Congregation of Holy Cross US Province Italy – November 2025

Pilgrimage to Italy

Trip Date:
Nov 10, 2025
- Nov 19, 2025
Group Type
Open
Activity Level
Difficult
Price
From $3,995
Deposit $500
Hosted by
Congregation of Holy Cross

Trip Overview

Join the Congregation of Holy Cross and Verso Ministries on a pilgrimage to Italy and be transformed by the beauty and universality of the Catholic Church during this historic Holy Year. This handcrafted journey invites you into a prayerful, authentic, and joyful encounter with the centuries-old practice of Jubilee pilgrimages. Travel with pilgrims from Holy Cross parishes across the United States, visit the major basilicas and churches of Rome, Assisi, and Orvieto, enter through the Holy Doors, and embrace the Holy Father’s call to be pilgrims of hope.

What’s Included?

  • Local, licensed tour guide(s)
  • Transportation on private motorcoach
  • Accommodations in double-occupancy rooms, including taxes (single rooms available on a limited basis)
  • Meals as indicated on itinerary
  • Opportunity for daily Mass
  • Tickets for included activities
  • Audio headset for each pilgrim
  • Verso pilgrimage booklets and pilgrim kits
  • Preparation and follow-up materials

Itinerary

November 10, 2025
  • Depart the US (flights not included)
November 11, 2025
  • Arrive in Rome and transfer to the hotel and check-in
  • Mass in a local church
  • Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant
  • Overnight in Rome

Accommodations: Hotel Atlante Garden or Similar

Meals included: Dinner

November 12, 2025
  • Papal audience in the morning
  • Tour of St. Peter’s Basilica in which you’ll see Michelangelo’s Pieta and learn about the architecture and popes buried there (Scavi Tour if possible), followed by free time to explore the Vatican
  • Opportunity to enter the Holy Door
  • Mass in local church
  • Overnight in Rome

Accommodations: Hotel Atlante Garden or Similar

Meals included: Breakfast

November 13, 2025
  • Mass and tour of St. Mary Major, the oldest Marian shrine in the West containing a relic of the Bethlehem manger
  • Opportunity to enter the Holy Door
    Explore the piazzas and churches of Rome in a city center walking tour and lunch

    • Stops can include San Luigi dei Francesi (Caravaggio’s The Calling of Saint Matthew); Santa Maria Soprava Minerva (tomb of St Catherine of Siena and Michelangelo’s Risen Christ); the Pantheon; Santi Apostoli (tombs of Sts Philip and James); the Gesu (tombs of Sts gnatius of Loyola, John Berchmans, and Robert Bellarmine)
  • Free evening to explore
  • Overnight in Rome

Accommodations: Hotel Atlante Garden or Similar

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

November 14, 2025
  • Venerate the Passion Relics at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
  • Mass and tour of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and where a relic of the table of the Last Supper is held
  • Opportunity to enter the Holy Door
  • Across the street, pray on the Holy Stairs that Christ climbed on his way to his trial in the palace of Pontius Pilate, brought to Rome from Jerusalem by St. Helena
  • After lunch in a local restaurant, walk to the Coliseum and Roman Forum (exterior view only), with a visit to the Basilica of San Clement, housing the tomb of St Cyril with excavations beneath the Basilica dating back to the first century
  • Free evening to explore
  • Overnight in Rome

Accommodations: Hotel Atlante Garden or Similar

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

November 15, 2025
  • Mass at Saint Paul Outside the Walls, the final resting place of St Paul
  • Opportunity to enter the Holy Door
  • Continue outside the city along the Appian Way for a visit to the Basilica of St Sebastian Outside the Walls, where St Sebastian is buried, and a tour of the Catacombs of St Sebastian, beneath the Basilica
  • Transfer to Assisi
  • Stop at Santa Maria degli Angeli, marking the site where St Francis founded the Franciscan order and where he died
  • Dinner at the hotel
  • Overnight Assisi

Accommodations: Assisium Boutique or Muro Rupto or similar

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

November 16, 2025
  • Morning Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis
    • This basilica is famous for its frescoes by Giotto
  • Guided tour of Assisi, including the Basilicas of Sts. Francis and Clare, which hold the San Damiano Crucifix and the tomb of St Clare
  • Free afternoon to explore Assisi
  • Dinner at the hotel
  • Overnight Assisi

Accommodations: Assisium Boutique or Muro Rupto or similar

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

November 17, 2025
  • Day trip to Siena
  • Guided tour, with time to venerate the relics of St. Catherine at the Basilica of San Domenico, followed by Mass at the Shrine of the House of St. Catherine
  • Time for lunch and to explore the Piazza del Campo, Siena’s bustling main square
  • Overnight in Assisi

Accommodations: Assisium Boutique or Muro Rupto or similar

Meals included: Breakfast

November 18, 2025
  • Transfer back to Rome, en-route stop in Orvieto
  • Tour of Orvieto, with Mass, and free time for lunch
  • Return to Rome (Fiumicino) with a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant
  • Overnight in Rome (Fiumicino)

Accommodations: B&B Hotel Fiera 2 or similar

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

November 19, 2025
  • Transfer to Rome airport and depart for the US

Meals included: Breakfast

Accommodations

Standard Accommodations

Pricing

Package Cost
$3,995

Trip Savings

Optional Add-ons

Travel Protection
Quote provided after registration
Single room supplement (limited availability)
$1,309 / person

Pricing listed per person in double rooms and does not include airfare. Quoted rates may fluctuate based on accommodation selection and availability. Final pricing may adjust based any significant changes in currency exchange rates. Pricing based on a minimum of 20 pilgrims.

Led by

Chaplain
Fr. Jarrod Waugh, C.S.C.
Colorado Springs, CO
Fr. Jarrod Waugh, C.S.C., is a Holy Cross priest who currently serves as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was ordained at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame in 2013. A native of Kansas, Fr. Waugh’s ministry work includes serving at Christ the King Parish, University of Notre Dame residence halls, director of campus ministry at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and assistance director at the Holy Cross Office of Vocations in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Flights

Pilgrims are responsible for booking their own flights to/from the pilgrimage using the information below regarding airports and designated arrival/departure times.

  • Arrive by: November 11, 2025
  • Arrival time: Arrive by 12:00 P.M.
  • Arrival airport: Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO)
  • Arrival transfer: Transfer to the hotel via taxi or public transit.
  • Depart on: November 19, 2025
  • Departure time: Depart any time on November 19
  • Departure airport: Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO)
  • Departure transfer: Transfer to the airport via taxi or public transit.

More Details

  • Verso Pilgrimage Director (included if groups is 30+ pilgrims)
  • Passport, visa, or luggage fees
  • Roundtrip airfare
  • Airport transfers in Rome
  • Any personal purchases
  • Gratuities for pilgrimage director, guide(s), driver(s), hotel staff, and meals
  • Any meals not indicated on itinerary, as well as beverages at meals
  • Any required COVID tests or vaccinations
  • Recommended travel protection with Cancel for Any Reason coverage
  • Anything else not explicitly mentioned as included

Payment Schedule

Verso Ministries will administer registration and payment collection from individual pilgrims. Registration can be done directly on the Verso Ministries website whereby pilgrims can make their initial $500 deposit using a debit/credit card. All following payments would be accepted via check, money order, or debit/credit card. Customizable payment plans can be discussed depending on the needs of your group. Suggested payment plan:

To secure your space, Verso requires a group deposit, payable by the group leader/organization. This deposit is non- refundable in the event of cancellation by the entire group. This deposit is refundable back to the group leader/organization if the pilgrimage runs with the required number of full-paying pilgrims.

Payment                                    Date                                            Amount

#1 – Individual Deposit              Upon registration                      $500 per person

#2 – Individual Final Balance     120 days prior to departure       Final balance

 

Cancellation Policy

Cancellation fees apply to organizing groups if the original number of pilgrims is reduced below the contracted amount at the rate of the group deposit multiplied by the number of pilgrims reduced. Verso will assess this fee at the 120 day payment deadline. If the group chooses to cancel its pilgrimage in its entirety, Verso Ministries retains the group deposit and will refund individuals amounts paid, depending on when cancellation by the group occurs. If an individual pilgrim chooses to cancel from the pilgrimage, the refund amount will depend on when the pilgrim cancels and is subject to the cancellation schedule below.
All cancellations of individual pilgrims must be made in writing (email or letter) to Verso Ministries. Cancellations are possible at any time, but refunds are subject to cancellation fees at the rates listed here. Cancellation fees are for individual pilgrims. Any cancellation charges incurred from other suppliers or vendors (flight, lodging, ground transportation, tickets, etc.) may come in addition to the administrative fees listed here. All group flight airline tickets, optional excursions, trip options, pre/post extensions, private transfers, and additional hotel nights are non-refundable 100 days or less prior to departure unless otherwise noted. We highly recommend the purchase of individual travel insurance.

Date                                                                                              Amount

Within 2 weeks of deposit                                                            Free cancellation*

14 days after deposit & 91 days or more from departure           Deposit is retained

90-61 days prior to departure                                                      25% of trip cost is non-refundable

60-31 days prior to departure                                                     50% of trip cost is non-refundable

30 days or less prior to departure                                                100% of trip cost is non-refundable

Arriving early or staying late? Pre-stay and post-stay options

 

Want to arrive or depart outside of the designated times?

  • Please note: If you arrive/depart outside of the designated times, private transfers (fee applies) can be arranged on your behalf. Airport transfers outside of the designated arrival/departure times are not included in the package pricing.
  • Need to book a private transfer? Contact us at hello@versoministries.com or call us at (574) 383-9396.

 

Want help arranging your flights?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I travel with Verso Ministries?

At Verso, we believe in crafting pilgrimages that offer you a view of God’s world and his work in it that you can’t get anywhere else.    We believe that everything – from the holy sites, to the meals, to daily Mass, to your fellow pilgrims – shape the ways God can speak to you, which means we’re intentional about it all.  We believe a pilgrimage isn’t just the days you travel, but it’s how you prepare – from the moment you sign up, to the days and weeks after you arrive home. We shepherd you through the entire process so you can achieve the most transformative experience possible.  We’re not just travel experts; we’re experts in Catholic pilgrimage.
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Who would I be traveling with on pilgrimage?

If a pilgrimage is open to all, registration is open to any pilgrim wishing to participate. As such, our groups welcome a diverse range of pilgrims, from families and married couples to single travellers and retired adults, giving you the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.
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Why should I register now?

The sooner you register for the pilgrimage, the better! Pilgrimages can fill up quickly, especially if pilgrims decide to bulk register as a group, so registering as soon as you think you will be able to travel with us guarantees you a spot on open pilgrimages. If you register and find out you can no longer attend, as long as you registered more than 180 days prior to the departure and cancel within 14-days of registering, we will fully refund your deposit. Just send us a written confirmation of your cancellation and we will take care of the rest.
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What risks are involved with pilgrimage?

As with any travel, particularly international, it is important to be aware of your surroundings. We monitor travel conditions for the countries our groups visit, and our on-location partners keep us informed of potentially disruptive events, situations, and conditions that might affect travel. If travel to the country is not recommended by the U.S. and/or local authorities, we handle the particulars on a case-by-case basis and update our pilgrims accordingly. To mitigate risk, we encourage all of our pilgrims to purchase travel protection to minimize losses from unforeseen causes, such as travel delays or cancellations and lost baggage.
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Resources

This will be a list of blog articles from their site that the user can view for more information on the location or the trip. We’ll probably need a about 3-5 items listed here

A couple walking down a street in Rome.

How to Prepare for Your Trip to Rome

Pope Saint John Paul II

Pope John Paul II and the Great Jubilee 2000

What do you do in Rome during a Jubilee Year?

What Our Pilgrims Have to Say

Father Kuhn

Jocelyn

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