11 DAYS PILGRIMAGE TO ITALY
MAY 14: BEGINNING OUR PILGRIMAGE Depart North America via jet service enroute to Rome, Italy. Meals will be served in flight.
MAY 15: ROME Upon your arrival in Rome, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Balance day at leisure. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
MAY 16: PAPAL AUDIENCE AND VATICAN After breakfast we drive to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience. Visit St. Peter’s Basilica built on the site where St. Peter was martyred. Construction of St. Peter’s began in 1506 and was completed in 1626. St. Peter is buried here along with many other popes. Afternoon proceed to visit the Vatican Museum and Library, as well as the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Treasury. Return to hotel for Dinner and overnight.
MAY 17: BASILICAS OF ROME After breakfast proceed to the Basilica of St. John in Lateran, St. John Lateran is Rome’s cathedral; it is here that the pope officiates in his capacity as bishop of Rome. The former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377. Continue to the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Holy Cross in Jerusalem). It is one of the seven pilgrimage churches in the Eternal City. Santa Croce is well worth a visit for its extraordinary collection of relics from the Holy Land and its full-sized replica of the Shroud of Turin.
This afternoon we proceed to St. Paul Outside the Walls to visit the burial place of St. Paul the Apostle. The chapel of relics has numerous relics, the most notable of which are a set of chains said to be the prison chains of St. Paul, used in the last days before his execution. Mass will be celebrated. Continue to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome’s only gothic church. View the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), whose body lies beneath the main altar. Continue to the Pantheon for a brief visit and then on to the Spanish Steps. Return to your hotel for dinner.
MAY 18: DAY TRIP TO SUBIACO Today’s excursion is to St. Benedict’s Monastery at Subiaco. We will have Mass in Subiaco. Proceed to Tivoli Gardens for a brief visit. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
MAY 19: ANCIENT ROME After breakfast we will start our tour with Visit to St. Maria Maggiore Basilica, on the highest point on the Esquiline Hill. Then proceed to the Basilica di San Clemente (Basilica of St. Clement), including the excavations, an early Christian basilica in Rome dedicated to Pope St. Clement (d. 99 AD). The Basilica of St. Clement hosted two papal councils in the 5th century. In 1857 Fr. Joseph Mullooly, O.P., then the Prior of San Clemente, began excavations under the present basilica, uncovering not only the original, fourth century basilica directly underneath, but also an even lower level, the remains of a first-century building. Then proceed to the Colosseum, where fights between men and beasts, gladiatorial contests, races and simulated naval battles took place in the arena. Continue to the Roman Forum, the religious, political, and commercial centre of ancient Rome. The Roman Forum which stands in the center of modern Rome as a romantic statement to past greatness. Once upon a time, most of the known world was directly affected by decisions made in the Roman Forum. Walking tour of the Forum. This afternoon we will proceed along the Appian Way on our way to visit the Catacombs. Visit the Catacombs of St. Callixtus where early Christians held their forbidden service to escape persecution. Mass will be celebrated. Return to your hotel for dinner.
MAY 20: ROME/ORVIETO/ASSISI Depart Rome this morning and drive to Assisi via Orvieto. Then proceed to Orvieto where we visit the Cathedral of Orvieto. In the chapel of the Cathedral of Orvieto is the holy corporal containing the blood from the Eucharistic Miracle of Orvieto in 1263 that occasioned the proclamation of the Feast of Corpus Christi and inspired St.Thomas Aquinas to write the famous hymn “Tantum Ergo.” Mass will be celebrated. Proceed to Assisi, we will visit the Monastery of St. Damian (Covneto di San Damiano) closely associated with St. Francis, who received his calling here and also with St. Clare who died here in 1253. We will also visit Carceri Hermitage, a series of caves where St. Francis came to meditate and pray, together with some disciples. Dinner and overnight in Assisi.
MAY 21: ASSISI/FLORENCE After breakfast we will visit the home of St. Francis. We will visit the Basilica of St. Francis, the upper Basilica with Giotto frescos representing St. Francis’ life, the lower Basilica and the Tomb of St. Francis. Mass will be celebrated. Continue to the Basilica of St. Clare, the basilica was built between 1257 and 1265 and houses the incorrupt body of St. Clare. Continue to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Portiuncula Chapel, the birthplace of the Franciscan order. Proceed to Florence for dinner and overnight in Florence.
MAY 22: FLORENCE Full day tour of Florence, the Renaissance city. Visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore, with its great representation of Tuscan Gothic Architecture. The giant dome, designed by Bunelleschi, is decorated by an immense fresco, "The Last Judgement", by Vasari and Zuccaro. Over the Porta Della Manorla along the north wall is by Ghiriandaio. Next, we proceed to visit Giotto’s Bell Tower. This 14th century Campanile rises to a height of 292 feet. Continue to visit the Baptistry of San Giovanni, with Ghiberti’s greatest work, the East Door or “Great of Paradise” which took the artist some 27 years to complete. Visit the Academy Gallery, where you will see some of the most famous works of art in the world including Michelangelo’s David. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
MAY 23: BOLOGNA/FLORENCE This morning after breakfast, we will visit the Basilica of San Domenico, one of the major churches in Bologna where the remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) are buried inside the exquisite shrine. Mass will be celebrated. Continue to Convent of San Marco, named for a religious complex in Florence, Italy. It comprises a church and a convent. The convent, which is now a museum, during the 15th century, was home to two famous Dominicans, the painter Fra Angelico and the preacher, Girolamo Savonarola. Afterward you will be transferred to your hotel in Florence and the balance of the day is at leisure to relax.
MAY 24: FLORENCE / NORTH AMERICA Transfer to the airport for your return flight to North America.
$3,899.00 From New York, (JFK)
(Plus Tips, Taxes and Fuel Surcharge)
$3,949.00 From Houston, (IAH)
(Plus Tips, Taxes, and Fuel Surcharge)
$4,179.00 From Dallas (DFW)
(Plus Tips, Taxes, and Fuel Surcharge)
$3,470.00 Land Only
(Plus Tips)
For more information, please contact: Amanda Tellez
Tel: 800-803-0118
Or Visit:
www.rometrip.info
