Press & Media

Short · 50 words

Saint Paul Global Week is a three-day international Catholic gathering in Tarsus, Türkiye — the birthplace of the Apostle Paul — held around the Feast of Saint Paul on 29 June 2027. The Feast Day prayer programme is broadcast live to communities worldwide. It is organised by Funny Tourism.

Medium · 150 words

Saint Paul Global Week (28–30 June 2027) is a three-day international Catholic gathering in Tarsus, Türkiye, the city where the Apostle Paul was born. The programme combines prayer, heritage and pilgrimage, anchored on the Feast of Saint Paul on 29 June 2027. Holy Mass is celebrated in the apostle's birthplace, with walking visits to apostolic and early Christian sites in Tarsus and Mersin, and a journey to Antioch to visit the cave Church of Saint Peter. The Feast Day Mass is held as two services on 29 June, at 10:00 and 16:00 (Istanbul, UTC+3), with 250 places each. The Feast Day prayer programme is broadcast live worldwide so that parishes and communities who cannot travel may join in real time. There are 500 places in total: 450 traveller places and 50 invited guests. Pilgrims and travel agencies wishing to attend contact Funny Tourism, the organiser. The gathering returns annually around the same dates.

Long · 400 words

Saint Paul Global Week is a three-day international Catholic gathering held in Tarsus, Türkiye — the birthplace of the Apostle Paul — anchored on the Feast of Saint Paul on 29 June. The 2027 edition takes place from 28 to 30 June 2027, and the gathering returns annually around the same dates and in the same place. It is a private gathering organised by Funny Tourism, with all official permissions handled by the organiser.

The programme combines prayer, heritage and pilgrimage in equal measure. Holy Mass for the Feast of Saint Paul is celebrated in the apostle's birthplace, with walking visits to apostolic and early Christian sites in Tarsus and Mersin — Saint Paul's Church, Saint Paul's Well, Cleopatra's Gate, the ancient Roman Road — and a journey to Antioch (Antakya) to visit the cave Church of Saint Peter, one of the oldest Christian sites in the world. On-site visits are accompanied by a licensed guide throughout.

The Feast Day Mass on 29 June 2027 is held as two services, at 10:00 and 16:00 (Istanbul, UTC+3), with 250 places at each service. The Feast Day prayer programme is broadcast live to communities around the world, so that those who cannot travel may join the celebration in real time wherever they gather. The broadcast is open to all parishes — no fee, no registration, no embargo on rebroadcast — and may be used freely in parish settings.

There are 500 places in total across the gathering: 450 traveller places and 50 invited guests. The 50 invited guests are fully hosted by the organiser, with accommodation, transfers and full programme access. Pilgrims and travel agencies wishing to take part travel in person and should contact Funny Tourism, the organiser, which arranges accommodation, transfers, guided visits to the apostolic sites, and full programme access.

The gathering is organised by Funny Tourism, based in Istanbul and Tarsus. The audience includes pilgrim groups, clergy, lay associations, youth groups and individual pilgrims, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan African Catholic networks, Italian and southern-European pilgrim communities, and diaspora Catholic communities in the Americas and the Gulf. On-site languages are English, Turkish and Italian; broadcast captions add further languages.