Pilgrimage tour to the Shrines of Italy & Passion Play in Oberammergau 2022

Day 1 Depart for Rome

Depart New Orleans for your overnight journey to Rome. Your meals will be served on board the transatlantic flight.

Day 2 Arrival in Rome

Welcome to Rome, also known as, “The Eternal City.” Upon arrival at Rome airport, collect your luggage in the baggage claim area, and continue to the arrival hall, where you will be greeted by a tour escort and driver and transfer to your hotel. Following check-in, you will have free time to unpack and relax or explore Rome on your own. Your tour escort may suggest places to visit. Later in the afternoon, you will depart for Mass enjoy a Welcome Dinner. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to walk to St. Peter’s Square as a group, for the Rosary (optional).

Day 3 – Rome: St. Peter’s Basilica – Vatican Museum – Appian Way – Catacombs – Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls – Spanish Steps from Trinità dei Monti

This morning you will enjoy an early breakfast before making your way to the largest Christendom Church, St. Peter’s Basilica. This Basilica was built on the site where St. Peter was martyred. Here you will celebrate Mass and have time to view Michelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s great Canopy and pray at the tomb of Saint John Paul II. Continue to proceed to the Vatican Museums. Here you will see the Tapes-try Gallery, Raphael Rooms, and the Sistine Chapel, which contains Michelangelo’s Masterpiece, the restored mural of the Last Judgment. There will be time for lunch before traveling down the Appian Way, the earliest road of Ancient Rome, passing the Domino Quo Vadis Chapel, the Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Drusus and the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, arriving at the catacombs of St. Callixtus where many Christian Martyrs and Popes were buried, and where Holy Mass was celebrated to avoid persecution from the Romans. From here we will visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Originally founded by Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century, this Basilica is the burial place of Saint Paul the Apostle. Finally, on our way back to the hotel we will stop in front of the Trinita Dei Monti church and take in the magnificent view of Rome from atop the Spanish Steps. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Day 4 – Rome: Basilica of St. John the Lateran – Holy Steps – Basilica of St. Mary Major

After breakfast, we will visit the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, the oldest of the four major basilicas in Rome. It is the Cathedral of Rome, where Pope Francis officiates as the Bishop, and it also contains the relics of Peter and Paul. From here we will cross the street to visit the Holy Staircase, where you may climb the steps on your knees, in memory of Christ’s agonizing Passion. Tradition states that this staircase is from Pontius Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus, which was excavated and brought to Rome by St. Helen in the 4th century. From here we will proceed to the nearby Basilica of St. Mary Major, which contains a relic from the Manger of the Infant Jesus. We will walk to Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s most famous and picturesque squares lined with cafes, gelaterias, and three lavish fountains. Here you will have time for lunch, before walking to the famous Trevi Fountain and to the Pantheon which has the largest unsupported dome in the world. It was the first pagan temple ever to be transformed into a church. Enjoy some free time before dinner. Overnight in Rome.

Day 5 – Rome – Monte Cassino – San Giovanni Rotondo

Following breakfast, you will board your bus to enjoy the scenic route to Montecassino, the principal monastery of the Benedictine Order, founded by Saint Benedict around 530 A.D. Following the tour, there will be an opportunity to visit the gift shop, before we board the bus to continue toward San Giovan-ni Rotondo, the hometown of Saint Padre Pio. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni.

Day 6 – San Giovanni Rotondo – Monte Sant’ Angel

This morning, we will visit the Old Church where we will have Mass, and tour the sanctuary which contains the crucifix, in front of which St. Pio received the stigmata. Visit the confessional from where St. Pio spent an innumerable amount of hours listening to confessions. Next, we will board the bus and travel along the beautiful Gargano Peninsula to the Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel, a shrine consecrated by St. Michael himself. At this grotto, St. Michael appeared to a Bishop to assure him that his diocese would not be annihilated as he feared. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni.

Day 7 – Lanciano – Manoppello – Loreto

After breakfast, we will head to Lanciano and have Mass at the Church of St. Longinus, the site of the Eucharistic Miracle that occurred in the eighth century. While celebrating Mass, a Basilian monk who struggled with the belief in the real presence of The Lord Jesus in the Eucharist, said the “Words of Consecration” and the bread turned into living flesh, and the wine transformed into blood. From here we will travel through the Italian countryside that is known for its villas and vineyards on the way to Manoppello where you will visit the church containing the miraculous image of Christ’s face on a veil, the “veronica” (true icon) in the Santuario del Volto Santo. We will have time for prayer and veneration, before walking to a nearby restaurant for lunch. In the afternoon, we’ll continue up the Adriatic coast to Loreto for dinner and overnight. Din-ner and overnight near Loreto.

Day 8 – Loreto – Assisi

This morning we will have Mass and visit the great Marian shrine of Loreto. We will visit the Holy House of Nazareth and see the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived, and it was transported by angels to this hill in central Italy, in 1294. After lunch, we will travel to the hometown of St. Francis, “Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment.”

We will have time to explore this tranquil hilltop town before gathering for dinner. Overnight in Assisi.

Day 9 Assisi

After breakfast, we will enjoy a full day of touring, starting at the Basilica of St. Francis to visit his tomb and have the opportunity to view a series of frescoes depicting his life, along with a few of the saint’s possessions. From there, we will continue on a walking tour through this picturesque town, including the birthplace of St. Francis, and ending with a tour of the Church that honors St. Clare, the foundress of the Poor Clare Sisters. This Saint followed the teachings of St. Francis very closely by also living a life of poverty and humility. After time for lunch, we will board the bus, which will take us outside of the walls of Assisi, to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels. This is where St. Francis spent most of his life. This Basilica is made up of two structures, both of which you will visit. The first structure is the “Porziuncola,” which is where St. Francis founded his order of the Friar Minor (Franciscans) in the early 13th-century. The second is the “Capella del Transito”, which is the place of St. Francis’ death. During your time here, you 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. Dinner and overnight in Assisi.

Day 10 Rome – Oberammergau

After breakfast depart to Rome airport for your flight to Munich. Upon arrival at Munich Airport, you will meet your German tour guide and driver, and enjoy a picturesque ride through Bavaria to your hotel near Oberammergau. Upon arrival, we will celebrate Mass and enjoy a German dinner. Overnight near Oberammergau.

Day 11 Oberammergau – Passion Play Performance

We will start our day by celebrating Mass and enjoy some free time until lunch, after which we will make our way to the world-famous Passion Play Theatre, to attend what will be a performance of a lifetime – the 42nd Oberammergau Passion Play. The Play runs for approximately five and a half hours and is performed in two (2) Acts.

Act I will begin at 2:30 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

(Intermission: From 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M., during which you will have dinner at a restaurant that is within walking distance from the theatre)

Act II will begin at 8:00 P.M. and conclude at 10:30 P.M.

What makes this performance so extraordinary is how the Stage truly comes alive! Not only in the decoration of the Set and the performance of the Actors but with real animals and birds playing under the open sky. There are thirty-six (36) main actors who are dressed in white costumes, with their supporting cast dressed in greyish blue. The actors do not wear makeup, as that is their natural hair. Every scene is real, and live, so for example the actor who is tied to the cross has to stay in that position for more than one (1) hour In between each scene, there are “Living Tableaus”, where the live actors perform intricate sets of the Old Testament. All of the 2,000 actors, singers, instrumentalists, and stage technicians for the Passion Play are actual citizens of Oberammergau. You can never describe the feeling you get, as you see these stories being performed right in front of you.

Day 12 Oberammergau – Füssen – Munich

After breakfast, we will depart the Oberammergau area to Füssen, the southernmost point of the “Romantic Road.” It is also the birthplace and childhood home of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R. Born on January 11, 1819, he was baptized the same day in St Mang Parish Church. Here you will have Mass in the Basilica and visit the Shrine of Blessed Seelos, the Anacappella and the old Benedictine Monastery. Enjoy lunch in this picturesque village before continuing on to Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Upon arrival, we’ll visit many of Munich’s top sites; Marienplatz with its world-famous “Glockenspiel’; the twin-towered Frauenkirche (the Church of Our Lady), which serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich; followed by some free time for shopping or perhaps a beer and some Bavarian music at the world-famous Hofbräuhaus. Din-ner and overnight in Munich.

Day 13 – Return from Munich to New Orleans

Today we transfer to the Munich Airport for the return flights to New Orleans.

Included Tour Features

*Roundtrip airfare from New Orleans, LA (Prices available from other cities.)
*11 nights Accommodations (Double Occupancy)
     3 nights – Rome
     2 nights – San Giovanni Rotundo
     1 night – Loreto
     2 nights – Assisi
     2 nights – Oberammergau
     1 night – Munich
*Breakfast and Dinner Daily
*Lunch in Manoppello
*Lunch in Oberammergau on the Day of the Performance
*Tours & Airport Transfers via Private Motorcoach
*Professional English Speaking Guides in Italy & Germany
*Tickets to the Passion Play
*Official Passion Play Program in English
*Luggage handling (1 piece per person)
*Flight bag & Travel document portfolio
*Daily Mass and Spiritual Activities Coordinated with Fr. David Ducote, Fr. Matthew Johnston, Fr. Ken Smith & Fr. Chris Zavackis

Tour # OB22 0615-NO
All-Inclusive Price: $6,295 per person based on double occupancy from New Orleans

A $1,600 Non-refundable Deposit is due upon confirmation.
Final Payments are due February 15, 2022. The single supplement is $2,725.

Sold Out!  Email jimmy@catholicjourneys.com to be placed on the waitlist.

or call Jimmy to book this life-changing pilgrimage tour.

Optional Travel Insurance Available– highly recommended