Day 8 & 9 ( Our Lady of Fatima Basilica, Krzeptowki & Lagiewniki, Krakow

We are coming into the homestretch of our pilgrimage and everything continues to go incredibly well.

On Monday we had the opportunity to visit and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima in Krzeptowki. We celebrated Mass in a chapel where everything was constructed out of pine wood since pine trees are found throughout the region. On our way to Zakopone we watched a new movie about the message of Fatima and why it is still of great relevance for the world today. 

We were planning on having lunch on a mountainside that provided a panoramic view of the area, but the local authorities had the road closed because there was still a lot of snow. We headed back to a local restaurant near the Basilica before making our way to Krakow to the Pilgrimage House of Divine Mercy. 

Yesterday we had Mass in the Convent Chapel where St. Faustina is entombed. It was a small but beautiful chapel and it was a nice sunny day. One of the workers who helps manage traffic in and out of the chapel came into the sacristy after Mass and told me how much he enjoyed our closing song, which was "We Are Called" by David Haas. 

After Mass we had a tour of a little museum and then headed into one of the lower chapels where a Polish sister (with a great sense of humor) gave us a moving presentation about the Divine Mercy message complete with audience participation on the features of the Divine Mercy image.

We then headed to Wawel Hill to the Cathedral where there are tombs for many important people from the Church and from the country of Poland. On April 10, 2010 there was a terrible plane crash in Smolensk, Russia. A TU-154 Polish Air Force plane crashed killing all 96 people on board including the Polish President, Lech KaczyƄski and his wife Maria. Their tomb is located in the crypt of the Wawel Cathedral as you exit. 

After our tour of the Cathedral we walked into the main city square, had lunch, and then visited the St. Mary's Basilica before heading back to the Pilgrimage House.

We will have our final Mass tomorrow at the Wieliczka Salt Mines in the underground chapel of St. John Paul II. 

There will be a very short sleep before our departure at 3AM for the airport on Thursday morning. I am planning on attending the Chrism Mass when I return on Thursday evening. I will give the person sitting next to me permission to elbow me if I doze off. I always have a much more difficult transition when returning from a different time zone which I think is the case for most people.

That's all for now. Thanks again for your prayers! 



















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