The call to pilgrimage is a profound and personal one. God invites us to step outside of our daily lives, to encounter the divine in unexpected places, and to be transformed by the journey. Today, we heed this call as we set out for Madrid, the first leg of our Dominican pilgrimage. As we board our flight from our local airport, let us do so with open hearts, ready to receive whatever gifts this journey may offer us. The journey ahead is an invitation to deepen our relationship with Our Lord, with our fellow pilgrims, and with ourselves.

Upon arrival in Madrid, board Transportation to Caleruega, the birthplace of St. Dominic and our home for the first leg of this pilgrimage. Stay in a Dominican Convent in this charming town that was so formative for St. Dominic.

Visit St. Dominic’s Well, a museum housing items related to the history of the Dominicans, the parish church built on the site of St. Dominic’s birth, and the crypt of St. Dominic that was discovered in excavations. Visit the Benedictine Monks at St. Dominic de Silos Monastery and el Burgo de Osma cathedral.

Board our transportation to make our way to the region of Fanjeaux/ Prouille, stopping along the way in Burgos, San Sebastian and Toulouse. St. Dominic would have walked this route, so we are glad to take these two days to travel by bus, spending one night in San Sebastian.

Toulouse is home to the Church of the Jacobins, the relics of St. Thomas Aquinas, the 1st house of the Dominicans which has a tiny Chapel where we know St. Dominic would have preached. Enjoy lunch on your own in Toulouse before continuing to Carcassone. Carcassonne, a medieval town outside of Fanjeaux/Prouille becomes the perfect home base for our visits to the important sights around this region.

On July 22, 1206, Dominic was at prayer on a hill in Fanjeaux in the evening, when he saw a globe of fire descend and come to a standstill on the Chapel of St. Mary of Prouille. This “seignadou” (sign of God) happened on three successive nights, telling Dominic to establish a monastery in this place. Nine women became the first Dominican nuns, and entered this monastery. We’ll visit the “assassin’s cross” en route to Fanjeaux, where St. Dominic was ambushed by heretics (who were later converted), as well as St. Dominic’s house, the ancient Church, the “Seignadou” hill, and get a feel for the towns where St. Dominic spent many of his years preaching.

As the trip to Italy is another long stretch, we’ll enjoy visiting the Matisse Chapel, a Dominican Chapel in St. Paul de Vence, before spending the night in Nice.

Welcome to Bologna, the city where St. Dominic founded first convents, where important general chapters were held and where he died, leaving his last testament: “Have charity for one another, guard humility, and make a treasure of voluntary poverty” and “I shall be more useful to you in heaven than on earth”.

Today we will be blessed to be in the place where St. Dominic spent his last years. Visit the Basilica of St. Dominic, the incredible Rosary Chapel, and the tomb of St. Dominic.

Visit the ancient walled town that was home to St. Catherine, a powerhouse Dominican Saint and a doctor of the Church. Visit the sanctuary that was built upon the home of St. Catherine. Finish our pilgrimage considering her well-known decree, “be who God made you to be and you will set the world on fire!” Next stop Villaggio Betania, a residence ran by Dominican Sisters just outside of Rome in Bracciano. This will be our home for next three nights. You will enjoy Mass and dinner followed by an overnight stay at the Dominican Sisters’ Convent.

Visit San Sisto Vecchio and Santa Sabina. Free time for lunch, Afternoon we visit Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and have some free time on our own. Return to Bracciano for dinner and overnight.

St. Peter’s Basilica, then Monte Mario convent. Afternoon we visit Santa Maria Maggiore (where we will pray the Rosary), and finish with drinks in the Sala Torretta of the Angelicum. Return to Bracciano for our farewell dinner and overnight.

As dawn breaks over Rome, we prepare for our journey back home. After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, your group will leave by motor coach and transfer to Rome Fiumicino airport for return flights home. We trade the cobblestones of Italy for the familiar pathways of our homeland. Yet, we are not the same as when we left.

*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.