After breakfast, our guided tour of Lourdes will include the sanctuary; the Basilica of St Pius X, the world's largest underground church; and the baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place. Enjoy a video presentation telling the story of Lourdes, and walk in the footsteps of St Bernadette. See Boly Mill where St Bernadette was born and the "Cachot," an abandoned prison where Bernadette's impoverished family lived. Join your prayers with those of pilgrims from around the world as you pray for the sick, drink water from the miraculous spring,pray at the Grotto and submerge yourself in the healing baths. Experience Christ's love as you walk the life-sized Stations of the Cross overlooking the holy Grotto. Kneel in the chapel built on the very rock of the Grotto in obedience to the request of the "Immaculate Conception." Attend the blessing of the sick and participate in nightly candlelight processions requested by Our Lady, and take time for private devotions. Each evening dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Travel by flight(s) to Rome. Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you this morning and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel, depending on your time of arrival, you may have some time for rest, relaxation, or exploration.  You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

 

Day 11 - Rome  (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour) 
 Rome is the spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world! Rome is referred to as the "Eternal City" one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization,  and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth!   This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (pending papal schedule). 

Following the audience, we visit the Vatican Museums. Our tour will be escorted by Vatican guide who will show us group of most impressive edifices and 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.

Depending on time, before dinner, we may be given little time for some for some individual exploration, to find own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.

 

Day 12 - Rome   

This morning we depart for a sightseeing tour entitled "Christian Rome"

which includes:  the Basilica of 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 Holy Stairs, the Basilica of  St. John the Lateran, 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; and the Appian Way -- the oldest road from Roman times--plus the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel; see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus;  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 13 - Rome -  Monte Cassino - San Giovanni Rotondo

We leave the Eternal City and head south, cross through the Roman countryside with its villas and vineyards, stopping at the Abbey of Montecassino, a beautiful town founded by St. Benedict in 529. Continue through the countryside heading east to Padre Pios town of San Giovanni Rotondo,

our base for the following two nights. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo. 

 

Day 14 - San Giovanni Rotondo- Monte Sant’Angelo    

After celebrating Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio, we tour the sanctuary, see the old church and 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, and a restful overnight.

 

Day 15 - San Giovanni Rotondo - Lanciano - Loreto - Assisi    

We will have breakfast at our hotel before we embark on a drive up the Adriatic coast to Lanciano where we will see the Eucharistic Miracle and celebrate Mass.  We then continue on 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 first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived.  Continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

 

Day 16 - Assisi    

Visit  the 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 the saint's 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. We will visit these two saints' tombs before dinner and retiring for the evening.

 

Day 17 - Excursion to Sienna 

If you like, today, you may sit back, relax and reflect in Assisi, or you may join a new added tour to Sienna, 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 18 - Assisi - Rome - USA    

Depart from Assisi in the early morning for Rome for our return flights to the USA.

 

For Additional Information & Travel Tips Please Visit:

What to Know Before You Go to Portugal

What to Know Before You Go to Spain

What to Know Before You Go to France

What to Know Before You Go to Italy

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Any questions?      Call  800-206-TOUR  - or -    E-Mail Us

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2008 Departure Dates & Prices
	Travel Dates			Land Only	All Inclusive
	Jun	22 - Jul 09		$4,449	$6,249
	Jul	20 - Aug 06		$4,449	$6,249
	Aug	17 - Sep 03		$4,449	$6,299
	Aug	31 - 17		$4,449	$6,549
	Sep	14 - Oct 01		$4,449	$6,549
	Sep	28 - Oct 15		$4,449	$6,549
	Oct	12 - 29		$4,449	$6,149
	Nov	02 - 19		$4,449	$5,699
2009 Departure Dates & Prices
	Travel Dates			Land Only	All Inclusive
	Feb	01 - 18		$4,449	$5,549
	Mar	01 - 18		$4,449	$5,449
	Mar	15 - Apr 01		$4,449	$5,749
	Mar	29 - Apr 15