Most tours of the Holy Land look at the women of the Bible as peripheral characters rather than being central participants. But there were many remarkable women who were close to Jesus, and too often the sites associated with them are overlooked by Christian pilgrimages.
That’s why Deacon Holly Galgano designed her “Heart of the Holy Land” Pilgrimage for Women – to bring biblical women out of the shadows and into the spotlight. For example…
- Mother Mary in Nazareth and Golgotha
- Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth at Ein Karem
- Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene
- The home of Mary and Martha in Bethany
- St. Anne’s Church and Pool of Bethesda
The Church of Saint Anne was constructed around 1135 on the remains of a Byzantine basilica which the Crusaders believed was built on the site of the home Anne and Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary.
At Ein Karem is the spring where Mary drank water while on her way to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
Near Manger Square in Bethlehem is the Milk Grotto, where the Holy Family found shelter. Tradition holds that a drop of Mary’s milk fell onto the ground of the cave, turning it white. For hundreds of years, women have come to the grotto with the hope of improving their fertility.
Our Holy Land small group tour is exclusively available to women and feminine gender-identified participants, and we still have several spaces available.
Photo credits:
Saint Anna’s church Berthold Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Mary’s Spring Flavio~ from Mazkeret Batia, Israel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Milk Grotto Nevborg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saint Anna’s church Berthold Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Mary’s Spring Flavio~ from Mazkeret Batia, Israel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Milk Grotto Nevborg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons