DAY 1. Departure day from ATL to FCO 

Tour members will depart to Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served aboard the flight.

DAY 2. Rome

Arrival in Rome, meet with the Tour Leader and driver and transfer to Rome. Accommodation in our hotel. Time to rest. Dinner and overnight.

DAY 3. Rome - Papal Audience

After Breakfast, we will transfer in St. Peter Square for the Audience with the Pope**.   Afterward, we will have time for lunch. Then visit of the Vatican Museum, The Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Cathedral.

Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512, and later painted The Last Judgment between 1535 and 1541 for Popes Clement VII and Paul III.  The primary function of the chapel is the Papal Conclave, providing the place where the College of Cardinals of the church gathers to select a new Pope. Then walk through Saint Peter’s Basilica, the present structure completed in 1590 was built over the Byzantine and Middle Ages structures that marked the tomb of Saint Peter.

There are more than 100 tombs within the basilica, including most recently Saint John Paul II. Dinner and overnight.

DAY 4. Rome

Breakfast in hotel.  Then we will have a guided visit of the ancient Rome. First of all the Coliseum, also called Anfiteatro Flavio. Then, we will proceed through Via dei Fori Imperiali to visit the Carcere Mamertino where St. Peter were prisoned. Time for lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit the center of Rome where we can admire Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Church of St. Agostino where is conserved the Michelangelo famous painting “The Pilgrim’s Virgins”, The Church of San Luigi dei Francesi where we can admire the other famous Caravaggio Paint “The Conversion of St Matthew”. We will end at Fontana di Trevi and The Spanish Steps. We will celebrate Holy Mass TBD.

Dinner and overnight at our hotel

 

DAY 5. Rome

Breakfast in hotel.  Then, we have a guided tour of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. Six Popes are entombed here. Next door is the Holy Staircase (Scala Santa), brought from Pilate’s Palace in Jerusalem by Saint Helena in the 4thcentury. Climbing the stairs on your knees is a devotion that many pilgrims perform, and a plenary indulgence is granted for completing this feat. Time for lunch. In the afternoon, we will continue on your pilgrim journey to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Maria Maggiore). We celebrate Mass here.

This is the largest Marian church in Rome. Its construction began after the Council of Ephesus in 431 proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God. Saint Jerome, translator of the Bible into the Latin Vulgate, is buried here. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 6. Rome - Assisi

Breakfast in hotel.  We will drive to Assisi to visit the Church of St. Clare which houses her incorrupt body. One of the chapels contains the crucifix that bowed its head and ordered St. Francis to “repair God’s Church”. Then,  we tour the Basilica of St. Francis built in 1228 to house the Relics of the Saint. The “upper “basilica houses beautiful frescoes of Giotto. It is from these frescoes that we will know and understand the life and the spirit of St. Francis. Time for lunch. In the afternoon, we visit of St. Mary of the Angels Basilica. This Basilica is where St. Francis spent most of life, and is made up of two structures; both of which you will visit. The Porziuncola is where St. Francis founded his order of the Friar Minor (Franciscans), and the Capella del Transito, which is the place of St. Francis’ death. During this visit, your group will have the opportunity to visit the beautiful Rose Garden where St. Francis and other friars lived, as well as the cave where the Saint retired to pray. At the end of the visit, we will celebrate the Holy Mass.

Dinner and overnight in Assisi.

 DAY 7. Assisi - Sienna - Florence

Breakfast in hotel. We depart to Siena. This medieval city is the birthplace of the Doctor of the Church, St. Catherine, and the Apostle of Italy, St. Bernardine. Visit of one of Italy’s finest squares, the Piazza Del Campo and the Cathedral and Basilica of St. Francis. This Basilica is the site of a miracle: In 1730, a ciborium of consecrated Hosts were stolen, but two days later the exact number of Hosts were found in the tabernacle, and since then these Hosts have not been consumed nor disintegrated. Following this visit, we will continue to view the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St.

Dominic. We celebrate Holy Mass and continue to Florence. Dinner and overnight hotel.

DAY 8. Florence

Breakfast in Hotel followed by a full day visit of Florence: Piazza del Duomo, Santa Maria del Fiore, the St. John Battistero, and the Giotto Bell Tower. Free time for lunch. Then, we continue our visit with Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, the “Ponte vecchio”, where many gold artisan had their shops. Visit of the Church of St Ambrogio. Built in 989 in memory of the place where the Saint were hosted in 393 when he visited the city. This Church is famous for two Eucharistic miracles. The first on December 30, 1230, the parish priest named Uguccione celebrated Mass and forgot to clean out the chalice used during services. The following day, the chalice was dirty but not with the wine used but with blood. The blood, said to be the fruit of divine incarnation, was placed into a crystal ampoule and this Eucharistic miracle transformed the church into a place of pilgrimage in the city. The ampoule is still today conserved in the church within the chapel dedicated to it, the Chapel of the Miracle of the Sacrament, to the left of the main altar.

The second in 1595 there was a second miracle at Sant’Ambrogio: on Holy Friday a fire broke out in the side chapel next to the main altar. While the fire was contained quickly, in the frantic happenings pieces of a blessed host fell on the ground. After the fire, the fragments of the broken host showed no signs of them having been burned despite being in the area of the fire. After many years, the pieces were again examined and determined to be another Eucharistic miracle. They are also conserved in the church as a reliquary.

Celebrate Holy Mass. Dinner and overnight in Florence.

 

DAY 9. Padova

Breakfast in hotel.  We drive to Padova. Upon arrival, we will have free time for lunch.  Afterward, we start with a visit of the center of Padva. We will visit the Basilica of Saint Anthony built to house his remains starting from 1238. It’s an imposing spiritual monument blending several architectural styles – Romanesque, Gothic, Byzantine, Moorish – which houses many splendid works of art. Today the church is a centre of pilgrimage from all over the world. Celebrate Holy Mass.  Dinner in Restaurant and overnight in Padua.

DAY 10. Venice

Breakfat in hotel.  We transfer to Venice. Transfer to the center of the city by boat and meeting with our guide. We enjoy a half-day guided walking tour of the City of Venice passing by the Rialto Bridge, The Canalgrande, San Marco Square and San Marco’s Cathedral. Visit of the St. Marco’s Cathedral . Free time for lunch and time at glance in the center of the city. We will celebrate Holy Mass and return to Tronchetto parking by boat and transfer to Padova. Farewell dinner and overnight.

DAY 11. Depart back home

Breakfast in hotel and transfer to the airport for the departure.   We will return to the USA with a renewed faith and wonderful memories of our pilgrimage to cherish.