Make your way to your local airport, where you will board your overnight flight(s). Your meals will be served on board.

Welcome to Rome, also known as “The Eternal City.” Upon landing at the Rome airport, claim your baggage and proceed to the Arrivals Hall, where your tour guide and/or driver will greet you. Following check-in at the hotel, you may have some free time to unpack, relax, or explore Rome on your own. Later this afternoon, the group will meet for a Welcome Mass and dinner. Overnight in Rome.

Today we will tour St. Peter’s Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter the Apostle was martyred. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to view Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture and pray at the tombs of Pope Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II. After lunch, continue down the Appian Way, one of the earliest roads built in ancient Rome to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls and the Catacombs. This evening, you will enjoy a VIP after-hours private guided tour of the Vatican Museum. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to explore the incredible art and see the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms, and Sistine Chapel quietly and in peace after all visitors have left. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

This morning, we will celebrate the Holy Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. This Basilica contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. After, we will visit the Pantheon, an ancient Roman building, that is renowned for its large concrete dome. After lunch, the rest of the afternoon is your own for prayer, reflection, or exploring the beautiful city. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

We begin with the Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square! The Audience is celebrated each Wednesday by His Holiness, Pope Francis (pending the papal schedule). Following the Audience, we will visit the Trevi Fountain, where you may enjoy some free time on your own for lunch. This afternoon, visit the oldest of the four major Basilicas in Rome, and the home to the relics of Peter and Paul, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran. This Basilica is where Pope Francis was installed as Bishop of Rome. Next, you will cross the street to visit the Holy Stairs. These Holy Stairs are the very steps leading up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem on which Jesus stepped on his way to trial during his Passion. The Stairs were brought to Rome by Saint Helena in the fourth century. Ascend these stairs on your knees, in memory of Christ’s agonizing Passion.

After breakfast, we will leave for Assisi. Our first stop on the way will be Orvieto, a city situated on a cliff in the Umbria region. Orvieto is a city known for its Cathedral, considered one of the most architecturally important in Europe, for its Etruscan roots, and for the museums where one finds collections and displays that range over 2,500 years of history. Most importantly, the relic of one of the most famous Eucharistic Miracles in history is housed in the Cathedral, where pilgrims may venerate the corporal that is stained with blood from the consecrated Host which began to bleed during a Mass in Bolsena in 1263. Your tour of Orvieto will be a very memorable experience and concludes with lunch (included). We’ll depart from Orvieto and travel onward to Bolsena, the ancient city that is the site of the Eucharistic Miracle that we venerated in Orvieto. In 1263, in the Church of St. Christina, a priest (Fr. Peter of Prague) was saying Holy Mass, and after he spoke the words of Consecration, blood started to seep from the Host onto the corporal cloth. This is the Miracle that inspired the Pope to institute the Solemnity of Corpus Christi the following year, in 1264. After this prayerful and inspiring day, end your journey in Assisi, hometown of St. Francis and St. Clare, with dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Wake up in Assisi, home of St. Francis and St. Clare. You’ll be captivated by how the atmosphere has not changed much since St. Francis first began his ministry, in the early 13th century. You will visit the Santuario Della Spogliazione where Blessed Carlo Acutis’ tomb is placed. Carlo is the first millennial to be declared Blessed who loved the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. From there, you will continue a walking tour through this picturesque town, to 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. Enjoy some free time on your own – you may take this time for additional prayers, shopping, or relaxation. Dinner and overnight.

Today we dedicate to St. Francis, as we follow in his footsteps. You will start your tour at the St. Francis Basilica, where we visit his tomb and view a series of frescoes depicting his life and a few of the saint’s possessions. After lunch, you will board the bus, which will take you outside of the walls of Assisi, to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels. This is where St. Francis spent most of 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). 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. Return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight.

After breakfast, you will drive through the beautiful Umbrian mountains to Gubbio. Enjoy this medieval town with a visit to St. Francis Church, where you will be celebrating Mass. After Mass, visit a town that seems painted onto the hill, a succession of backdrops against which towers and houses stand out, all embraced by walls. The town had been freed by St. Francis from a terrible and fierce wolf who afflicted it. After lunch on your own, continue to La Verna, the place where St. Francis, over the years, had been seven times, the last time in 1224 where he received the stigmata. Here you will be able to pray in the Chapel of the Stigmata, the Basilica, and the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels. You will also be able to admire the beautiful artwork of Andrea della Robbia. Return to Assisi for dinner and your last overnight.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, you will be transferred to Rome Fiumicino airport for return flights home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
Occasionally local religious and national holidays, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of events or the missing of certain events/places. Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of events and places to be visited.