St. Paul is one of the most important figures in the New Testament and in the formation of the early Christian Church. I believe that without St. Paul, our Catholic faith today would be very different. A learned Jewish scholar, Saul of Tarsus (as he was first known by his Hebrew name) initially disagreed with, and even persecuted, the young Christian sect that had been directed by the Risen Christ to witness and spread the word.

On the road to Damascus, Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying "Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?" Saul said "who are you, Lord?" the voice answered, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Get up and go into the city." (Acts 9:4-8). This was the turning point for Saul, and after his conversion, he began his mission to spread the word and start churches throughout a good deal of the ancient world as directed by Jesus.

Much of the writing of the Acts of the Apostles is about how Saul took the Christian Gospel from the heart of Judaism in Jerusalem throughout the Roman Empire in Greece, Turkey, and finally Italy. During his four major missionary journeys, he had to endure hostility, imprisonment, shipwreck, and suffering. Yet strengthened by his Damascus Road experience, he proclaimed the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, founding numerous new Christian communities. It is through his letters to these communities that we get our weekly epistle readings at Sunday Mass.

On his first missionary journey (Acts 13:4-15:4), Saul traveled from Israel to Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, and Turkey. In Acts 13:9, it is the first time that Saul was referred to as Paul (his Roman name) and he continued to be Paul from that point onward. The second journey (Acts 15:36-18:22) covered some of the same territory, visiting and strengthening the churches that he had founded, and added new communities in Greece. He would repeat these activities on his third journey. (Acts 18:23-21:17) The final missionary journey covered the longest distance. He traveled from Israel to Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Sicily, and Italy-Rome. It was in Malta, where he was shipwrecked, and in Rome that St. Paul was martyred.

Today's modern pilgrims can retrace the steps of St. Paul and travel to many of the places that he lived in and visited. In many cases, there are excellent archeological sites of the original cities. One can visit Thessaloniki (St. Paul's letter the Thessalonians) with its Roman Marketplace and Byzantine Churches, or Corinth where St. Paul preached and wrote to the Corinthians. Pilgrims can see Crete where St. Paul ordained Titus as bishop of the island, Santorini, and Patmos with its connection to the Revelation of St. John. One of the most amazing sites is Ephesus. St. John founded the congregation there, and St. Paul expanded it and strengthened it with his letters. He lived there for two and a half years between 53 and 56 AD. Over the centuries, Ephesus has been a significant destination for Catholic pilgrims, which is where Mary lived. Today Ephesus is a UNESCO world heritage site.

During the past months, due to the conflict in Gaza and Israel, many pilgrims have been choosing to visit Greece and Turkey to experience St. Paul's Biblical sites. Here one can enrich their knowledge, bask in the beauty of this part of the Eastern Mediterranean world, and strengthen our Catholic faith.



REGINA TOURS HAS BEEN A LEADER IN CATHOLIC PILGRIMAGES SINCE 1985. TOURS ARE DESIGNED FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH, RENEWAL, HEALING, AND SHARING OUR FAITH WITH OTHERS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.REGINATOURS.COM.