Jerusalem to Jericho

 September 26, 2023

Today we board the tour bus in Jerusalem and leave for a small village 7 kilometers away toward the south west.  The name of the village is "Ein Karim" , it's the birth place of St John the Baptist.  There are two churches to visit here.  One is the Sanctuary of the Visitation.  It is situated on a rocky plateau just south of town.  It is a long 100 steps to climb to the top.  Here is where the Bible tells us of Mary the pregnant wife of Joseph visiting her cousin Elizabeth, who is "also with child".   Mary's famous response of the Magnificat is memorialized here.  Our group had the opportunity to have another outdoor Mass in a garden along side the church.  

Plaza in Ein Karim

Church of the Visitation

Green Hillsides of Ein Karim

My Soul Magnifies the Lord

Zachary the High Priest

Mary greets Elizabeth

A well in Ein Karim

Hiding Stone for St John

In the Church of St John the Baptist in the Village of Ein Karim....this rock is said to be the hiding place where the infant St John was saved from the sword of King Herod's slaughter of the innocents.

Slaughter of the Innocents


Our Pilgrimage group has Mass in the garden.

Now we take the tour bus back to the Old City of Jerusalem to visit the Upper Room on Mount Zion.  While we visit the Upper Room which is the site of the Last Supper of Christ, it is also the place of the Pentecost for the Apostles.  For some centuries of the Turkish rule of the Holy Land, this place was used as a mosque.  Below this room is a place that many believe is the tomb of King David.

The Upper Room

The Upper Room

Now we leave the Old City again visit the nearby Church of St Peter de Galli Cantu (rooster crow).  Here is where Christ was taken (the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest) after his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemani.  And it is also the place Peter denied knowing Christ three times as the rooster crowed.  

We saw the pit or cistern that Christ was jailed in overnight. We all go into the pit.  We began singing the hymn "Were You There" as we exit the crypt and found that other pilgrims waiting to enter are singing along with us in great spirit.  A most moving moment.

The Church of St Peter Galli Cantu

Mural of Christ in Chains

St Peter's Denials

Now we board the bus to go east to Jericho.