0616AZ5 - Jubilee Year Italy Pilgrimage 10 days from San Francisco

Today we depart from San Francisco on our overnight flight to Rome aboard a wide-bodied jet. We enjoy in-flight movies, dinner, and breakfast aloft.

This afternoon we arrive in Rome where we are met by our Unitours Tour Manager as we board our motorcoach for our ride to Tuscany. Following lunch on our own, we arrive in the delightful medieval town of Arezzo, where we celebrate our welcome Mass at one of its churches. The balance of the day is at leisure to stroll through the inviting streets of this charming town. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Today, we drive to Florence where our first stop is “Piazzale Michelangelo” for the best panoramic view of this spectacular city. We proceed with a tour of the Academia Gallery or Medici Chapels. We continue with the celebration of Mass and a visit to the Duomo (also known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), in the heart of the city, and the fourth largest in the world! We break for lunch on our own at one of the many trattorias along Florence’s Arno River. In the afternoon we visit the beautiful Basilica of Santa Croce where many famous Italians are buried including Galileo, Rossini, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli. We continue onto the Church of Santo Spirito and the magnificent crucifix by Michelangelo. We finish our day in Florence passing the Palazzo Pitti (external) on the way to the Ponte Vecchio where we will be free for shopping and/or to enjoy a delicious Italian ice cream. We return to our hotel in Arezzo dinner and overnight.

Today, we journey through the Italian countryside arriving in the magnificent city of Siena, which invites us to stroll through its Gothic streets. After we celebrate Mass at the Dominican Church commemorating St. Catherine, we continue uphill to visit the monumental Cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Lunch on our own. In the afternoon we continue south through Umbria to the hilltop village of Assisi, the home of St. Francis. We stop in the lower town for a visit to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, and the Portiuncula, Francis' Church of the Little Portion. We continue to Perugia for dinner and overnight at our hotel.

We begin our full day in Assisi with a visit to the Basilica of St. Francesco, where St. Francis is buried. We continue with a walking tour of the village with a stop at the Church of St. Clare to view the famous San Damiano crucifix. From this cross, Christ spoke to St. Francis telling him to “rebuild my Church”. Afterwards, we visit the resting place*** of soon to be canonized Blessed Carlo Acutis who was 15-years old when he died in 2006 from leukemia. Acutis' tomb is located in Assisi's Sanctuary of the Renunciation, the spot where a young St. Francis of Assisi is said to have cast off his rich clothes in favor of a poor habit. After lunch on our own, our taxis take us up to the Hermitage of the Carceri, where Francis and his Friars retreated from the world to pray and fast. Here the grotto of St. Francis can also be seen. We celebrate our Mass here, then return to Perugia for dinner and overnight at our hotel. ***The body of St. Carlo Acutis may not be back in back in Assisi because of his canonization in Rome.

Today, we depart early from Perugia and travel to Orvieto for our Mass at the breathtaking Orvieto 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 the Eucharistic Miracle. In 1263 AD, a pilgrim priest named Fr. Peter of Prague was celebrating Mass at the crypt of St. Christina. He doubted the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. But while speaking the words of consecration, blood started to drip from the consecrated Host. Subsequently, Pope Urban IV instituted The Feast of Corpus Christi, which we celebrate on Sunday. After lunch on our own, we continue to Rome and take a walking tour to the Roman Fora passing the Arch of Constantine and Flavian Amphitheater, more commonly known as” the Coliseum.” If time permits, we may stop at the Spanish Steps and the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, or any other sites in the area. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Rome.

This morning we begin with a visit to the Holy Stairs and the Basilica of St. John Lateran where we will pass through our 1st set of Holy Doors. The Holy Stairs were taken from Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helen, the Emperor Constantine’s mother. These are the stairs that Jesus climbed after being mercilessly scourged to be sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate. Many pilgrims climb these stairs on their knees in prayer. We also visit St. John Lateran Basilica which served as Pope’s home church until the 14th Century when it switched to St. Peter’s Basilica. Popes were still crowned at St. John Lateran until the 19th Century. At noon today, we join the Holy Father for The Angelus prayer at St. Peter’s square. This afternoon, following a break for lunch on our own, we enjoy a wonderful visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, passing through our 2nd set of Holy Doors. We celebrate our Mass here. St. Mary’s holds relics of Christ’s Holy Manger from Bethlehem and a piece of the true cross from Golgotha. The golden ceiling of St. Mary’s is decorated by the first gold brought back from the New World by Christopher Colombus. The Spanish Catholic Kings—Ferdinand and Isabel—gave the gold as a gift to the Pope. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

This morning, we are invited to consider the life of the earliest followers of Christ in Rome with our visit to the Catacombs. In these series of tunnels underneath the city, early Christians buried their dead and celebrated the Mass of resurrection victory even as they were being tortured and martyred in the streets of Rome. We celebrate our Mass here. This afternoon, following lunch on our own, we continue onto Tre Fontane, the site of St. Paul’s beheading. From here, we travel to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls where we pass through the 3rd set of Holy Doors. This imposing Basilica, second only to St. Peter’s in size, contains an unusual gallery of 268 papal portraits including Pope Francis. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

We save the best for our last day as we visit Vatican City where we celebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peters Basilica, the largest church in the world and the site of our 4th and last set of Holy Doors. Afterwards, we view the treasures of St. Peter’s including Michelangelo’s Pieta as well as the famous Bernini altar columns. One altar column contains 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. Afterwards, we make our way to the Vatican museums including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. We enjoy a late lunch on our own. Our afternoon includes time to tour the center of Rome with the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Santa Maria sopra Minerva and the Trevi Fountain. Afterwards, we visit the Gesu Church, the Jesuit’s mother church where St. Ignatius is buried along with the relic of St. Francis Xavier’s arm. We enjoy the culinary delights of Rome together as we celebrate our farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

This morning, we make our way home with memories to cherish for the rest of our lives.