A unique pilgrimage experience awaits you on the Norwegian Sun!

by Stefani Manowski

Paulist First Consultor, Fr. Larry Rice, CSP, will be one of the tour leaders

UPDATE: The 2012 pilgrimage is sold out.

Join the Paulist Fathers for a unique 13-day pilgrimage cruise to ports in Scandanavia and St. Petersburg, Russia! Father Larry Rice, CSP, and Father Paul Robichaud, CSP, will be your tour leaders as you sail May 20-June 1, 2012 on Norwegian Cruise Lines’ luxurious Norwegian Sun.

Ports of call include Copenhagen, Denmark; Warnemunde (to Berlin), Germany; Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden.

“On this journey we’ll have the opportunity to explore cultures shaped by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and the transcendent beauty of the arts that are so integral to Orthodox Christianity,” said Father Rice, who serves on the leadership team of the Paulist Fathers, and Father Robichaud, Paulist historian, in a joint letter of invitation.

“For us Paulists, with our commitment to Christian unity and ecumenical dialogue, this pilgrimage will bring us the kind of insight that can only be gained through travel to another land and culture,” Father Rice and Father Robichaud continued.

Paulist historian Fr. Paul Robichaud, CSP, who spent many years in Paulist ministry in Europe, will also lead the tour.

This spiritual journey will include daily Mass celebrated on ship or a location in port, optional opportunities for group sharing and time for personal reflection.

Your journey begins with a transatlantic flight from New York (JFK) to Copenhagen. After one night in a hotel, you will enjoy a fairytale tour of the city that includes a view of Christiansborg Palace and Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Mermaid before embarking the Norwegian Sun.

Upon waking the next day (May 23), you will be in Warnemunde, where you can join an optional full-day excursion by train to Berlin. On this full-day tour, you see the Brandenburg Gate, museums and opera houses. After a day at sea, you will arrive in Tallinn and have the chance to view its architectural gems, including the 13th-century Toompea Castle.

The next two days will be spent in St. Petersburg, Russia, built over 101 islands by Peter the Great to display the wealth of the czars. You may visit the Summer Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress and the Hermitage Museum, which houses one of the world’s greatest collections of art.

The next day (May 28) brings you to Helsinki, home to a seamless cohesion of romantic, neo-classical, baroque and ultra-modern architecture. You will have the opportunity to visit the Uspenski Cathedral and Tempeliaukio Church carved out of a massive rock. Shop for keepsakes made by local craftspeople in the marketplace!

You will then cruise the Swedish Archipelagos to Stockholm, also a city of islands linked by an intricate bridge system. There are many options for you to explore this wonderful city called the “Venice of the North.”

The Norwegian Sun of Norwegian Cruise Lines.

After a day at sea, you return to Copehnagen and debark the ship. You have the rest of the day and evening to explore the city before transferring to the airport on June 1 for the flight to New York.

“If you have never participated in a pilgrimage before, we think you will find our cruise will be a unique spiritual experience,” said Father Rice and Father Robichaud. “And if you’ve never cruised before, this journey will introduce you to a mode of travel that is relaxed, luxurious and care-free.”

For more information, call the Paulist Office for Financial Development at 1-800-472-8547 or email development@paulist.org.