0928UA7 - Catholic Italy Pilgrimage 10 days from Washington Dulles

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

Upon arrival in Rome, we board our motor coach for our drive to Assisi. Following lunch on our own 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 continue to the upper village to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning after breakfast, we begin at the Basilica of St. Francesco with Mass. After our visit of the Basilica and the tomb of St. Francis, we begin 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. Afterwards, we visit the resting place of the newly canonized St. Carlo Acutis who was 15-years old when he died in 2006 from leukemia. Acutis' tomb is 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. This afternoon after lunch on our own, we take time for prayer, rest, exploration or simply enjoying this picturesque hillside village on our own. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Assisi.

Following breakfast and 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 the Eucharistic Miracle, which occurred in nearby Bolsena. In the 13th century, a pilgrim priest named Peter of Prague was celebrating Mass at the crypt of St. Christina. He was having a faith crisis concerning the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and while speaking the words of the consecration, blood started to drip from the consecrated Host. Subsequently Pope Urban instituted The Feast of Corpus Christi. Afterwards we travel south to the wonderful town of Sorrento along the Mediterranean for dinner and overnight.

This morning, we enjoy an excursion to Capri. We depart Sorrento by steamer 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.

This morning after breakfast, we leave Sorrento and we travel to Pompeii, the Roman City destroyed by the volcanic ash of Vesuvius in 79 AD. We tour the church of the Holy Rosary visited by St. John Paul II shortly before his death. Here we learn about one of the newest saints, Bartolo Longo, a former Satanist who converted to Catholicism and dedicated his life to the Rosary and the Virgin Mary. We enjoy free time for lunch and shopping. Early in the afternoon we continue to Rome for dinner and overnight.

This morning after breakfast, we go to Vatican City where we celebrate Mass below St. Peters. Afterwards, we see the treasures of the Vatican Museum. We marvel at Michelangelo’s restored frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and the wonders of St. Peter’s, Catholicism’s mother church and the largest church in the world. Highlights include Michelangelo’s Pieta as well as Bernini’s famous altar columns, one of which contains the spear of St. Longinus, the Roman centurion who pierced the side of Christ and was converted by the blood and water that flowed from it. This afternoon after lunch on our own, we tour St. Mary Major. Basilica of St. Mary Major, the largest church dedicated to Mary in the world and the place where Pope Francis is buried. The golden ceiling of St. Mary’s is decorated by the first gold brought back from the New World by Christopher Columbus. The Spanish Catholic Kings—Ferdinand and Isabel—gave the gold as a gift to the Pope. We celebrate Mass here at the Crypt of the Nativity where the relics from Christ’s manger are held. We return to our hotel for dinner and overnight in Rome.

Today after breakfast and following Mass at a church near our hotel, we are free for shopping, rest or personal adventure. Some famous sites to visit in Rome include the Spanish Steps, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Pantheon, and Michelangelo’s Moses housed at the St. Peter in Chains Basilica. We have the opportunity to explore the culinary delights of Rome tonight as dinner is on our own. Overnight at our hotel in Rome.

This morning after breakfast we make our way to St. Peter's for a papal audience with Pope Leo XIV, if he is in residence. This afternoon, we visit the Holy Stairs and Basilica of St. John Lateran. The Holy Stairs were taken from Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helen, the Emperor Constantine’s mother. These are the stairs that Jesus climbed to be sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate after being mercilessly scourged. Many pilgrims climb these stairs on their knees in prayer. We also visit St. John Lateran Basilica which served as the Pope’s home church until the 14th Century when it switched to St. Peter’s Basilica. We conclude our day at the Catacombs of San Sebastian, burial place of early Christians. We celebrate Mass here and venerate the relic of the footprints of Christ from his encounter with St. Peter in the famous “Quo Vadis” story. We celebrate Mass here. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Rome.

Today we make our way home with memories to last a lifetime.