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 Rome airport, claim your baggage and proceed to the arrival hall, where your tour guide and/or driver will greet you. Following check-in at the hotel, enjoy some free time to unpack, relax or explore Rome on your own. Your tour escort may suggest places to visit. Later this afternoon, your group will meet in the hotel lobby for a meet and greet with fellow pilgrims and your Priest. Together depart for Mass. Following Mass, you will attend a Welcome Dinner. After dinner you have to opportunity to join in a walk to St. Peter’s Square for the Rosary (optional).

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 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. We will be able to walk through the Holy Doors before crossing the street to the very steps that lead up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem which Jesus climbed on His way to trial during his Passion. The day will conclude by a visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. This Basilica contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. You will also walk through its Holy Doors, and then have some time on your own before we gather in the evening for dinner and overnight in Rome.

After breakfast, we start the day by touring St. Peter’s Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter the Apostle was martyred. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to walk through the Holy Doors, and then view Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture, pray at the tombs of Pope Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II. After some free time for 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. You will be able to walk through the Holy Doors, and then have some time on your own before we gather in the evening for dinner and overnight in Rome.

Following breakfast, we will celebrate Mass and then take a day tour that encompasses all of the sites aligned with Ancient Rome. This includes Piazza del Popolo, and then walking to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, followed by Piazza Navona, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, and concluding at the Pantheon. You will then make your way through the Roman Forum, as well as the Colosseum. You will then have the remainder of the day free to spend as you would like. Feel free to inquire with your Escort with ideas or thoughts on things to do. You can go shopping, take a tour inside the Colosseum, take a stroll across the Bridge of Angels or enjoy some more time in one of the Piazzas. Return to the Hotel in time for dinner and overnight.

Following breakfast, transfer from Rome to Assisi. the hometown of St. Francis. Throughout this bus ride, your tour escort will share very interesting information regarding the spiritual, historical, and cultural aspects of Italy. On the way to Assisi we will make a stop in Orvieto, where a Eucharistic Miracle is preserved in the Cathedral of Orvieto. In 1263, a Priest stopped to celebrate Mass at Saint Christina’s Church in Bolsena. Having doubts that the Eucharist was really the Body and Blood of Christ, the Priest was shocked when the host began to bleed right after the prayer of consecration. Unable to hide this fact, he interrupted the Mass and went to Orvieto where Pope Urban IV was in residence. The Pope ordered that the miraculous host and then linen altar cloth stained with blood be brought to Orvieto and placed on display, where it still rests today. The Cathedral also has some of the most magnificent frescoes to be found anywhere. The depicting visions of heaven and hell in the San Brizio Chapel rival those of the Sistine Chapel. We will continue on to Assisi where upon arriving you will check-in to your hotel, and relax or explore before enjoying dinner. Retire to your room for a restful night’s sleep.

Start the day with breakfast, and then 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, walk through the Holy Door, and then 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. 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. Then, we 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 your Hotel with 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 – and then gather at the Hotel for dinner and an overnight.

Today you’ll discover the Umbria region, also called “Italy’s green heart”. Drive to the town of Bevagna, where ancient Roman monuments date back to the 1st century B.C. Just a few steps from the Forum, see the remains of a temple and check out the thermal baths which are still decorated with frescoes. Explore the medieval heart of the city, including the 13th-century Palazzo dei Consoli, and the 19th-century theater with decorations by Domenico Bruschi and a ceiling of dancing muses by Mariano Piervittori. After the visit of Bevagna, transfer back to Assisi for some free time on your own before dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, you gather to celebrate Mass and then have the remainder of the day free to spend at your own leisure. Feel free to walk back to any of the sites you viewed yesterday, take in some of the local restaurants, shop at the quintessential Book stores, or simply sit by the fountain in the town square and enjoy some gelato. You will gather in the evening for dinner and a restful nights sleep.

After an early morning wake up, with 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.