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Faith, family priorities for owner of Malvern travel agency
By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T STAFF WRITER
MALVERN — Seeing animals on an African safari, tracing the steps of the California mission trail of Father Junipero Serra, or standing on the soil of a homestead in Ireland where relatives once toiled are among the many vacation options available to those who book a trip through World Wide Consolidated Travel Service Inc.
“Phenomenal” is how Jan Paytas, the company’s president and owner, describes the pilgrimages she books.
“You go to the Holy Land, you experience the heat and the cobblestones and you think of Jesus walking down that sacred road. When you see facsimiles of what [Jesus’] cross probably looked like and weighed, you can’t begin to comprehend how horrible it must have been [for Him]. It just instills more and more what a great faith the Catholic faith is.”
Such trips can be “life-changing,” added Paytas, a member of St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Wayne, where she has served as a member of the parish pastoral council and catechism teacher.
“When you walk into the basilica at Fatima and see crutches hanging up, and walkers and wheelchairs, you know that somebody came in with those and that they either walked out or were cured and they sent back their apparatuses.”
Catholics — particularly parish groups — who want to experience Church-related tours through World Wide Consolidated Travel Service might sign up for the Holy Land, Lourdes, Rome or many other locales in Italy.
Closer to home, fun times for families can be booked at DisneyWorld in Florida and Disneyland in California.
Faith and family are priorities to Paytas and are essential aspects when she assists those who want faith-filled or family-themed trips.
Paytas, born Seifert, is the oldest of three children of the late Ernst and Natalie Seifert.
Baptized Lutheran, she became a Catholic when she was in the fifth grade at St. Francis of Assisi School in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. A 1958 alumna of Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls, she taught elementary students at Holy Cross School in the Mount Airy section of the city from 1958 to 1965.
She and her husband, John Paytas, have three grown children and three grandchildren.
Although finances may be tight for many in today’s economy, Paytas advises would-be travelers not to dismiss dreams of travel. She suggests picking and choosing trips carefully and budgeting within one’s means.
No matter the destination nor the mode of transportation — cruise ship, train, automobile or airplane — Paytas is happy to help people of all ages plan their getaways around the globe from her office at the Shoppes at Nobb Hill, located at 288 Lancaster Ave.
Paytas is presently looking for a priest to lead an Oct. 25-Nov. 2 pilgrimage from Philadelphia to Lourdes and Paris. She’s also currently booking church groups for the 2010 Passion play at Oberammagau, Germany.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.