Pilgrimage to Italy

• Depart U.S. on your overnight flight to Rome

• Arrive at Rome Fiumicino Airport and transfer to hotel
• Welcome Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, which holds a relic of the Bethlehem manger and the tomb of our beloved, former Holy Father, Pope Francis
• Welcome Dinner in a local restaurant
• Overnight in Rome

Meals included: Dinner

• Visit to the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme to venerate the relics from Christ’s Passion
• Pray on the Holy Stairs that Christ climbed on his way to his trial, brought to Rome from Jerusalem by St. Helena
• Mass at the Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and where a relic of the table of the Last Supper is held
• Group lunch in a local restaurant
• Tour of the Basilica of San Clemente, run by the Irish Dominicans, including the ancient excavations beneath the modern church
• Walk towards the Coliseum and Roman Forum for external views of the ancient Roman sites
• Free evening to explore Rome and dinner on your own
• Overnight in Rome

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

• Mass in the Crypt at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by a tour of the Basilica, including time to pray at the tomb of Pope St. John Paul II and to see Michelangelo’s Pieta
• Free time for lunch and exploring Vatican City
• Late entrance to the Vatican Museums, where you can see the Raphael Rooms, Gallery of Maps, and the Sistine Chapel
• Dinner in a local restaurant
• Overnight in Rome

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

• Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square (pending the Holy Father’s schedule)
• Lunch in a local restaurant
• Afternoon walking tour of center city churches and sites, such as the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Chiesa Nuova, San Luigi dei Francesi, Sant’Agostino, the Gesù, Santi Apostoli, and more
• Mass at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, where the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena is (or another church of your choosing)
• Free evening to explore the city on your own
• Overnight in Rome

Meals included: Breakfast

• Morning transfer to the Catacombs of San Callisto to tour Rome’s largest catacombs
• Visit to St Paul Outside the Walls, where St Paul is buried
• After lunch, continue on to Assisi
• Visit to St. Mary of the Angels and the Porziuncola, with Mass
• Check in and dinner at hotel in Assisi
• Overnight in Assisi

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

• Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis, where St Francis is buried and decorated with murals by Giotto
• Guided tour of the Old City of Assisi, including the Basilica of St. Francis and Basilica of St. Clare, where the San Damiano Crucifix is held along with the tomb of St Clare
• Group lunch in a local restaurant
• Free afternoon in Assisi to explore the peaceful medieval town and visit Santa Maria Maggiore and the tomb of Bl. Carlo Acutis, San Damiano Monastery, the Cathedral of San Rufino, Chiesa Nuova, or the fortress of Rocca Maggiore
• Dinner on your own
• Overnight in Assisi

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

• Depart Assisi for Orvieto, and visit the Church of San Domenico, where St. Thomas Aquinas lived from 1263-1264
• Celebrate Mass at the Duomo in Orvieto, the majestic Basilica housing the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, which was the inspiration for Thomas Aquinas’s Eucharistic hymns
• Conclude the pilgrimage with a Farewell Dinner
• Overnight in Rome near the airport

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

• Transfer to the airport and depart Rome on your return journey home

Meals included: Breakfast