|
 |
| Day 1 |
NYC-Rome |
| |
Depart from New York on overnight flight to Bari via Milan or Rome, dinner and breakfast on board. |
| Day 2 |
San Giovanni Rotondo |
| |
Arrive in Bari, meet with your guide and transfer to your hotel in San Giovanni Rotondo. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure. Overnight: San Giovanni Rotondo x 2 nights. [D] |
| Day 3 |
San Giovanni Rotondo/Monte Sant'Angelo |
| |
Tour the sanctuary: the museum where St. Pio’s tomb is on view; his Confessional from where he performed many miracles and the choir loft where he received the Stigmata. In the afternoon enjoy a breathtaking view of the Gargano Peninsula visiting the Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel. A panoramic view of the sea and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St. Michael himself in 490. [B/D]
|
| Day 4 |
Lanciano/Loreto |
| |
Depart for Lanciano, Loreto and Assisi. First stop Lanciano: visit the church of St. Lagontial and celebrate mass in the very place of the 8th century Eucharistic Miracle. Follow the lush Adriatic coast to the great Marian shrine of Loreto. Visit the Basilica and the “Santa Casa”, the house of the Virgin Mary, which according to the tradition was miraculously transported, by the angels from the Holy Land and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. Proceed to Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis. Overnight: Assisi x 2 nights. [B/D]
|
| Day 5 |
Assisi |
| |
Celebrate mass at the tomb of St. Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St. Francis which still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St. Francis began his ministry. Visit: St. Francis Basilica; the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels where St. Francis spent most of his life; the Porziuncola Chapel; the rose bush; the cave where the saint retired for prayer; the Church of St. Clare founder of the Order of Poor to see the saint's incorrupt body. St. Clare followed the teachings of St. Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. [B/D] |
| Day 6 |
Orvieto |
| |
Early in the morning depart Assisi to Rome; en route stop in the medieval city of Orvieto to visit the marvelous Gothic Cathedral and the spectacular “Well of St. Patrick”. Overnight: Rome x 4 nights. [B/D] |
| Day 7 |
Rome* |
| |
Tour of Rome including: the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Church of St. Peter in Chains to see Michelangelo's unique statue of Moses, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona. [B/D] |
| Day 8 |
Rome* |
| |
Visit the Religious Rome starting with the Vatican Museums and its unique treasures: the Candelabras, the Tapestries and the Geographic Maps Galleries, the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo’s magnificent masterpiece - the Sistine Chapel. Continue to St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in Christendom and then proceed to visit the three major Basilicas: St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine containing a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus; St. John in Lateran, the former residence of the Popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377; St. Paul Outside the Wall, which houses the remains of St. Paul under its main altar. [B/D] |
| Day 9 |
Rome* |
| |
Enjoy the day at you leisure to discover Rome by your own: time for last minute shopping or to reflect on the many years of Christian continuity in the world centre of the Western Church. [B/D] |
| Day 10 |
Rome/NYC |
| |
Transfer to the airport for your return flight to New York.
*IF SUNDAY ~ Attend the Sunday mass in St. Peter’s Square and the Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI;
IF WEDNESDAY ~ attend the weekly Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square and the Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
|
| |
|
