1015UA5 - Holy Year Italy Pilgrimage 9 days from Newark

Today, we depart from Newark to connect with our overnight flight to Rome aboard a wide-bodied jet. We enjoy dinner and breakfast aloft.

This morning, we arrive in Rome and are met by our Unitours Tour Manager as we board our motorcoach for our ride to Assisi. Following lunch on our own along the way, our first stop is in the lower town for a visit and Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Portiuncula, Francis' Church of the Little Portion. We thank St. Francis for two of his most notable gifts to humanity, the Nativity Scene, and the Stations of the Cross. We continue to the upper village and our hotel for “welcome” dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Today, we begin at the Basilica of St. Francesco with Mass. After our visit of the Basilica and the tomb of St. Francis, we enjoy our walking tour of the village. Included is a visit to the Church of St. Clare to view the crucifix that spoke to St. Francis. In 1240AD, a band of Saracen soldiers were attacking Assisi and had reached the cloistered convent of a now sickly St. Clare. In fear that the soldiers would harm her sisters, she prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament for protection. Tradition tells us that Our Lord assured her His protections and when she held the monstrance in front of the soldiers, they fled! We pass by the famous Temple of Minerva in the Piazza del Comune. This afternoon, following lunch on our own, we can enjoy this picturesque hillside village at our own pace. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

This morning, following an early morning departure from Assisi, we travel south through the Umbrian countryside. We stop at Orvieto for a visit and Mass at the breathtaking Cathedral, which is known as the jewel of Italian architecture. Inside the Cathedral is the Chapel of the Corporal, which houses the chalice cloth, involved in a Eucharistic Miracle. In 1263AD, Peter of Prague--a pilgrim priest who was struggling to believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist--was celebrating Mass at the crypt of St. Christina in Bolsena. While speaking the words of the consecration, blood started to drip from the consecrated host. Subsequently Pope Urban IV instituted The Feast of Corpus Christi. Leaving Orvieto, we travel south, enjoying lunch on our own along the way, before arriving in the wonderful town of Sorrento, along the Mediterranean. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Today, we leave Sorrento by hydrofoil across the Bay of Naples to the Island of Dreams - Capri. We tour the island, including Anacapri and weather permitting, the beautiful Blue Grotto. Following Mass at one of the churches here, we return to Sorrento for dinner and overnight at our hotel.

This morning, we motor along the Sorrento Peninsula on the famous Amalfi Drive with stops along the way, including the splendid jet set village of Positano. Afterwards, following a stop for lunch on our own, we continue to Pompeii, the Roman City of 65,000 that was destroyed, yet preserved by the volcanic ash of Vesuvius in 79AD. We celebrate Mass at the church of the Holy Rosary visited by Pope St. John Paul II shortly before his passing and a site of a Eucharistic miracle. We continue to Rome for dinner and overnight.

Today, we visit Vatican City where we celebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica. In St. Peter’s Basilica, we take in the world-renowned altar columns created by Bernini. Tradition holds that Bernini engraved his own Rosary on one of the columns while another column is said to contain the spear of St. Longinus, the Roman centurion who pierced the side of our Savior and was healed by the blood and water that flowed from it! While here, we pass through the 1st of the “Holy Doors”, during our Holy Year Pilgrimage. Afterwards, we view the treasures of the Vatican Museum including Michelangelo’s restored frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. This afternoon, following a break for lunch on our own, we tour the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and pass through the “Holy Doors” there to mark our 2nd set of doors on our Holy Year pilgrimage before traveling to the Church of St. Peter in Chains to view Michelangelo's most celebrated sculpture, the "Moses." We return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning, we make our way to St. Peter's for an audience with Pope Francis if he is in residence. We then visit the Holy Stairs and Basilica of St. John Lateran. While there, we pass through the 3rd set of “Holy Doors” on our Holy Year pilgrimage. Following lunch on our own, we continue to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls for the 4th, and last set, of “Holy Doors”. This huge, imposing Basilica, second only to St. Peter’s and one of the largest churches in the Christian world, contains an unusual gallery of papal portraits: 265 tablets portraying the popes of the past. We conclude our day at the Callistus Catacombs, a burial place of early Christians. We celebrate Mass here. We conclude our Holy Year Pilgrimage with a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

This morning, we make our way home with blessings and memories to last a lifetime.