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. Following check-in, this afternoon, your group will meet in the hotel lobby for a “Meet and Greet” with your fellow pilgrims and depart for Mass. After Mass you will attend a welcome dinner. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to walk to St. Peter’s Square, as a group, for the Rosary (optional).

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 Vigil Mass.

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.

This morning, you will ride through the beautiful Umbrian mountains to Orvieto. This incredible town sits on a volcanic high rock formation. Here we visit one of the most beautiful and renowned Cathedrals in Italy. Because of its strategic location, its 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. Continue to Assisi, 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. Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

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 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. From there, you will continue 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 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 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.