A Jubilee Year Pilgrimage to Italy with Jeff and Emily Cavins and Fr. Peter Hughes

We depart on an overnight flight from the USA to Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flights. Optional premium economy and business class quotes are available upon request. Group tickets do not permit individual seat requests. Please purchase your own individual air ticket with a land-only package us if the airline seat location is a priority for you.

Upon arrival in Rome, we are greeted by our English-speaking tour manager, who will accompany us during the entire trip. We board the motorcoach and embark on a beautiful spiritual journey to the most sacred sites in Italy. We are on our way to Assisi, the city of birds and silence, a truly beautiful town. We stop in Orvieto to see the beautiful Duomo, where the Miracle of the Eucharist of Bolsena is housed, and to celebrate Mass. Following lunch in Orvieto, continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight. We have time to relax and become acclimated to a new time zone. Dinner and overnight Assisi

Following breakfast, which is included each morning, we have an entire day to explore the hilltop town of birds and silence on foot. We visit St. Francis Basilica, see the world-renowned frescoes of Giotto, and celebrate Mass. Continue across town to visit the Basilica of St. Claire and see the relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis at the Sanctuary of Esplorazione. In the afternoon, we visit the San Damiano Convent. Dinner and overnight in Assisi.

We depart for Loreto to see the Holy House of Nazareth, which, as tradition tells us, was transported here from the Holy Land. In the Basilica, we see the most reproduced Madonna in the world: the Black Madonna of Loreto. Following Mass, we depart for San Giovanni Rotundo to see the places associated with the life and work of St. Padre Pio. Overnight and dinner at the hotel in San Giovanni.

We see Padre Pio’s tomb and cell, the old church where he received the stigmata, his confessional, and the new Santa Maria Delle Grazia Church. After time for prayer and lunch, we drive to the Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel to celebrate Mass. Overnight and dinner at San Giovanni.

We depart the hotel and drive north along the Adriatic coast. Our destination is Termoli, a city in Molise, one of the smallest Italian Regions. Here, we visit the Cathedral, which houses the skull of Saint Timothy, who met St. Paul around the year 49 during the Apostle’s 2nd missionary journey and helped the Apostle to spread the Gospel. His relics were discovered here in 1945 during restoration work on the cathedral’s crypt. The workers found a marble tombstone with an inscription: “In the year of the Lord 1239. Here rest in peace the body of the blessed Timothy, disciple of the blessed Apostle.” Mass will be celebrated. We enjoy an included lunch, based on fish recipes, which is the traditional meal of this area. In the afternoon, continue to Pescara, where we will spend the next two nights. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Pescara.

We have an early start today as a busy day awaits us. A short bus ride takes us to the town of Lanciano to visit the Church of St. Longinus, the site of what many believe is the greatest Eucharistic Miracle of the Catholic Church. In the 8th century, a monk offering Mass was said to be plagued by doubts regarding transubstantiation. When pronouncing the words of consecration, the host miraculously changed into flesh and the wine into blood. Since that time, countless pilgrims have visited to behold the monstrance which contains the miracle. After Mass, we continue to Ortona. En route, we stop along the path of San Tommaso, a few kilometers from Ortona, to visit a Montepulciano winery. Here, see the fountain of wine, where pilgrims from all over the world have been refreshed after the fatigue of a long journey. We enjoy lunch and a wine tasting. In Ortona, we visit the Cathedral, which houses the bones of St. Thomas the Apostle. Dinner and overnight in Pescara.

Driving to Rome we stop in Manoppello to visit the Basilica Sanctuary of the Holy Face, where we celebrate Mass. After a lunch break, we arrive in Rome and settle into our hotel. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Rome.

Our first visit is to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls for Holy Mass and to walk through the first Holy Door of our Pilgrimage. Nearby, we visit the Convent of Tre Fontane, where the Saint was beheaded. Following lunch, we visit the Mamertine Prison to see where St. Peter and St. Paul were imprisoned. Our afternoon walking tour of Rome includes the Pantheon, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, the only true Gothic church in Rome, the Jesuit Church to see the rooms of St. Ignatius, and Piazza Navone with its magnificent Four Rivers fountain by Bernini. Dinner is at leisure, with the opportunity to explore the many cafes in the center of Rome. Overnight Rome

Today, we are Blessed by the Holy Father during the morning Papal Audience. We depart St. Peter’s Square for a guided walking tour of Ancient Rome, including the area called Velabro, the site of the birth of Rome. We see the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, with its impressive Bell Tower. Entering this church, we might be welcomed by the Gregorian Chants performed by the Greek Orthodox community, which worships orthodox rites. Here, we see the famous La Bocca della Verita, the Mouth of the Truth, and the skull of St. Valentine, the patron saint of love. In the crypt of the church are relics from the Catacombs. Our next stop is the Thousand-year-old Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island, where we see the relics of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. Following lunch, we drive along the Appian Way to the Chapel of Quo Vadis, where we stop for teaching by Jeff. Continue to the Church of St. Sabastian and the Catacombs. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner is at the hotel. Overnight in Rome.

Today, we celebrate Mass in one of the chapels of St. Peter’s Basilica (TBC). On our guided tour, we discover the history and magnificence of the largest church in the world. Here, we walk through the second Holy Door of our pilgrimage. Following our included lunch, we visit the Basilicas of Saint Mary Major, where we walk through the third Holy Door. Our next stop is St. John Lateran, where we walk through our pilgrimage’s fourth and final Holy Door. Next door, we have time to climb the Holy Stairs. Our final stop of the busy day is the Church of Holy Cross in Jerusalem to see the relics of the True Cross. Tonight, we enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Rome. (B. L. Special dinner )

We are transferred to the airport for our flight home to the USA