 | | Rome & the Shrines of Italy Day 1 - USA - Rome
Depart from USA to Rome. Dinner and breakfast are served on board.
Day 2 - Arrival in Rome
Meet our escort and transfer to our first class hotel. Free afternoon. This afternoon you may relax or explore the city independently. Your tour escort will suggest some sights or walks for you to enjoy. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3 - Rome (Papal Audience at the Vatican - if available) Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience and Blessing given by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. Following the audience visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest church in Christendom St Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.
Day 4 - Rome
This morning we depart for a sightseeing tour of a lifetime! Although, our focus is on "Christian Rome" we will also see so many important cultural and monumental sights around Rome. The tour includes three major Basilicas: St Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine that contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. The Basilica of the St John in Lateran, is the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377. St Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St Paul under its main altar. We will also see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus, Chapel "O'Domine Quo Vadis?" the remains of imperial tombs, Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. Dinner and overnight for your last evening in Rome
Day 5 - Rome - San Giovanni Rotondo
We leave the Eternal City and head southeast to San Giovanni. Time permitting we will stop in Monte Cassino to see the Monastery founded by St Benedict in 529. This lovely Abbey sits atop a hill overlooking the village of Cassino. We arrive in San Giovanni, the home of Padre Pio, just in time for dinner.
Day 6 - Monte Sant'Angelo
Visit the tomb of Padre Pio, tour the sanctuary and see the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. You will see the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Cargano Peninsula and a visit to the Grotto of Michael the Archangel. Six different popes, St Francis and at least four other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St Michael. A panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection.
Day 7 - San Giovanni Rotundo - Lanciano - Loreto - Assisi
Our travels today first take us to Lanciano to see the eighth-century Eucharistic Miracle in the little Church of Lagontial. After expressing doubts about Christ's true presence in the consecrated host, a monk found himself holding a host that had changed into flesh and wine that had changed into blood. Next we follow the lush Adriatic coast to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. More than 50 popes have made a pilgrimage to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived. Mass at the Shrine in Loreto, then transfer for dinner and overnight in Assisi.
Day 8 - Assisi
After breakfast celebrate mass and visit tomb of St Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St Francis began his ministry. Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of his possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St Mary of the Angels Basilica where St Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. After stopping at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple, we go to the Church of St Clare to see the saint's incorrupt body. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight. Day 9 - Assisi - Sienna We are off to the beautiful town of Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine and Bernardine and one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy’s finest squares and visit the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic. Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight. Day 10 - Assisi - Rome - USA
We bid farewell to our new friends and to a pilgrimage which will be in our memories and heart for a long time to come. Early departure from Assisi for Florence (or Rome) Airport for our return flight to the USA. We fondly say, Arrivederci Italia! Tour Features- Round trip airfare from New York
- Accommodations in Superior Tourist and/or First Class Hotel, twin-bedded rooms with private facilities
- Breakfast and dinner daily
- Transfers between airport and lodging with porterage at hotels
- Multi-lingual Tour Escort
- Sightseeing as specified in itinerary
- Welcome Packet / Document Portfolio
- Daily Mass and all spiritual activities coordinated
Pricing | Tour # | 2010 Pilgrimages Dates | Price |
|---|
| RI10 0906 | September 06 - 15, 2010 | $2,799.00 | | RI10 0920 | September 20 - 29, 2010 | $2,799.00 | | RI10 1004 | October 04 - 13, 2010 | $2,799.00 | | RI10 1018 | October 18 - 27, 2010 | $2,799.00 | | RI10 1108 | November 08 - 17, 2010 | $2,599.00 | Airport Taxes: *$300 subject to change
Single Supplement: $749.00
Special Add-on Fares available from your hometown.
click here for more information. |
| Tour # | 2011 Pilgrimages Dates | Price |
|---|
| RI11 0124 | January 24 - February 02, 2011 | $2,499.00 | | RI11 0221 | February 21 - March 02, 2011 | $2,499.00 | | RI11 0307 | March 07 - 16, 2011 | $2,499.00 | | RI11 0321 | March 21 - 30, 2011 | $2,599.00 | | RI11 0404 | April 04 - 13, 2011 | $2,999.00 | | RI11 0418 | April 18 - 27, 2011 | $2,999.00 | | RI11 0502 | May 02 - 11, 2011 | $2,999.00 | | RI11 0516 | May 16 - 25, 2011 | $3,699.00 | | RI11 0613 | June 13 - 22, 2011 | $3,699.00 | | RI11 0627 | June 27 - July 06, 2011 | $3,699.00 | | RI11 0711 | July 11 - 20, 2011 | $3,449.00 | | RI11 0725 | July 25 - August 03, 2011 | $3,449.00 | | RI11 0808 | August 08 - 17, 2011 | $3,449.00 | | RI11 0822 | August 22 - 31, 2011 | $3,449.00 | | RI11 0905 | September 05 - 14, 2011 | $2,999.00 | | RI11 0919 | September 19 - 28, 2011 | $2,999.00 | | RI11 1003 | October 03 - 12, 2011 | $2,999.00 | | RI11 1017 | October 17 - 26, 2011 | $2,799.00 | | RI11 1031 | October 31 - November 09, 2011 | $2,649.00 | | RI11 1114 | November 14 - 23, 2011 | $2,649.00 | | RI11 1128 | November 28 - December 07, 2011 | $2,649.00 | Airport Taxes: *$300 subject to change
Single Supplement: $749.00
Special Add-on Fares available from your hometown.
click here for more information. |
Click here to register on-line Questions? Call (800) 715-6670 Register early and save up to of $100.00 per person.
Click here for details |
