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 arrival at Rome airport, collect your luggage in the baggage claim area and continue to the Arrivals Hall, where you will be greeted by a tour escort and/or driver. You will make your way to the bus and transfer to your hotel in Assisi. Following check-in, this afternoon, you will have free time to explore Assisi. This evening your group will meet in the hotel lobby for a “Meet and Greet” with your fellow pilgrims and attend a welcome dinner.

As you visit the birthplace of St. Francis, you will become captivated as the atmosphere has not changed since St. Francis began his ministry, in the early 13th-century. You will start your tour at the St. Francis Basilica, visit his 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. From there, you will continue on a walking tour through this picturesque town, including the birthplace of St. Francis, and end with a tour of 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 prayer, shop in the many gift shops, or enjoy a nice lunch. 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 his 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 overnight.

After breakfast, we will travel to Orvieto to visit the Cathedral that houses the holy corporal containing the blood from the Eucharistic miracle of Bolsena, which led to the proclamation of Corpus Christi. In the afternoon, we’ll travel to Rome to meet with Blessed Carlo’s mother (subject to availability) We will check-in to our final hotel in Rome for dinner and an overnight stay.

After breakfast, we’ll visit the Basilica of San Silvestro in Capite, which contains the relics of St. Tarcisius, to whom Blessed Carlo had a special devotion. After, we will tour St. Peter’s Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter the Apostle was martyred. Here, you will 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, we’ll head to the Church of San Carlo Borromeo. It was in this Church that Blessed Carlo’s Eucharistic Exhibit was first displayed. Blessed Carlo dedicated himself to creating a website dedicated to cataloguing each reported Eucharistic miracle in the world and maintaining a list of the approved Marian apparitions. He launched the website in 2004 and worked on it for two and a half years, involving his entire family in the project. It was unveiled on 4 October 2006, the Feast of St. Francis, only days before his death. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Today we start with a visit the one of the oldest and major Basilicas in Rome, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran. This Basilica is where Pope Francis was installed as Bishop of Rome and is home to the relics of Saints Peter and Paul. Next, you will cross the street to visit the Holy Stairs. These Holy Stairs are believed to be 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. Visit the Basilica of Santa Croce, one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches which is believed to hold relics of the True Cross. We conclude our day with a Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major. This Church, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, is the only Basilica that has kept its original structure and is an authentic jewel in the crown of Roman Churches. This Basilica contains a relic from the Manger of the Infant Jesus. Enjoy dinner at the hotel and a restful overnight.

Witness history on the momentous day Blessed Carlo Acutis is declared a Saint! Blessed Carlo is the first Saint of the Millennial generation and truly a Eucharistic Missionary for the Digital Age. His canonization will be the highlight of the Jubilee for Teenagers. We will make our way today to St. Peters Square to secure our spot for the canonization ceremony. Witness the grandeur, music, and moving speeches as Bl. Carlo is elevated to Sainthood. This unforgettable day concludes with dinner and an overnight in Rome.

This morning, we will make our way back to St. Peters for the Memorial Mass. 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.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, transfer to Rome 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.