Itinerary

Day 1:
(Mon.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2:
Arrival in Rome, Italy. (Tue.) Transfer to your hotel. Balance of the day is at leisure. At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director, then enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner with your traveling companions in a local restaurant. (D)

Day 3:
Rome. (Wed.) Attend the weekly general audience of the Pope (subject to availability). This afternoon, visit ST. PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS and the CATACOMBS with a Local Guide. During the persecutions, the catacombs were used as places of refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist. Then, visit ST. JOHN LATERAN BASILICA and the HOLY STAIRS, which were brought from Jerusalem to Rome around the year 326 A.D. by St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and consist of 28 white marble steps. As a favorite of pilgrims every where, these steps may only be ascended on the knees. Lastly, visit the impressive ST. MARY MAJOR BASILICA. (BB)

Day 4:
Rome. (Thu.) Morning sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgment. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S Basilica. Cross the River Tiber, and visit the COLOSSEUM, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World®, and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph. (BB)

Day 5:
Rome–Montecassino–San Giovanni Rotondo. (Fri.) Visit the ABBEY OF MONTECASSINO, the first of the Benedictine monasteries founded by St. Benedict around 529. Then journey to Italy’s eastern coast and San Giovanni Rotondo, home to the beloved St. Padre Pio. (BB,D)

Day 6:
San Giovanni Rotondo. Excursion to Monte Sant’Angelo. (Sat.) Visit the FRIARY OF PADRE PIO, including his tomb, cell, confessional, the OLD CHURCH where he received the stigmata, and the NEW CHURCH. Afterwards, visit the nearby SHRINE OF MONTE SANT’ANGELO, one of Christendom’s most celebrated shrines and where St. Michael the Archangel appeared in years 490, 492, and 1656. (BB,D)

Day 7:
San Giovanni Rotondo–Lanciano–Loreto–Assisi. (Sun.) Visit Lanciano and the CHURCH, which is home to an 8th-century Eucharistic Miracle. Next, visit the HOLY HOUSE OF LORETO where, according to tradition, angels transported the home of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Arrive at the hilltop village of Assisi, home of St. Francis and St. Clare. (BB,D)

Day 8:
Assisi. (Mon.) Celebrate Mass this morning followed by a guided walking tour of Assisi. Visit the BASILICAS OF ST. FRANCIS AND ST. CLARE. See the crucifix that spoke to St. Francis, “Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin.” In addition, visit ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS BASILICA and the PORTIUNCULA. Balance of the day at leisure. (BB)

Day 9:
Assisi–Cascia–Rome. (Tue.) In Cascia, explore the life of St. Rita, known as the “saint of the impossible causes.” Visit the BASILICA, the Eucharistic Miracle, and the CHAPEL with her incorrupt body and crucifix from which she received the stigmata. Return to Rome and enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (BB,D)

Day 10:
Rome. (Wed.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)

Dates & Prices

ROME:
Welcome and farewell dinners at a local restaurant; guided sightseeing including headsets, visit St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Catacombs, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Holy Stairs, St. Mary Major, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum

MONTECASSINO:
Visit the Benedictine abbey

SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO:
Visit Padre Pio’s friary, the Old and New Church, and the Shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo

LANCIANO:
Visit the Eucharistic Miracle Church

LORETO:
Visit the Holy House of Loreto

ASSISI:
Guided sightseeing, visit the Basilicas of St. Francis and St. Clare; also visit St. Mary of the Angels and the Portiuncula

CASCIA:
Visit the basilica, the Eucharistic Miracle, and the chapel