Special Pilgrimage to

San Giovanni Rotondo & Rome Italy!

with Group Leaders Van & Pat Stevens

and under the Spiritual Direction of Fr. Stan Klores, St. Patrick’s Church, New Orleans

MAR 19 & 20 : Depart USA - Your pilgrimage begins as you board your international flights for Europe. Upon arrival in Bari you will be met by our airport representative and transferred to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

March 21 (Sat): BARI – ST. MICHAEL’S CAVE - This morning you will join the pilgrims arriving from Greece and visit the Church of St. Nicholas. Afterwards you will travel up the coast to visit and have Mass at the Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel, a shrine consecrated by St Michael himself in 490. Continue on to San Giovanni Rotondo for dinner and overnight.

March 22 (Sun): SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO - Today you will visit and pray at the tomb of Padre Pio, where his incorrupt body has been exhumed and is displayed in a raised glass casket. Tour the sanctuary and see the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. See the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo.

March 23 (Mon): MONTE CASSINO - ROME - Attend Mass this morning in San Giovanni before departing for Rome. Along the way you will visit Monte Cassino to see the Monastery founded by St Benedict in 529. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

March 24 (Tues): (TUES): CHRISTIAN ROME - You’ll discover the Vatican Museum, home to many of the world’s masterpieces. Enter the Sistine Chapel and view Michelangelo’s frescoes, which have been restored to their full, colorful glory. Tour St. Peter’s Basilica where Michelangelo’s "Pieta" — the only work signed by the master — will be just one of many highlights. Afterwards you will travel along the famous Apian Way to St Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St Paul under its main altar. Here you will have Mass and time for prayer before visiting the Catacombs of San Sebastiano and Tre Fontane, where Apostle Paul was beheaded. Visit the Mamertina Prison, where it is believed that both St. Peter and St. Paul were imprisoned.

March 25 (WED): PAPAL AUDIENCE (pending Pope’s schedule) – CLASSICAL ROME - Join pilgrims from around the world in Vatican City for the weekly Papal Audience and Blessing given by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. Following the audience, there will be time for lunch. This afternoon, enjoy a walking tour of Classical Rome where we will see the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Church of Sta Maria Sopra Minerva, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Enjoy some time at leisure, to explore our own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by. Farewell Dinner and overnight in Rome.