DAY 1: Monday 19th October 2026 – Dublin to Warsaw – Divine Mercy Shrine
We depart early from Dublin Airport at 06:10 hrs for our flight to Poland. Upon arrival in Warsaw at approximately 09:55 hrs, our group will be welcomed by the Joe Walsh Tours Pilgrimage Co-ordinator.
We transfer by private coach to visit the Divine Mercy Shrine on Żytnia Street, including the convent where St. Faustina entered religious life. After the visit, we continue to our hotel, the 4-star Hotel Focus Premium Warszawa, where we will be staying for the first night.
Later, we celebrate a private Mass at the Church of Blessed Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, known as the Solidarity Priest. His well-known motto, “Overcome evil with good,” became a powerful message reflected in his sermons and pastoral work. In the evening, we enjoy dinner, followed by overnight accommodation at the hotel.
DAY 2: Tuesday 20th October 2026 – Niepokalanow Monastery
After breakfast at the hotel and check out we continue to Niepokalanow where we will attend a private Mass at the old chapel. In 1941, the Nazis imprisoned Father Maximilian Kolbe in the Auschwitz death camp. There he offered his life for another prisoner and was condemned to slow death in a starvation bunker. On August 14, 1941, his impatient captors ended his life with a fatal injection. Pope John Paul II canonized Maximilian as a “martyr of charity” in 1982. St. Maximilian Kolbe is considered a patron of journalists, families, prisoners, the pro-life movement and the chemically addicted.
Following lunch (at your own expenses) we continue to Czestochowa and check in the 4* Hotel Arche where we will stay for one night on a half board basis.
Dinner and overnight.
DAY 3: Wednesday 21st October 2026 – Jasna Gora Monastery and The Black Madonna | Czestochowa for Zakopane
After breakfast we will check out of the hotel. We will visit the Jasna Gora Monastery with a tour of the shrine with a local monk. Here we will have private Mass in front of the Black Madonna.
The Jasna Gora Monastery is Poland’s national shrine to Our Lady. The renowned Black Madonna icon has in the past symbolised unity and freedom to the Polish people. The Black Madonna was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. It is known as the Black Madonna because of the candle soot residue that has discoloured the painting. We have some free time for lunch. Following our visit we depart Czestochowa for Zakopane.
On arrival in Zakopane we check into our 3* Hotel Sabala where we will stay for the next three nights on a Half Board basis.
DAY 4: Thursday 22nd October 2026 – Zakopane
Today we will spend the day in Zakopane. In the morning we will have Mass at Our Lady of Fatima church (KrzeptowkI).
This is the church that the locals built in honour of our Lady of Fatima, after Saint Pope John Paul’s attempted assassination in 1981. We will also have a panoramic tour of Zakopane and free time to explore Zakopane and do some shopping. We will return to hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 5: Friday 23rd October 2026 – Zakopane
After breakfast in the hotel, this morning we will have Mass in a local church. Free time in Zakopane today. Weather permitting; you could take a chair lift to the top of Gubalowka Mountain and enjoy unforgettable views of the Tatra Mountains (payable locally). We will have our evening meal in the hotel with entertainment this evening and overnight Zakopane.
DAY 6: Saturday 24th October – Wadowice | Krakow
- Breakfast will be served in the hotel.
- Check out and departure from Zakopane to Krakow.
En route we will visit Wadowice, birthplace of Saint Pope John Paul II. We continue then to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, the local shrine where Saint Pope John Paul II and his father often visited after his Mother died, when he was still a young boy. Here there is a miraculous image of Our Lady.
We will celebrate Mass in Kalwaria Zebryzdowska before continuing to Krakow and check into the 4* Hotel Novotel Krakow City West, where we will stay for four nights on a half board basis. Evening meal and overnight Krakow.
DAY 7: Sunday 25th October – The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki
After breakfast at the hotel today we will visit Łagiewniki where we will spend the full day at The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy. This vast shrine, visited by millions of pilgrims every year, is the final resting place of St. Faustina. We will have an opportunity to venerate her relics.
We will attend a private Mass in the old convent chapel and then enjoy free time in the sanctuary. Return to Krakow for dinner and overnight.
DAY 8: Monday 26th October – Sanctuary of Saint Pope John Paul II | Auschwitz
Following breakfast in the hotel we will have private Mass at the Sanctuary of Saint Pope John Paul II.
We will then visit Auschwitz. Auschwitz, for many Polish people, is a symbol of national persecution. Above the entrance to Auschwitz are inscribed the words “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work makes free”). The camp has been preserved as a memorial, and the prison blocks that survive have been turned into a museum charting the history of wartime Poland. In total, between 900,000 and 1.5 million Jews and others were murdered in the extermination camps here. The camp is a Unesco World Heritage Site. We will visit the museum. Return to Krakow for evening meal and overnight.
DAY 9: Tuesday 27th October – Franciscan Church in Krakow | Wieliczka
After breakfast today we will celebrate Mass in the Franciscan Church in Krakow.
Following Mass we will visit Wieliczka, famous for having the oldest operational Salt Mine in Europe, which has been working for over 700 years. The most popular attractions are the enormous excavation chambers, the underground salt lakes and the chapels. On return to Krakow we have some free time for shopping.
Evening meal and overnight Krakow.
DAY 10: Wednesday 28th October – Depart Krakow to Dublin
Today is the last day of this extraordinary Pilgrimage to Poland. After breakfast we will return to the Divine Mercy Sanctuary for our morning Mass. Programme for today to be decided. We will be transferred this evening to the airport for our return flight from Krakow to Dublin departing at 21:10hrs
