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

Upon landing at Rome airport, your tour guide and/or driver will greet you and bring you to your hotel. Meet your fellow pilgrims and your Priest in the hotel lobby. Depart for Mass and afterwards attend a welcome dinner. After dinner, you may join in a walk to St. Peter’s Square for the Rosary. On select evenings, Dr. Kresser will offer optional sunset walks to scenic churches and monuments.

This morning we attend the Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square or at the Audience Hall. The Audience is celebrated each Wednesday by His Holiness, Pope Francis (pending the papal schedule). Next, we will go to the Trevi Fountain area for some free time and lunch (on own). This afternoon, visit the oldest of the four major Basilicas in Rome, the Archbasilica of St. John the Lateran, the cathedral church and seat of the Bishop of Rome. Cross the street to what are thought to be the same steps which led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem which Jesus climbed on His way to trial during his Passion. Holy Mass will be celebrated by our priest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. This Basilica contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. Dinner and overnight.

Today we 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, as well as the tombs of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. We will also have the blessing of walking through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s which is only open during a Jubilee Year. Next, visit the Vatican Museum, which includes the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms, and Sistine Chapel. 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. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

This morning after breakfast we will celebrate Mass. Reminder of the day will be free for personal devotion and for you to explore, pray, reflect or maybe do some shopping in Rome. Dinner and overnight in Rome. You will also have the option to join Dr. Kresser on informal visits to other important sites, including the Capitoline Hill, which overlooks the Roman Forum and Colosseum, and the peaceful ancient church of Santa Sabina, which houses the cell of St. Dominic.

We leave Rome and travel North through the Umbrian Hills to Orvieto. This incredible town sits on a volcanic high rock formation. Here we visit one of the most beautiful and most renowned Cathedrals in Italy. Because of its strategic location, it’s Christian history officially started in 1004, but, Orvieto was built over preexisting Etruscan era cave tunnels dating back 2,500 years, which some historians believe Christians used to celebrate Mass when Christianity was forbidden. Next we visit nearby town of Bolsena and Cathedral housing the corporeal of the Miracle of the Eucharist which took place in 1262. Here we celebrate Mass. Continue to Assisi to the hometown of St. Francis and St. Clare. Upon arriving check-in to your hotel. Dinner and overnight. Retire to your room for a restful night’s sleep.

After breakfast, travel to Bevagna, a charming town in the heart of Umbria. Bevagna is a treasure of historical and artistic gems, and has profound religious significance. Its rich Catholic heritage is evident in its numerous churches, monasteries, and religious institutions. Visit the Church of San Francesco which is located in Bevagna’s historic center. Continue to the Monastery of San Silvestro, on a hilltop overlooking Bevagna. The Monastery of San Silvestro offers a tranquil retreat for those seeking spiritual solace. After lunch visit the Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie. The sanctuary, dating back to the 15th century, is home to a venerated statue of the Virgin Mary, believed to possess miraculous powers. Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

You will start your tour of Assisi at the Basilica of St. Francis. Visit the tomb of St. Francis, and have the opportunity to view a series of frescoes depicting his life, along with a few of the saint’s possessions. Followed by a visit to 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. See the birthplace of St. Francis and end with a tour of the Church that honors St. Clare, the foundress of the Poor Clare Sisters. Enjoy some free time on your own for prayer, shopping, or lunch. After, 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. 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, 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. Pray in the Chapel of the Stigmata, the Basilica and the Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels. Admire the beautiful artworks of Andrea della Robbia. Return to Assisi for dinner and your last overnight.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, your group will leave by motor coach and transfer to the 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.