A Holy Year Pilgrimage to Italy with The Catholic Talk Show

Depart on an overnight flight to Milan. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flight. Add-on flights and optional premium economy and business class rates are available upon request starting 120 days before departure. (Please note: specific seat assignments are not possible with group air. You may choose to book your own air if seat location is a priority)

Welcome to Italy. Upon arrival, we are greeted by our English-speaking guide, who will meet us at the airport to assist with luggage and boarding our bus. Our panoramic tour of Milan includes views of the Sforzesco Castle (outside view) and La Scala Opera House (outside view). We visit the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Saint Ambrose (TBC). After Mass, check into our hotel in Milan for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, which is included each morning, we see the fresco of the Last Supper by Da Vinci (TBC) at the small church of Santa Maria della Grazie before departing for a 90-minute drive to Turin. Our first stop in Turin is the Basilica of Maria Ausiliatrice (Our Lady Help of Christians), where the tombs of Saint John Bosco, Saint Mary Mazzarello, and Saint Dominic Savio are located. Our next stop is to see the famous Shroud of Turin. Although the Shroud is rarely on display, only by a special decree of the Holy Father, we will see the replica at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, where the actual Shroud is kept in special climate-controlled conditions. Should the shroud be on exhibit during our pilgrimage, we will see the actual Shroud. We visit the tomb of the soon-to-be saint Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, whose body was found incorrupt when transferred to this cathedral in 1981. Mass will be celebrated. Overnight in Turin.

We depart for Pollone. Pollone is a small town with majestic views of the Piedmont region of Italy. Pier Giorgio spent his summers there, and the Frassati family still owns the house he stayed in. Instead of taking public transportation to daily Mass at the Oropa Sanctuary, which we visit today, Pier Giorgio would run there to celebrate Mass and return before the family woke up in the morning. The money he saved by running instead of using public transportation was given to the poor. The Sanctuary, “the Shrine between Earth and Sky,” was founded in the 4th century by St. Eusebio and is a pilgrimage site to the statue of the Black Madonna. Mass will be celebrated at the Shrine. We return to Turin, known as the home of the famous slow food movement, and is a mecca for food lovers. Tonight, we visit Eataly, the food emporium, where you can purchase and taste some of Italy’s best delicacies. Overnight Turin.

Following hotel check-out, we depart for Assisi, where we meet with the rest of our group. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Assisi.

Depart on an overnight flight to Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flight. Add-on flights and optional premium economy and business class rates are available upon request starting 120 days before departure. (Please note: specific seat assignments are not possible with group air. You may choose to book your own air if seat location is a priority)

Our tour guide greets us and assists us to the motorcoach. Our incredible Jubilee Year spiritual journey to some of the most sacred sites in Italy is on its way as we drive to Assisi, the charming city of birds and silence. Our first stop is the hilltop town of Orvieto for a visit to the Cathedral Orvieto, which houses the Miracle of the Eucharist of Bolsena and where we celebrate Mass. We enjoy a welcome lunch at a local restaurant and a taste of the famous regional Orvieto Classico wine. Continue to Assisi to settle into our hotel for dinner and a peaceful overnight. (Special lunch. D)

This morning, we explore the Basilica of St. Clare and the Chapel of San Damiano, where St. Francis received his call to rebuild the Church and where St. Clare lived and died. We visit the Sanctuary of the Spoliation to see the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis in the Church of St. Mary Major. Continue to the Basilica of St. Francis, where we see Giotto’s frescoes representing the life of St. Francis, then the lower Basilica and the Tomb of St. Francis. Mass will be celebrated in one of the chapels of the magnificent Basilica. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight in Assisi.

Our destination today is Cascia, home of the beloved St. Rita. See the Basilica of St. Rita with her incorrupt body, relics from her life, and the stained glass windows surrounding the main altar depicting the Eucharistic Miracle of Siena, which shows an open book with two red round stains facing each other. Today, a special Monstrance holds the pages that reveal the blood stains in the lower chapel of the basilica. In the stains is the perfect portrait outline of Christ’s face. Mass is celebrated at the Basilica of St. Rita. On the return to Assisi, we visit St. Mary of the Angels Basilica, the site of the Porziuncola, the tiny church in the woods where St. Francis began his ministry, and where St. Clare began her religious life. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

We drive from Assisi to Rome to begin our visit to the Eternal City with a stop at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where we walk through the first Holy Door of our pilgrimage and celebrate Mass. We will walk through all four Holy Doors during our pilgrimage, enabling us to receive Plenary Indulgence. Continue to the nearby Tre Fontane Abbey to see the site of St. Paul’s beheading. Our final stop is the Mamertine Prison, where St. Peter and St. Paul were imprisoned. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

This morning, we see the Coliseum and the Forum (outside views). We walk to the nearby Trevi Fountain, where we can toss a coin along with a wish that we may return to Rome. Opposite the fountain is the church of St. Vincent and Anastasius at Trevi, containing the embalmed hearts of 22 Popes. To the left of the altar is the complete list of the Pope’s names and their relics within the church. We walk over to the Pantheon, the church called St. Mary and the Martyrs to see the magnificent church as well as the house where Pope Pio VII ordered the killing of two butchers because of their special “ human sausages.” Nearby, we see Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, where St. Catherine of Siena is buried, and Piazza Navone, with the famous Bernini fountains, where our walking tour ends. Mass will be celebrated in St. Augustin Church, where we see the relics of St. Monica. (TBC) The rest of the day is spent at leisure visiting the sites in Rome that interest you. Dinner is at leisure tonight. Overnight in Rome.

We depart early for St. Peter’s Square this morning to attend the Papal Audience, where the Holy Father blesses us. In the afternoon, we explore St. Mary Major Basilica, where we celebrate Mass, and walk through the second Holy Door of our trip. Continue to St. John the Lateran, the Cathedral Church of Rome, containing sacred relics of Peter and Paul and the magnificent sculptures of the twelve apostles. Here, we walk through the third Holy Door. We also visit the Holy Stairs from Jerusalem and see relics of Christ’s Passion in the Basilica of the Holy Cross. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Rome.

We start the day with early Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica and a walk through our pilgrimage’s fourth and final Holy Door. The rest of the day is spent at leisure exploring on our own. If your plans include visiting the Vatican Museum, be sure to purchase tickets online well in advance directly from www.museivaticani.va/content/ museivaticani/it. Tonight, enjoy a farewell dinner with wine at a local restaurant. Overnight in Rome (B. Special dinner)

This morning, we depart for the airport and our flight home. We return with memories of our Italian pilgrimage to share with your friends and cherish forever.