Interfaith Trip
INTERFAITH TRIP: ITALY & ISRAEL Co-sponsored by the Academy for Jewish Religion and College of Mount Saint Vincent In association with The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas, Keshet: The Center for Educational Tourism in Israel, and Field Travel, Inc. June 24 - July 8, 2014
TRIP ITINERARY DATE PROGRAM
June 24 - July 1, 2014 Tuesday, June 24 Depart United States at 6:00 pm (EST)
Wednesday, June 25 Arrive from the United States in Rome at 8:35 am • Bus transfer from airport to hotel. • Free time for lunch. • Afternoon Guided Visit to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano & Fosse Ardeatine.
Description: The Catacombs of San Sebastiano , named after an early-third century Christian martyr, who is buried here, are a splendid example of the “ad catacumbas” found outside the city walls of ancient Rome where Christians were buried. According to the widely acknowledged explanation, the name signifies “near the hollows”, because of the mines of tuff located in this area. The name was later used generally to indicate all subterranean Christian cemeteries. The archaeological finds in the catacombs offer a precious witness into the early Christian understanding of death, funeral rites, and eternal life, and its connection to ancient Jewish practices concerning burial. The Fosse Ardeatine is an Italian national monument to the resistance movement and a memorial cemetery for 335 innocent youths and adults, taken at random from Rome’s prisons and streets, in reprisal for an attack carried by partisan fighters in the city centre against occupying Nazi Forces on March 24, 1944. The victims included political prisoners from the gaol in Via Tasso and several Jews, who were led off in trucks to the rural suburbs of the city, inside the tunnels of a disused quarry near the Via Ardeatine and shot in the back of the head.
• Opening dinner and Introduction at the Lay Centre (Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See to be invited as guest speaker). Thursday, June 26 • Meeting at the Secretariat for Jewish-Christian Relations (at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity).
Description: The Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is a branch of the Roman Curia established after the Second Vatican Council to promote dialogue and understanding between the Catholic Church and Judaism in the contemporary world.
• Lunch and meeting with the new US Ambassador to the Holy See. (to be confirmed)
Description: The US Embassy to the Holy See was established after official diplomatic relations were established between the US and the Holy See in 1984 to promote understanding, dialogue and collaboration between the two sovereign states on such issues as human rights, interreligious dialogue and social justice.
• Afternoon Guided Visit to the Jewish Ghetto.
Description: The Roman Ghetto or Ghetto of Rome was established for the Jewish community in the city 1555 in the Rione Sant'Angelo, in the area surrounded by present-day Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Lungotevere dei Cenci, Via del Progresso and Via di Santa Maria del Pianto, close to the River Tiber and the Theatre of Marcellus. With the exception of brief periods under Napoleon from 1808 to 1815 and under the Roman Republics of 1798-99 and 1849, the ghetto of Rome was controlled by the papacy until the capture of Rome in 1870. Today it is still one of the active centers of the Jewish community in the city, and it was here that the first public synagogue was founded in the 19th century.
• Walk from Jewish Ghetto to Meeting with Sant'Egidio Community. • Evening Meeting with the Comunità di Sant'Egidio on Promoting Social Justice. • Evening Prayer with Comunità di Sant'Egidio in Trastevere.
Description: The Comunità di Sant’Egidio is a Catholic community of laity that claims 50,000 members in more than 70 countries. Its main activities are: prayer, centered on a reading of the Bible; spreading the Gospel to help people who are looking for a sense to their life; service to the poor, which is free and unpaid; commitment to ecumenism; dialogue with members of other religions and non-believers. The Community of Sant'Egidio was founded in Rome in 1968 by a group of Roman high-school students led by Andrea Riccardi. Since 1968, the community has gathered each night to pray and read from the Bible, reflecting on the Gospel, eventually spreading throughout the world with a mission of helping those in need. Their activities include setting up refuges for the old, hospices for AIDS patients, and printing a handbook titled "Where to Eat, Sleep, and Wash in Rome" as gifts to the homeless. The lay Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio is among global leaders on HIV/AIDS, running programs across Africa, pushing scientific research inter alia on mother-child transmission, and advocating passionately that everyone deserves the best care.
• Free time for dinner. Friday, June 27 • Morning meeting at the Cardinal Bea Center for Jewish Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Description: The Cardinal Bea Centre of the Gregorian University takes its name and inspiration from the far-seeing vision of the Jesuit Augustin Bea, the principal architect of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate. The Centre is dedicated to the promotion of a theological knowledge and understanding of Judaism – from both a Jewish and a Christian perspective - as well as the teaching, research and academic exchanges between Christians and Jews, in order to foster a mutually enriching relationship.
• Walk from Pontifical Gregorian University for Late Morning Guided Visit to the Roman Forum (including Arch of Titus) & Coliseum.
Description: The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. It was for centuries the center of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archeological excavations attracting numerous sightseers. The Arch of Titus is a 1st-century victory arch located on the Via Sacra, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c. 82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Coliseum , situated just east of the Roman Forum, and also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre. It was the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire, and is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in 70 AD, and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir Titus, using funds from the booty collected following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem .
• Free time for lunch. • Afternoon Guided Visit to the Pantheon and Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
Description: The Pantheon is an adjective understood as "[temple consecrated] to all gods") was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome, and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD. Inside was even an image of Moses, representing the God of the Hebrews. It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria della Rotonda." The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major churches of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was built directly over (Latin: supra) the ruins or foundations of a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, which had been erroneously ascribed to the Greco-Roman goddess Minerva. St Catherine of Siena, Fra Angelico and several popes are buried in this church.
• Shabbat dinner – Walk from The Lay Centre to hotel. Saturday, June 28 • Optional Morning Prayer at Synagogue - Walk from hotel to one of Rome's synagogues. • Lunch provided at The Lay Centre, followed by conversation on the Papacy and the Holocaust by a scholar. • Optional Afternoon Guided Visit to the Gesu and the Church of Sant'Ignazio - Walk from The Lay Centre to these sites for those who are interested.
Description: The Gesù is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. Officially named Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina (English: Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus at the "Argentina"), its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture. The church served as model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the Americas. St Ignatius of Loyola is buried here. The Church of Sant’Ignazio is a church dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. Built in Baroque style between 1626 and 1650, the church functioned originally as the chapel of the adjacent Roman College, that moved in 1584 to a new larger building and was renamed the Pontifical Gregorian University
• Free time for dinner. Sunday, June 29 • Mass with Pope for Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul at Piazza San Pietro.
Description: This Mass presided over by Pope Francis celebrates the feast of the two apostles who are known as the “founders” of the Church of Rome , because both spent the last period of their lives here and were martyred for their faith and buried in Rome. The Mass marks an important occasion not just for the Church of Rome, but for the Catholic Church throughout the world, when all metropolitan archbishops appointed since the previous year’s feast day from around the world come to receive the “pallium,” or special cloth that marks their office, from the hands of the pope directly as a sign of their communion in faith with the Successor of the Apostles Peter and Paul as head of the Church. You will witness the “catholicity” or “universality” of the Church reflected by the archbishops with groups of faithful from their dioceses.
• Free time for lunch in the Vatican Area. • Afternoon Guided Visit to the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le mura (and meeting with Abbot Power). • Optional participation in the procession with the relics of St Paul and Sung Vespers.
Description: The Basilica of San Paolo fuori le mura was originally built in the fourth century over the site of the tomb of the Apostle Paul who was buried in the cemetery on this location in the middle of the first century. It is the site of one of the three oldest Christian church buildings in the world, and one of the four most important churches of the Catholic Church. Christians of all denominations come here to venerate the tomb of the “Apostle of the Gentiles.” Abbot Edmund Power, OSB, will speak to us about the life of the Benedictine monks who live in the abbey attached to the basilica and the importance of the site in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue today. The procession with the relic of the chains of the apostle occurs annually to conclude the feast day.
• Free time for dinner. Monday, June 30 • Morning Guided Visit to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel & Basilica of San Pietro.
Description: The Vatican Museum originated as a group of sculptures collected by Pope Julius II (1503-1513) and placed in what today is the Cortile Ottagono within the museum complex. The museum was created as part of the papal residence, or Apostolic Palace, as a place for learning, study and formation in the humanism of the Renaissance. The popes were among the first sovereigns who opened the art collections of their palaces to the public thus promoting knowledge of art history and culture. As seen today, the museum in actuality is a complex of different pontifical museums and galleries. The Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel of the Apostolic Palace. Famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and others, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored the old Cappella Magna between 1477 and 1480, to become a secure place to hold the elections of popes, for which the chapel is still used today. The Basilica of San Pietro in the Vatican was originally built in the fourth century over the site of the tomb of the Apostle Peter who was buried in a necropolis on this location in the middle of the first century. The current basilica was designed by Michelangelo at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and only completed under Bernini’s direction in the first part of the following century.
• Free time for lunch. • Afternoon Guided Visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Description: The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the oldest church in Rome dedicated in honor of the Virgin Mary. Built in the fifth century, the Church was meant to show the support of Pope Sixtus III for the teachings of the Council of Ephesus in Turkey declaring that Mary was the Mother of God. It is one of the four most important churches in Rome, and designated as a “papal basilica”.
• Afternoon Guided Visit to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.
The Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano is the site of the oldest church in Rome and in the entire world built under Constantine in the early fourth century. It is the “cathedral” of Rome, or the church of the bishop of Rome, and therefore the most important church in the city. The current church structure was completed in the seventeenth century and designed by Borromini. It is known as “the Head and Mother of All Church in the City and the World” and represents the emergence of the church as a public entity following the end of persecutions.
• Closing dinner at the Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas.
July 1 - July 8, 2014 Tuesday July 1 Travel from Rome to Israel - Depart Rome at 11:00 am • Arrival in Tel Aviv in the afternoon (3:20 pm). • Descend to the Negev: • Unit on Abraham at Tel Sheva. "Particularism vs. Universalism"- "Genesis 12" vs. Genesis 18:25". Compare two visions of Abraham- the prophecy that propelled him to the Land of Israel and the roots of a universal ethical monotheism. • Dinner served by Keshet staff (or at hotel) Overnight: Ramon Inn, Mitzpeh Ramon. Wednesday July 2 "A Still Small Voice" or Revelation • Sunrise walk and meditation exercise in the Central Negev Highlands. "Why was the Torah given in the desert"? • Return to the hotel for a sumptuous breakfast and rest. • Meet with Rabbi Sharon Shalom in Kiryat Gat. Rabbi Shalom walked from Ethiopia to Sudan in 1985 and came to Israel as a child during the clandestine immigration. Today he is the rabbi of a synagogue in the town of Kiryat Gat and a doctoral candidate in Jewish philosophy. • Continue to Jerusalem, stopping first at the Benedictine monastery in the Arab community of Abu Gosh to meet with monks who chose to make their life mission here in the Judean Hills. • Check-in and rest at hotel. • Enjoy the cool breezes in the Jerusalem hills at the outlook over Jerusalem from the Ha'as Promenade. • Discussion on the "Binding of Isaac". • Free time for Lunch and Dinner. Overnight: Prima Royale, Jerusalem Thursday July 3 Rome and Jerusalem • Begin the day at the Biblical site of the City of David to view the latest excavations. • Discussion on Political Morality in light of the story of David and Bathsheeba. • Visit to the Temple Mount Excavations, Robinson's Arch and the Southern Wall. • Free time for lunch in the Old City of Jerusalem. • Visit the Herodian Mansions, a site conjuring up the jarring contrast between Jerusalem in the days of its splendor and its destruction. • Walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditional site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. • Group dinner at hotel. • Meet Rabbi David Rosen, who played a key role in establishing diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Vatican. Overnight: Prima Royale, Jerusalem Friday July 4 From Out of the Crucible • Visit to Yad Vashem- including the historical museum, Avenue of the Righteous, Children's Memorial and Summary. • Free time for lunch. • Afternoon in Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda Vegetable Market and free time to prepare for the Sabbath in Jerusalem. • Evening: Join the throngs of thousands welcoming the Sabbath at the Western Wall, or participate in services in a local synagogue (Shira Hadasha or Kol Haneshama). • Festive Shabbat dinner - either in hotel or with home hospitality at Jerusalem homes. Overnight: Prima Royale, Jerusalem Saturday July 5 Sabbath in Jerusalem • Visit a variety of Jewish prayer services representing different ethnic and liturgical traditions. • Visit the Israel Museum including the Shrine of the Book exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Second Temple Period Model.(on foot or by taxi). • Guest speaker • Late afternoon: optional trip to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity. • Evening: TBA • Free time for lunch and dinner. Overnight: Prima Royale, Jerusalem Sunday July 6 "Social Justice and Fixing the World" • Option for Holy Mass at Calvary • Visit to Kibbutz Reishit, the first of the pioneering movement of "urban kibbutzim" focusing on social justice and breaking the cycle of poverty. • Visit to the St. Louis Catholic Hospice in Jerusalem. • Free time for lunch. • Travel to the Galilee via the Jordan River Valley (with a stop at a site traditionally associated with John the Baptist). • Check into guest house and swim in the Sea of Galilee. • Late afternoon: Jesus in the Galilee- visit to Capernaum (Kfar Nahum) and the Mt. of Beatitudes for session on "Faith and Works"- the divergence of Ancient Judaism and Christianity. • Dinner and processing at Guest House. Overnight: Nof Ginnosar Kibbutz Guest House Monday July 7 Galilee Mosaic • Explore the mystical city of Zefat, center of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) since the 16 th century. Trace the rise of Kabbalah in this city to the Expulsion from Spain in 1492. • Free time for lunch. • Continue to nearby Zippori, where the Mishna was compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince. • Continue to Tel Aviv. Check-in. • Processing, summary and Farewell dinner at hotel. Overnight: Metropolitan Hotel, Tel Aviv Tuesday July 8 Depart Israel at 10:35 am, (stopover in Rome) arrive in the United States at 6:20 pm (same day)
ÓItaly : Overnight accommodations will be at the same hotel, The Lancelot Hotel. The following meals are included: All breakfasts, plus the five meals that are underlined - Wednesday dinner, Thursday lunch, Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, and Monday dinner.
ÓIsrael : Overnight accommodations are noted, based on the day and location. The following meals are included: All breakfasts, plus the five meals that are underlined - Tuesday dinner, Thursday dinner, Friday dinner, Sunday dinner, and Monday dinner. ÓListed activities and speakers’ participation are subject to change.
AIR TRAVEL - JUNE 24, 2014 TO JULY 8, 2014 June 24 th depart JFK at 6:00 pm to arrive Rome the next day at 8:35 am (Alitalia # 603)
July 1 st depart Rome at 11:00 am to arrive Tel Aviv at 3:20 pm (Alitalia # 808)
July 8 th depart Tel Aviv at 10:35 am to arrive Rome at 1:25 pm (Alitalia # 815) with a connecting flight to depart Rome at 2:45 pm to arrive JFK the same day at 6:20 pm (Alitalia # 610)