A Passion Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Experience the Episode

Presented by Notre Dame Folk Choir

What happens when the songs you wrote meet the ground where the stories happened? Travel from the Grotto to the bustling streets of Jerusalem with the Notre Dame Folk Choir. The Passion moves from rehearsal to reality as students retrace the steps of Christ, and the lyrics come alive in the dust and stone of Jerusalem. Witness the powerful moment they place their hands where Jesus rested his cross and hear their voices resonate in the very places they wrote about. This is not just a tour but a pilgrimage of music, friendship, and profound spiritual encounter, where students discover that walking with Christ means walking with one another.

Click below to watch the video of the Jerusalem highlights.

Click below to listen to an audio podcast version of the Jerusalem highlights.

Subscribe to the ThinkND podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Google.

A Peek Behind the Curtain: Holy Land Pilgrimage Prayers and Reflections

The Notre Dame Folk Choir is delighted to share with you a special resource created just for their pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Featuring a special novena written by Passion librettist Tristan Cooley, this special booklet of prayers, Scripture, and reflections compiled by Folk Choir director J.J. Wright is interwoven with lyrical passages from the Passion that bring the holy sites visited by the Folk Choir to life. On their visit to the Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the Folk Choir paused to gather and raise their voices in song as they prayed the Our Father, and we share that recording below. Join with the Folk Choir to experience the Holy Land through their eyes as they walk in the footsteps of The Way of the Cross: A Passion Pilgrimage through Song.

A Passion Pilgrimage through Photographs

Enjoy this gallery of photographs taken by freelance husband and wife team Joshua and Ivony Martin, who accompanied the Notre Dame Folk Choir on their pilgrimage to the Holy Land to record The Passion in May 2022.

A Lenten 2026 Reflection from the Notre Dame Senior Alumni

Dear Alumni and Friends,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). The Passion invites us not only to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice, but also to consider how we are called to offer the gift of love to others.

As I reflect on some of the most difficult moments in my life, I am deeply aware that I was sustained not only by God’s love, but also by the prayers, kindness, and generosity of others. A young doctor spent nine hours caring for my tiny, premature, critically ill baby—saving my son’s life. A close relative, stranded halfway around the world after his wallet sank to the bottom of a lake, was helped by a stranger who gave him $200. Hundreds of people prayed for a relative when he was diagnosed with cancer. When I had cancer and was too sick to cook, my sister-in-law baked a homemade pie, presented it to TSA, and boarded an airplane to fly to our home to deliver the pie to serve at a holiday meal prepared by my husband and son.

Looking back, the fear and pain of those moments have gradually faded. What remains most vivid are the memories of compassion, generosity, and prayer. These experiences remind me how deeply we need one another.

As we reflect on Christ’s Passion, I am inspired to be present for others in their moments of suffering and fear. Christ endured loneliness, rejection, and pain, yet continued to offer love, humility, and forgiveness.

My relative who survived cancer is one of the most generous people I know. His gifts are often deeply personal. As a child, he came home without his costume from a Halloween party. He gave it to a child who could not afford one. As an adult, he drives more than 1,000 miles almost every month to help a friend with a worsening health condition. He has paid for health insurance for a young woman with serious medical needs.

I do not have the skills to save the life of a premature baby, but I can hold the hand of a parent whose child is sick or dying. Simple acts—baking a pie or preparing a meal—may seem small, but for me they offered a brief return to normalcy and comfort during chemotherapy. Many years later, that meal remains one of my favorite holiday memories.

I will not be called to pray with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, but I can answer the phone in the early morning hours when someone needs to talk. I can reach out to a newly widowed friend or visit an elderly person who rarely has visitors. Each of us has gifts to offer, and we are reminded of our call to act with kindness, love, and service—values deeply rooted in the Notre Dame community.

Thank you to the Notre Dame Folk Choir, faculty, professional artists, and ThinkND for the gift they shared with Notre Dame Senior Alumni this Lent through their production of The Way of the Cross: A Passion Pilgrimage Through Song.

Jean Kinney ’78
Chair
Notre Dame Senior Alumni Board