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back to Europe Destinations
DAY 01: BEGINNING OUR PILGRIMAGE Depart North America via jet service to Rome, Italy.
DAY 02: ROME, THE ETERNAL CITY Arrival in Rome where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Enroute you will drive along Via Cavour, Piazza Della Republica with Najads Fountain, Via Nazionale, Piazza Venezia where you will drive by the monument of King Victor Emanuel II. Drive on the Via Del Fori Imperiali for a panoramic view of the Roman Forum and capitol Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, Circus Maximus, Aventin Hill, and Porta S. Paolo. Transfer to the hotel for the balance of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
DAY 03: ROME This morning visit the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel and its magnificent fresco The Last Judgement and the Spiral Staircase. Tour St. Peter's Basilica one of the four major basilicas in Rome. Drive along the Appian Way to the Catacombs where early Christians held their forbidden services and buried their dead. Overnight in Rome.
DAY 04: ROME / OVIETO / SIENA / ASSISI After morning Mass, depart Rome to Ovieto to visit the Cathedral and town. Continue to Siena, the birthplace of St. Catherine and St. Bernadine. Stroll the Piazza del Campo, visit the Basilica of St. Francis containing the miraculous consecrated hosts which have remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine, the mystical bride of Christ at St. Dominic's Basilica. Afternoon continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight.
DAY 05: ASSISI Morning Mass will be at the Tomb of St. Francis. Visit the Basilica of St. Francis, the Church of St. Clare and St. Mary of the Angels Basilica, site of the Porziuncola, the thornless rose bush, and Carceri Hermitage, a series of caves where St. Francis came to meditate and pray, together with some disciples. The minute church, hollowed out of the rock, already existed when St. Francis was wont to retreat to these cells. Overnight in Assisi.
DAY 06: ASSISI / CASCIA / LORETO Morning departure from Assisi to Cascia to see the Eucharistic Miracle and the Sanctuary of St. Rita, the saint of the impossible. A married woman, mother, widow, nun, mystic, stigmatist, and a saint with an incorruptable body, St. Rita played many roles in her life. Visit the Basilica where you will see relics such as the crucifix from which she received the stigmata. View the blood-stained pages of the brevary which cradled the miraculous host, leaving a perfect outline of Christ's face. Depart Cascia and drive along the Adriatic coast to the 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. Mass at the Shrine of Loreto then proceed to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
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DAY 07: LORETO / LANCIANO / SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO This morning continue your drive along the Adriatic to Lanciano to see the 8th century Eucharistic miracle in the Church of Lagontial. After expressing doubt about Christ's true presence in the consecrated host, a monk found himself holding a host that had changed into flesh and wine that had changed into blood. Continue to San Giovanni Rotondo for dinner and overnight.
DAY 08: SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO After celebrating Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio, tour the sanctuary. See the old church and the crucifix from which Padre Pio received the stigmata in 1918 as well as the confessional. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Cargano Peninsula and visit 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 protection of St. Michael. A panoramic view of the ocean and surrounding countryside awaits you at this celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St. Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions and reflection. Overnight in San Giovanni.
DAY 09: SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO / MONTE CASSINO / ROME Morning Mass. Depart San Giovanni this morning and drive westward toward Rome. Stop in Monte Cassino, the Benedictine Monastery founded in 529. Continue to Rome for dinner and overnight.
DAY 10: ROME Morning Mass. This morning visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. Continue to the Basilica of John the Lateran including the Holy Staircase, Chapel of "Domine Quo Vadis?" Continue to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. This basilica was built by Constantine in the 4th century on the site of St. Paul's tomb. Return to your hotel.
DAY 11: ANCIENT ROME Morning Mass. Today tour ancient Rome. The Roman Forum, the religious, political, and commercial center of ancient Rome, reflects twelve centuries of history which created the Roman civilization. Although despoiled of their once marble splendor, remains of the buildings and temples can still be identified: the Arch of Septitus Seuerus; the Curia (Senate House); the small Temple of Vesta where the "eternal flame" once burned tended by the Vestal virgins; the Basilica Julia (founded by Julius Caesar), the Arch of Titus commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian and Titus in 70 AD. Continue to the Colosseum, once the scene of bloody gladiatorial combats. Next visit the Pantheon whose mighty dome was the supreme achievement of Roman interior architecture. Return to your hotel.
DAY 12: ROME / NORTH AMERICA Transfer to the airport for your return flight to North America.
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