Catholic Biblical School Holy Land Pilgrimage Now Open to All

Story by Shelley Wolf

BLOOMFIELD – Every Catholic is encouraged to make at least one spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and in January 2022 the Archdiocese of Hartford Catholic Biblical School may be offering the trip of a lifetime.

The school just opened reservations for its “Silver Anniversary Spiritual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land” beyond its membership – to any interested Catholic within the archdiocese.

 Unlike many historical tours, the trip will have a decidedly spiritual focus. Not only will it be hosted by the Catholic Biblical School, but Archbishop Leonard P. Blair and Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt will be joining the group and offering short spiritual reflections at key sacred sites. The tour will also follow a customized itinerary designed by Bishop Betancourt, and accommodations will be at religious guest houses, offering opportunities for daily Mass and personal prayer.

“We envisioned this as the capstone of our 25th anniversary celebration,” says Barbara Jean (“B.J.”) Daly Horell, director of the Catholic Biblical School, which marked its anniversary in the fall of 2020. “The plan was that after the Biblical School faculty, students and alumni had first crack at applying, we always intended to open it up to others.”

Originally planned for January 2021, the trip was postponed due to the pandemic and was rescheduled for January 2022.

The 12-day tour, now set for January 6 to 17, 2022, will be unique in many ways, most notably by the fact that Archbishop Blair, Bishop Betancourt and Horell will be acting as spiritual directors, offering spiritual reflections to make for a more profound spiritual experience.

“At every site we’ll have a native professional guide, giving us the history and information about modern Israel,” Horell says. “But the archbishop and bishop will also be giving short reflections at key sites to place people in the Biblical context, to help explain why this is a holy site.”

Horell, who earned her master’s degree in Biblical Studies from Harvard University, will provide a few informal talks, too.

The itinerary was specially customized by Bishop Betancourt. “He’s a Biblical scholar and has been there many times,” Horell notes. “We met to discuss which sacred sites we could visit in the 12-day period, so he led the way in consultation with me. We had in mind ordinary people who had a deep interest and love of Sacred Scripture, and even those with an interest in learning about Scripture.”

All elements of the trip were carefully considered. The 12-day trip is longer than most, intended to allow those on tour time to absorb the historical and spiritual significance of the many sacred sites and landscapes. Mass will be available daily, and at select sites. Accommodations in religious guesthouses, run by orders or dioceses, will also provide time for personal prayer and reflection.

“These places have chapels with the Blessed Sacrament, so people can pray in beautiful places that are more connected to the land,” Horell adds.

Just a few of the tour highlights will include Elijah’s Cave near Haifa; Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus; the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount; a boat trip across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee; and Jacob’s Well in Samaria, where Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman.

Just some of the stops will take visitors to the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Wailing Wall, the Temple Area and the Dome of the Rock; the birthplace of St. John the Baptist in the village of Ein Karem; Lazarus’ Tomb in Bethany; and back to Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room, and the Via Dolorosa or Way of the Cross; and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which stands atop Calvary and the traditional site of Christ’s Tomb.

The stories of the Gospel, which may seem “piecemeal” to some, Horell says, will come into sharper, more unified focus after a trip to the Holy Land.

Using a topographical map of Israel, pointing first to Tel Aviv on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, then to the interior hill country, she notes the group will fly from New York into Tel Aviv, head north, then circle down toward Jerusalem before returning to Tel Aviv.

“You can see Jerusalem is a high point and that’s so important because it was defensible and had a water source. It was originally neutral, between northern and southern Israel,” she says.

Beyond the manmade sites, appreciating the land and landscapes, Horell says, is also crucial to understanding the context of many Bible passages.

“The land is at the center of their lives, even today,” she explains. “Having a home, the earth and our relationship to it, is still central, but back then it was everything. Having access to water and cultivatable land, your existence was dependent on what type of land you had. It’s so much a part of the Biblical stories in the Old and the New Testament. The whole point of studying Sacred Scripture is to enter into the experience of the text, and the land is a big part of it.”

Horell, who has been to the Holy Land herself and has spoken to many others who have been, says being in the places where Jesus stood, seeing what he saw, and “connecting to those stories we’ve heard proclaimed in Mass all our lives, brings it to life in such a way that people’s lives are changed profoundly.”

She adds, “They recognize more fully that these stories are about people just like them. They can put themselves in the place of the characters in the Bible texts and, in that way, understand and accept more deeply into their souls what it is that God was doing in that time, but also what God is doing in their own lives today.

“It’s a big agenda,” she says, “but that’s why we go on pilgrimage.”

Nawas International Travel out of Darien, Conn., is the tour operator. The cost per person is $3999, which includes airfare from New York, all international travel, accommodations and most meals (breakfast and dinner). To obtain more information, including a detailed itinerary and reservation form, visit catholicedaohct.org and select “Catholic Biblical School/CBS Events” from the drop-down menu, call (860) 242-5573 ext. 2679, or email catholic.biblical.school@aohct.org.

Click here for more information on how to take advantage of the incredible opportunity to join this Holy Land pilgrimage.