The city that formed him
Kraków
Europe’s largest medieval square, the trumpet call from St. Mary’s tower every hour, and the archbishop’s window on Franciszkańska Street where Wojtyła talked to crowds late into the night.
Destinations / Poland
in the footsteps of St. John Paul II
Poland & the World
of John Paul II
Kraków, Wadowice and the Divine Mercy — the country that formed a pope, and the century he changed.
Karol Wojtyła was born in a rented apartment above a shop in Wadowice, lost his mother at eight and his father at twenty, worked in a quarry under German occupation, and studied for the priesthood in a seminary that met in secret. Forty years later he stood on a balcony in Rome as Pope. Poland is where that happened, and it is all still there.
A ProRome pilgrimage to Poland follows his life: the font where he was baptised, the Calvary park his grandfather guided pilgrims through, the archbishop’s palace window in Kraków where he spoke to crowds late into the night, and Wawel Cathedral where he was ordained bishop.
Woven through it is the message he gave the Church. It was Wojtyła who took the Diary of a Polish nun named Faustina, once suppressed by Rome, and made Divine Mercy a devotion of the universal Church. He consecrated the shrine at Łagiewniki in 2002 and entrusted the world to Divine Mercy there. Mass at that altar is the centre of most of our Poland pilgrimages.
One practical note: Eastern Europe is compact and the borders are open. Prague is seven hours from Kraków, Vienna six, Budapest seven — and groups regularly add one of them. It is one of the easiest regions in the world to build a two-country pilgrimage.
9
Nights Abroad
Recommended
Daily
Mass at
Sacred Sites
1978
The Year a Pole
Became Pope
25–500+
Pilgrims
Per Group
Where You Will Pray
The places that formed a pope
St. Stanislaus · the kings of Poland
Wawel Cathedral
Where Wojtyła was ordained bishop and served as archbishop, above the tombs of Polish kings and the relics of St. Stanislaus — a bishop killed by a king in 1079.
Wadowice · Kalwaria · the quarry
In the footsteps of Wojtyła
The house where he was born, the font where he was baptised, the Calvary park at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska his grandfather guided pilgrims through, and the Solvay quarry where he worked under occupation.
St. Faustina · consecrated by John Paul II
The Divine Mercy Shrine
Łagiewniki, where St. Faustina lived and died, her tomb beneath the original image, and the basilica John Paul II consecrated in 2002 when he entrusted the world to Divine Mercy.
Our Lady of Częstochowa
Częstochowa
The Black Madonna at Jasna Góra, scarred and crowned, and the monastery that withstood a Swedish siege in 1655. John Paul II came here as pope four times.
Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko · the rebuilt city
Warsaw
An Old Town levelled in 1944 and rebuilt brick by brick from Canaletto’s paintings, and the grave of the priest the secret police murdered in 1984.
The Ground You Cover
Poland, and the road beyond it
Click any marker to see what is there and how long groups usually stay.
Legend
- The classic route
- Add-on sites
- Beyond Poland
Nowhere is off limits
These are the sites groups ask for most — not a list of where we can go. Poland is dense with shrines, martyrs and monasteries, and its neighbours are only hours away. If there is a place your group cares about, in Poland or across a border, tell us and we will build the road to it.
A Sample Nine Nights
The Poland of John Paul II
Nine nights abroad is what we recommend. Poland is compact — almost everything sits within a few hours of Kraków — so groups spend less time on a coach here than almost anywhere we travel.
Day 1
Depart the United States
Overnight flight to Warsaw or Kraków.
Day 2
Arrive in Warsaw
The Old Town rebuilt brick by brick after 1944, the grave of Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko, and opening Mass.
Day 3
Warsaw to Częstochowa
South to Jasna Góra for Mass before the Black Madonna, and the unveiling of the icon.
Day 4
On to Kraków
Wawel Cathedral where Wojtyła was ordained bishop, the royal tombs, and the archbishop’s window in Franciszkańska Street.
Day 5
The Divine Mercy
Mass at Łagiewniki, St. Faustina’s tomb and the original image, then the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II next door.
Day 6
Auschwitz-Birkenau
A day that needs no ornament. The cell of St. Maximilian Kolbe, and time afterwards to be quiet.
Day 7
Wadowice and Kalwaria
The house where he was born, the baptismal font, and the Calvary park his grandfather guided pilgrims through.
Day 8
Kraków and the Salt Mine
The chapel of St. Kinga carved from salt three hundred metres down, and a free afternoon in the city.
Day 9
Kraków, at your own pace
The Franciscan church where he prayed, Kazimierz, or a return to Łagiewniki for the three o’clock hour. Closing Mass and group dinner.
Day 10
A last day
Zakopane and the Tatras he hiked all his life, or Niepokalánów and the friary of St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Day 11
Return home
Transfer to the airport, with your tour manager through to the gate.
This is a starting point, not a package. Because Eastern Europe is compact and the borders are open, groups regularly add three nights in Prague, Vienna or Budapest — each is a comfortable day’s coach from Kraków and turns this into a twelve-night, two-country pilgrimage.
What it costs
$3,000–$3,500
Student groups · per pilgrim, land only
$3,800–$4,500
Adult groups · per pilgrim, land only
Both ranges are all-inclusive on the ground and vary with the season you travel. Airfare is quoted separately — see the FAQ below for how that works.
- Lodging matched to your group — religious guesthouse, four-star hotel, or five-star
- Daily breakfast and most dinners
- Private motorcoach and all ground transfers
- Catholic guides throughout
- All entrance fees and site reservations
- Daily Mass arranged and reserved
- A ProRome tour manager for the full trip
Where you stay
Religious guesthouses. Poland has a strong tradition of houses run by orders, including several within walking distance of the Divine Mercy Shrine. For groups who want to be at Łagiewniki for the three o’clock hour, that proximity is worth a great deal.
Four-star hotels. More space, more amenities, and the option most parish groups choose.
Five-star. For groups who want it, we build it — and we will tell you honestly what it adds and what it does not.
The choice is yours on every pilgrimage, and it moves the price more than any other decision.
When to go
May to September is the main season — warm, long evenings, and the shrines busy but manageable.
Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, fills Łagiewniki with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Extraordinary, and it must be planned a long way out.
Winter is cold and dark but genuinely beautiful, and Kraków’s Christmas market is one of the best in Europe.
22 October, the feast of St. John Paul II, and 26 August, Our Lady of Częstochowa, are both worth building around.
What Sets Us Apart
Your guide is a missionary, not a tour guide
ProRome guides are trained missionaries with degrees from Catholic universities. They are not working from a script, and they are not reciting dates from a plaque.
In Poland it is the difference between a tour and a pilgrimage. At Auschwitz especially, a guide who understands both the history and what the Church says about Kolbe and Edith Stein is what lets a group pray there rather than simply be shaken.
Common Questions
Planning a Polish pilgrimage
What does a John Paul II pilgrimage to Poland include?
The places that formed him and the places he formed. Wadowice, where he was born and baptised. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, the Calvary park his grandfather guided pilgrims through. The Solvay quarry where he worked under German occupation. Wawel Cathedral, where he was ordained bishop and served as archbishop. And Łagiewniki, where he consecrated the Divine Mercy basilica in 2002 and entrusted the world to Divine Mercy — the message he gave the universal Church.
How long should a pilgrimage to Poland be?
Nine nights abroad is what we recommend, about eleven days door to door. Poland is compact — almost everything sits within a few hours of Kraków — so groups spend less time on a coach here than almost anywhere else we travel. Shorter trips of six or seven nights work well if Kraków is the only base.
Can we add Prague, Vienna or Budapest?
Yes, and this is one of the easiest regions in the world to do it. Prague is about seven hours west of Kraków, Vienna six south-west, and Budapest seven south — each a comfortable coach day with the borders open. Adding one of them makes a twelve-night, two-country pilgrimage, and groups often fly into Kraków and home from the second city so no day is spent doubling back.
Do we visit Auschwitz, and how do groups handle it?
Most groups do, and it is usually the day they talk about afterwards. We build it with time on either side rather than squeezing it between other stops, and we do not schedule anything demanding for that evening. Our guides are prepared for it. If your group would rather not go, we will build the week without it and say nothing more about it.
How much does a Polish pilgrimage cost?
Student groups typically run $3,000 to $3,500 per pilgrim and adult groups $3,800 to $4,500, land only and all-inclusive on the ground, varying with the season. Airfare is quoted separately.
Where do groups stay in Poland?
That is your choice. Poland has a strong tradition of houses run by orders, including several within walking distance of the Divine Mercy Shrine, which matters for groups who want to be there at three o’clock. Four-star hotels and five-star itineraries are equally available.
Can we be at Łagiewniki for Divine Mercy Sunday?
Yes, and it is unlike anything else — hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in one place. It needs to be planned much further ahead than an ordinary week, because lodging across the whole Kraków region fills. Tell us early if that is the goal.
Is Poland suitable for a Catholic school group?
It is one of the best destinations we run for schools. The distances are short, the story is recent enough to feel real to teenagers, and Kolbe, Faustina and Wojtyła are three lives that land hard at that age — a man who volunteered to die in another’s place, a nun nobody believed, and a boy from a small town who became pope.
How far in advance should we start planning?
Twelve to eighteen months, and longer for Divine Mercy Sunday. That gives us room to secure group airfare, hold the right houses, and give your pilgrims time to register and pay in installments.
How does airfare work?
Airlines do not release group fares until roughly eleven months before your return date, so airfare is quoted separately from the land price. That gives you two ways to launch. You can launch land-only now, start registering pilgrims at the land price, and add airfare once it opens — the usual choice when a group wants a long recruiting window. Or you can wait until the eleven-month mark, let us contract the air, and launch one all-inclusive price, which is simpler for pilgrims but shortens the time you have to fill the trip. We will tell you which fits your group when we talk.
Let’s build your Polish pilgrimage
Tell us your group, your dates, and what is on your parish’s heart. We will come back with an itinerary and a price — no obligation, and no template.
Request a Custom Proposal →