Make your way to your local airport, where you will board your overnight flight(s). Meals will be served on board.

Upon arrival at Palermo airport, you will meet your tour escort who will accompany you throughout your tour. We’ll transfer to our hotel in Palermo for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, spend a day exploring the best of Palermo. We’ll tour through Palermo’s colorful and bustling Ballaro street market – all spiced with an evocative whiff of Africa. See the top attractions in the old town of the Sicilian capital of Palermo, including the Teatro Massimo (exterior), Cathedral, and Politeama Theater (exterior). We will visit the Santuario of Santa Rosalia where the relics of the saint are kept. Born into a wealthy family, Rosalia felt a strong calling to a life of solitude and prayer. She fled to the mountains near Palermo, where she lived as a hermit and performed miracles. Rosalia’s holiness spread throughout Sicily, and people from all walks of life sought her intercession. Dinner and overnight in Palermo.

We’ll greet our driver and hop aboard our coach bound for the hill-topping town of Monreale, renowned for its Arab-flavored cathedral, blending Byzantine, Arab, Jewish, Gothic, and Norman traditions, heritage, and art. We’ll tour the cathedral’s interior of glittering, golden mosaics as well as the story-telling columns of the cloister. On to Cefalù to explore the beautiful seaside village with its stunning World Heritage Norman cathedral. Dinner and overnight at Mangia’s Pollina Resort.

After breakfast, departure for Catania, the second most important city in the island. City walking tour including the gorgeous cathedral of St. Agata of Catania a young Christian virgin from Catania who was martyred around the year 251 for refusing to renounce her faith and marry the Roman proconsul Quintianus. She is remembered for her courage and devotion and her relics are kept in a silver sarcophagus within the Cathedral of Sant’Agata. Explore the via Etnea and the via Crociferi, the very heart of baroque Catania. Dinner and overnight in the nearby town of Brucoli.

We’ll depart this morning to Siracusa. We’ll visit this place which illustrates the ancient history of the Mediterranean and Europe. Syracuse’s real attraction is the archaeological park, home to the pearly greek theatre. Constructed in the 5th century BC and rebuilt in the 3rd century, the 16,000-capacity amphitheatre staged the last tragedies of Aeschylus (including The Persians), first performed here in his presence. It serves as a model for the theaters across the Classical world where early Christians preached to their communities. Visit the Cathedral, Basilica and catacombs dedicated to St. Lucy the patroness of this city. We’ll also visit the Ortigia, dotted with impressive church facades, outdoor restaurants, elegant piazzas and surrounded by a crystalline sea. Dinner and overnight at the resort.

After breakfast, we’ll spend a day in beautiful Taormina with its remarkably situated ancient Greek theater, still used today for open-air performances. Later you’ll be free to enjoy the sights, sounds, and aromas of this beautiful cliffside old-world town. Dinner and overnight at the resort.

We will fly from Catania to Naples this morning. 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 your driver who will transfer to your hotel. Following check-in, you will have free time to unpack and relax or explore Rome on your own. Enjoy dinner on your own before a restful overnight.

This pilgrimage was designed for those who would like additional time to pray, reflect, and explore Rome. As a result, your itinerary is planned accordingly: the first three days will be sightseeing with your group, spiritual director and guide, the following 2 nights will be dedicated to individual exploration, private prayer and reflection. During the latter part of your trip, you will have full discretion over how your time is spent, so that you may have the fullest spiritual experience possible.

*Note: There will not be a Spiritual Director or guide accompanying you for these 2 nights. Additionally, dinner is on your own and not included.

After a relaxing morning on your own, your group will meet in the hotel lobby for a “Meet and Greet” with your fellow pilgrims and depart for Mass. Following 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).

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 Trevi Fountain area for some free time and lunch (on own). This afternoon, 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. Cross 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. Holy Mass will be celebrated by our priest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. Dinner and overnight.

Tomb of Pope Benedict XVIToday we tour St. Peter’s Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter the Apostle was martyred. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to view Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture, pray at the tombs of Pope Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II. Next you will visit the Vatican Museum, where you can see the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms, and Sistine Chapel. 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, you will leave for Rome Fiumicino airport for return flight 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.