Alerts

Dear Pilgrims,

Pilgrimages scheduled for May and June 2020 must be postponed to a later date. You can expect a full refund in the next week or so. We have been working closely with our Group Leaders and Spiritual Directors and find this decision to be in the best interest of our pilgrims. Many of our pilgrimages have been rescheduled to September and October 2020 and we hope the same will be the case for yours. At the moment we do not have new dates available. In the next few months we will reach out to you with the new dates, giving you at least three months notice. 

These past few weeks and months have brought about a great deal of change, and with that trials of patience, humility and judgement between want and need, and consideration between the right choice and the wrong. As an organization, John Paul Pilgrimages and Tours has been working through these uncertainties since February, some time before much of our American society was jolted by the coronavirus pandemic. 

During this time, our groups have experienced quarantine in foreign countries, flight cancellations with no apparent way to get our pilgrims home, hotel closures while pilgrims were still there, ever-changing terms and refund policies of airlines, and even some blatant refusal to follow the law by some vendors. We’ve pushed through and remained focused on doing the right thing, whatever is in the best interest of our pilgrims. 

These past few months, I’ve often found myself looking at a picture of my late father, Andrew Pierz, who started our organization here and in Poland 30 years ago. I look to him for guidance while I contemplate what is the right thing, the right decision, in that moment when we don’t have enough information, we don’t know what will change and when. 

We’ve seen how kind, selfless and charitable our fellow man can be in the most beautiful ways. From our first responders and healthcare professionals, to educators and folks working in every industry there have been examples of doing the right thing for your neighbor. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Regularly I receive updates from airlines, hotels, travel insurance agencies, industry partners and their leadership with what I refer to as their ‘new interpretation’ of their existing policies, existing laws, and new regulations that affect their business and their customers. It seems fear follows uncertainty, and often fuels their decisions. It’s become a regular theme that airlines will not refund but instead offer a voucher, some hotels will change the dates of reservations but won’t issue a refund even though their own doors are locked on the days their customers are supposed to be there, and some insurance companies stall and look for any loophole to keep from following through on their own contracts. Frankly, much of this has been rather disappointing and shameful.

I certainly understand the financial impacts of a massive loss in business. Since February we have experienced a 100% reduction in revenue, and in honest speculation there isn’t a positive sense of when that will change. Everyone is affected by this epidemic, some more than others. For our industry and certainly our organization, we know that when this passes we will still have a long road ahead to return to normal. Our pilgrimages are planned 6-9 months in advance, which means our revenue outlook will not return to the norm until 6-9 months after most people get their jobs back, have time to save up, request vacation time, and finally travel again. 

These last several days, I’ve celebrated the Easter Triduum with my family in a most unusual way, as we all have. My wife, our four young children and I, also celebrated my birthday. Throughout these great family times I’ve continued to contemplate the future, and a recurring theme has persisted. ‘Do the right thing’. These are words I hear in my mind lately even when I’m not wondering what to do. I have the sense that it’s the work of the Holy Spirit.

We don’t know what the future holds, when borders will open, and when it will be safe to travel again to our cherished places of pilgrimage. I’ve watched as pilgrimage companies announce to their customers that their trips are postponed to an unknown date, and those who don’t agree with the new dates when they are revealed may cancel their registration, but they will not receive a refund. Pilgrims are given only a voucher to travel in the future with the company. Travelers are unwittingly held hostage in affect, insofar as their ability to choose how and when they travel.

Candidly, this is foul in my opinion. Indeed we are not liable for loss related to epidemics and quarantine and our terms have always specified such, and so we’ve always suggested pilgrims purchase travel insurance, but these are extraordinary times and thus we are called to extraordinary measures.

As many in our industry dig their heels in behind their terms and their policies and deflect liability to others, I see this as an extraordinary opportunity to do the right thing. As of April 15, 2020 we must announce the postponement of our May and June pilgrimages. In the coming week we will begin to issue full refunds of all funds paid to us by our pilgrims. As of this moment, July 2020 and later pilgrimages remain unchanged. If you are scheduled to travel in July or later and you have already decided that you will not go even if the trip is possible, and you purchased travel insurance, I urge you to contact our office to cancel your registration and initiate a claim with insurance to get a refund.

We know the very real financial impact this decision will make on our organization, but we will not live in fear of the unknown but rather embrace hope. We hope you will decide to make your pilgrimage with us when the new dates are announced, that you will continue to place your trust in us. 

This crisis will pass, and when it does we want you to join us with even greater joy and pride because of our commitment to our mission, and to you our beloved pilgrims. 

Living in Christ’s example, we are given peace. 

Thank you for your prayers and support, until we see eachother again on the pilgrim’s route I remain sincerely yours,

Dear Pilgrims,

We all wonder how our pilgrimage will be affected by the global situation currently affecting us all. 

At this very moment, the US State Department has in place a Level 4 advisory with no end date. This means it could extend long into the future, but also that it could be rescinded at short notice. Although we doubt it will be rescinded soon, we simply don’t know when it will be. This puts everyone in the travel industry in a waiting position. If our trip was scheduled for this week, airlines and hotels would allow date changes. The airlines and hotels who at this moment are holding our pilgrim’s deposits and refusing to refund them to us so we can refund them to the pilgrims, are doing so because there is no official statement from the pertinent authorities that precludes our tour from happening, because again there is no ‘end date’ to the travel restrictions and so their position is that we need to wait to see if these restrictions are still in place closer to our date of departure. The major travel insurance agencies we have been monitoring and following are reacting in the same way. They are currently treating cancellations as they normally would if those cancellations are for trips that are further in the future than the next week or so.  Our industry as a whole is reacting to the official guidance of the US State Department (which makes announcements based on the WHO, CDC, USHHS, etc), as well as the official guidance of our host nation(s).

This being said, we too are human and often get frustrated when common sense matters are squandered to ‘policy and procedure’. If you ask our CEO Mark Pierz personally, he will tell you that he believes groups scheduled to travel in May will likely be postponed, and most people would agree. At the moment however, we are still not yet allowed to change the dates on the tickets or the hotel reservations. This may change at any time, and if it does, an update will be sent. 

We are assessing the situation on a daily basis. As you can imagine, we have been handling these complexities with various airlines, hotels, and authorities from several countries now for several weeks. 

Our goals at this moment:

1) Maintain communication with our pilgrims and group leaders with the most pertinent and updated official information that relates to our pilgrimage, specifically reference to date changes and refunds.

2) Maintain our mission to the faithful we serve by providing the best possible pilgrimage that is both safe and healthy, physically and spiritually. 

Judging from the experience we have gained in handling groups that have been affected since February until now, I think you can expect a final answer regarding your pilgrimage approximately 2-3 weeks before your scheduled departure date. This about the time frame in which we are able to get answers from the pertinent travel suppliers (airlines/hotels/etc.)

Finally, thank you. We want you to know that we are personally grateful for your ongoing support, prayers, and well wishes. We’ve received many kind notes over the past several weeks and it makes a difference. It is easy to get lost in all of this uncertainty and we are so blessed to be able to say we work for true pilgrims who care for one another in the spirit of Christ. An incredible message of this pilgrim spirit and the hope we share together is this: We have not received a single cancellation request from a single pilgrim for any pilgrimage scheduled later this year. This tells us our faith is unwavering and our desire to be pilgrims is stronger than fear. Your hope and conviction is empowering. Thank you all for that.

As always, we are with you and we wish you the graces of Our Lord, and the protection of Our Lady’s Veil during this uncertain time and always.

St. John Paul II, pray for us. 

Sincerely,

 

Mark Pierz and the team at John Paul Pilgrimages and Tours