sanctuary and pray for the same joy and reverence St Faustina felt when Jesus appeared to her in 1931 with his right arm raised in blessing and his left arm touching his robe. We will enjoy a talk with one of the local sisters telling us the story of Divine Mercy.  We then carry on to the nearby Sanctuary of St John Paul II hosting his relics.  Dinner and overnight at the hotel.  (B|D)

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DAY 5: Auschwitz
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This morning we depart for Oświęcim and the notorious World War II Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, the site of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s martyrdom. Auschwitz was to be one more concentration camp of the type the Nazis had been setting up since the early 1930s. It functioned in this role throughout its existence, even when, beginning in 1942, it also became the largest of the extermination centers where the "Endlösung der Judenfrage" (the final solution to the Jewish question - the Nazi plan to murder European Jews) was carried out.  We return to Kraków with the rest of the afternoon and evening on our own.   (B|L)

DAY 6: Ľutina / Vrbov  
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After an early breakfast, we depart Kraków and continue our journey to Slovakia.  We will visit Ľutina, the largest pilgrimage site of the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia. On the morning of August 19, 1851, at the feast of the Lord’s Transfiguration, Zuzana Fekete and her three children went to the woods called Havranka. Upon returning home, she saw a great glow and a solemnly dressed bishop who resembled St. Nicholas from the icon of local iconostasis. After other miraculous events, when the saint asked for the construction of the chapel dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he gave Zuzana the icon of the Mother of God, which, after being locked in the treasury, reappeared with this woman on the second day. Based on this miracle, all villagers believed. In 1998 St John Paul II made the Lutina church a minor basilica. We continue to Vrbov for dinner and overnight at the Hotel Galica.  (B|L|D)

DAY 7: Levoča  

Today we explore the beautiful town of Levoča with a guided tour of such sites as the Basilica of St James, Mariánska Hora and the Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Spiš Castle and the Cathedral of St Martin where we will celebrate Holy Mass. Lunch on our own, and the rest of the day is free to enjoy Levoca, Dinner on our own before we return to our hotel in Vrbov. (B)

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DAY 8:  Banská Štiavnica / Nitra 

After breakfast, we depart Vrbov for Banská Štiavnica, one of the oldest mining towns in Europe.  After lunch on our own, we will have a stroll around Old Town where we will see sites such as historic Trinity Town Square, and the Old and New Castles.  We then visit the Baroque Calvary and its incredible Stations of the Cross where we will pray the stations. After, we depart for Nitra, the cradle of Christianity in Slovakia, and a city connected to the Ss. Cyril and Methodius mission.  St John Paul II visited Nitra in 1995 saying, “I am grateful to God that I could come to ancient Nitra – the Bethlehem of Christianity in Slovakia.” Holy Mass at a local church before checking into the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. (B|D)

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DAY 9:  Nitra / Hronský Beňadik / Šaštín - Stráže / Bratislava 

After breakfast, we go to Hronský Beňadik and its monumental Benedictine monastery. Here we will venerate the relic of Christ's Blood.  We return to Nitra and visit the Nitra Castle, the Diocesan Museum of the Nitra Bishopric and the Cathedral of St Emmeram.  Fr Juraj will have arranged a special pipe organ performance at the Cathedral. After lunch at a local restaurant, we continue to the town of Šaštín-Stráže.  Here we will celebrate Holy Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows, the National Shrine of Slovakia.  In 1564 Countess Angela Bakičová prayed to the Virgin Mother for help in her family.  Her prayers were answered so she and her husband ordered a wooden statue be carved.  Ever since, the statue has been attributed to hundreds of miraculous healings.  After a canonical examination, the statue of the Virgin Mary in Šaštín was declared miraculous, which was confirmed by a decree of Pope Urban VIII.  We depart for Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.  Check-in at the hotel and dinner on our own in the city nicknamed "The Beauty on the Danube."  (B|L)

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DAY 10:  Bratislava 

After breakfast, we enjoy a half day tour of Slovakia’s capital city, Bratislava.  The tour includes Hlavne Namestie Square, the clock tower at St Michael’s Gate, St. Elisabeth Church (the “Little Blue Church”), the Slovak National Theater, St Martin’s Cathedral where we will celebrate Holy Mass, and Bratislava Castle.  After lunch on our own, we may choose to join an optional excursion to Castle Devín, an historic monument dating back to the SS. Cyril and Methodius period (Great Moravia).  This excursion is an additional cost.  We return to the hotel for our Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant.  (B|D)

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DAY 11:  Bratislava > Detroit

Today we transfer to the airport for our flight home after a spiritual journey across Poland. B

What’s Included 
· Round trip airfare from Detroit to Kraków and Bratislava to Detroit
· Meeting/assistance upon arrival and departure at airport w/ porterage at the hotels
· Daily Holy Mass w/ Fr Juraj

· 9 nights in beautiful 4* hotels 
· Daily breakfast, 5 lunch and 6 dinners (including Welcome and Farewell Dinners).
· 9 full days sightseeing as per program with Catholic guide
· Luxury air-conditioned coach w/ WiFi
· Entrance fees as per itinerary

*Price is based on a minimum of 24 pilgrims.  
* Price is for double occupancy - single supplement is $775.
$200 discount for check or Zelle payment (all payments must be check or Zelle, otherwise full price applies)
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