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★ Hosted by Fr. Leo Patalinghug, IVDei
11 Days · Italy

Food and Faith in Northern Italy and Switzerland with Fr Leo Patalinghug

Join Fr. Leo Patalinghug on a pilgrimage to Northern Italy and Switzerland. This trip will visit Zurich, Lindt, Lucerne, Lake Como, Milan and more! 

Dates
August 17-27, 2026
Departs Newark
Duration
11 Days
Trip code 26RS08CHLP
From
$5,695
The Pilgrimage

Walk in the Footsteps of Faith

Join Fr. Leo Patalinghug on a pilgrimage to Northern Italy and Switzerland. This trip will visit Zurich, Lindt, Lucerne, Lake Como, Milan and more!

Fr. Leo Patalinghug, IVDei
Your Host

Fr. Leo Patalinghug, IVDei

Catholic priest, chef, author, speaker, and founder of Plating Grace

Fr. Leo Patalinghug is a Catholic priest and member of the Voluntas Dei secular institute, as well as an award-winning chef, author, speaker, and radio and television host. He founded Plating Grace, a food-and-faith ministry that uses meals and hospitality to strengthen families and relationships while presenting Jesus as nourishment for mind, body, and soul. A longtime international pilgrimage leader, he brings together Catholic teaching, culture, cuisine, prayer, and joyful evangelization. His work emphasizes the dinner table as a practical setting for communion, conversation, and discipleship.

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Know Before You Go

What's included

✓ Included

  • ✓Round-trip airfare from Newark to Zurich x Milan to Newark
  • ✓Airport taxes and fuel surcharges
  • ✓Accommodations in first-class hotels for 9 nights
  • ✓Service charges and hotel taxes
  • ✓Buffet breakfast daily
  • ✓1 Restaurant lunches
  • ✓6 Hotel dinners (standard 3-course menu; beverages may be purchased at an additional cost)
  • ✓Swiss dinner in Lucerne with wine
  • ✓Farewell dinner in a local restaurant accompanied by a choice of wine or beer (up to two glasses)
  • ✓All transfers with a private A/C motor coach as per the itinerary
  • ✓Professional English-speaking Christian tour guide throughout
  • ✓Entrance fees are included for sites specifically listed (outside view means no entrance fee is included)
  • ✓Luggage handling at hotels (one piece per person in/out)
  • ✓Confirmation of daily private Mass
  • ✓Whisper sets
  • ✓Rome extension: One-way train ticket in tourist class from Milan to Rome (luggage is in the main train car with the travelers)
  • ✓Rome extension: 3 nights of hotel accommodations in a centrally located first-class hotel
  • ✓Rome extension: Daily buffet breakfast
  • ✓Rome extension: Farewell dinner with wine
  • ✓Rome extension: English-speaking tour manager
  • ✓Rome extension: Transportation by private bus as noted
  • ✓Rome extension: Hotel taxes

× Not included

  • ×Trip Protection and Medical Insurance (highly recommended)
  • ×Any items not explicitly mentioned in the list of inclusions
  • ×Beverages at meals, unless otherwise noted
  • ×Meals not specifically listed at the end of each day (B.L.D)
  • ×Church donations (budget $2.00 - $5.00 per Mass)
  • ×Airport transfers for Land Only passengers unless they are at the airport at the same time as the group
  • ×Personal expenses
  • ×Airline Seat assignments and assistance with flight pre-check-in
  • ×Any airline baggage charges
  • ×Baggage handling at train stations, airports, and hotels in excess of one suitcase per person
  • ×Any charges incurred due to excessive luggage including the cost of an additional baggage vehicle or porterage charges

For your convenience, a $220.00 tip fund will be added to the invoice and collected in advance, a $60.00 tip fund will be added for the Rome extension

Day by Day

Your pilgrimage, mapped out

Tap any day to explore. Meals: B breakfast · L lunch · D dinner.
Day 1August 17, 2026
DEPART FROM USA
+

Depart Newark International Airport on an overnight flight to Zurich, Switzerland. Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane. Quotes for add-on flights from different airports, as well as for optional Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades, are available upon request. Group air restrictions do not permit specific seating requests on flights. We recommend purchasing your own airline tickets and booking the Land Only package if seat location is important to you.

Day 2August 18, 2026
ARRIVAL IN ZURICH
+

Today we arrive in Zurich, and are greeted by our Select International tour manager who will remain with us throughout our pilgrimage. We board our deluxe motor coach and arrive in the city center to celebrate Mass at St. Anton’s Church. In Zurich’s Old Town, we see the Church of Our Lady (Fraumunster), whose stained-glass windows were designed by artist Marc Chagall. We also see the St. Peter’s Church (Peterkirche) facade, displaying Europe’s largest clock. Settle into our hotel for dinner and overnight in Zurich.

D
Day 3August 19, 2026
APPENZELL – CHEESE TASTING – ST. GALL ABBEY LIBRARY
+

After breakfast, we board our motor coach for a full-day excursion, driving along the beautiful Lake Zürich via the city of Rapperswil, with its medieval castle toward the gentle rolling hills of the charming village of Appenzell. Have your camera ready to capture today’s sights. We learn about Swiss cheese making and sample the famous Appenzeller cheese. Then head toward St. Gallen, where we enjoy a taste of the renowned St. Gallen sausage. We visit the famous Abbey of St. Gall and its incredible library on a private tour. The entire abbey precinct was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983, and the Abbey’s library hosts a collection of medieval texts and important documents dating back to the eighth century. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in the Zurich area.

BD
Day 4August 20, 2026
ZURICH – LINDT – LUCERNE
+

Following breakfast, we drive to Lucerne, considered one of the most beautiful cities in Switzerland. En route, we stop at the Muri Abbey for a visit and to celebrate Mass. Our stop at the Lindt Chocolate Factory is a real treat for chocolate lovers. With a chocolate fountain more than nine meters tall, a multimedia museum, a café, chocolate courses, and the biggest Lindt chocolate shop in the world, the Lindt Home of Chocolate is an exciting chocolate experience. Check into our hotel in Lucerne for the first of three nights. Tonight we take a seat at a rustic table for dinner of cheese fondue, sizzling Bratwurst, and crip Roesti potatoes. Watch an authentic Swiss folklore show featuring yodeling, singing, Alphorn blowing, and flag throwing. Overnight in Lucerne. (B. Special dinner)

BD
Day 5August 21, 2026
DAY AT LEISURE IN LUCERNE – OPTIONAL TRAIN RIDE TO INTERLAKEN
+

Enjoy a day at leisure to relax in Lucerne. Take a boat ride on Lake Lucerne (can be booked at the destination), explore the Old Town on a leisurely walk, or hike in the nearby hills. The day is yours to relax and choose your own activity. An optional one-way, two-hour train ride from Lucerne to Interlaken with time to explore Interlaken and enjoy lunch at leisure is available for $79.00 per person. The train departs at 10:00 AM, following morning Mass. Return by bus, arriving back in Lucerne around 6:00 PM. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Lucerne.

B
Day 6August 22, 2026
EINSIEDELN MARIAN SHRINE – MONASTERY WINE
+

We drive along the scenic route past Lake Lucerne and Lake Zug to the Einsiedeln Marian Shrine. Explore the magnificent Monastery with its elaborately decorated pastel ceilings, marble side altars, and a large high altar. The most important part of the Basilica is the Lady Chapel, which is reminiscent of Christ’s tomb in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Above the chapel’s altar is the Black Madonna, resplendent in rich robes and surrounded by gold clouds. We visit the Monastery and celebrate Mass here. The Monastery of Einsiedeln is one of the region’s largest wine producers, and today we get to sample and even purchase some of the excellent wines they produce. We visit Ufnau Island, owned by the Monastery, for a wonderful lunch and to try the locally produced wine. (TBC) In the afternoon, return to Lucerne for dinner and overnight.

BD
Day 7August 23, 2026
OUR LADY OF THE ROCK – LAKE COMO
+

Today we travel to Orselina, located on the border between Italy and Switzerland, to see the pilgrimage church of Our Lady of the Rock (Madonna del Sasso), which can be reached only by foot (about a 30-minute hike to the top of the mountain walk) or by a funicular from Locarno. We visit the Shrine and celebrate Mass before driving across the border to Italy and our hotel near Lake Como for dinner and an overnight.

BD
Day 8August 24, 2026
LAKE COMO – BELLAGIO
+

Today, after breakfast, we drive to Como, one of Europe’s most idyllic, charming, and stylish corners. We explore the Lake area with its elegant villas and glorious gardens. We take a ferry to Bellaggio to visit Villa Melzi, with its fabulous gardens. Enjoy a restaurant lunch (included) before returning to Como for Mass and leisure time. Dinner and overnight near Lake Como.

BLD
Day 9August 25, 2026
OROPA SANCTUARY – MILAN
+

Today we visit the Oropa Sanctuary, one of the oldest Marian Shrines in the world. The shrine was founded by St. Eusebius of Vercelli in the 4th century. According to local legend, the town was spared the plague in the 17th century due to its dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Every year, the residents make a pilgrimage in thanks to our Lady. We visit the Brown Madonna as well as the church where St. Pier Giorgio Frassati prayed. We also see the mountain he climbed and take a cable car that goes halfway up the mountain to the lake (weather and time permitting). Mass will be celebrated. Continue to Milan for dinner and overnight.

BD
Day 10August 26, 2026
MILAN – FRANCIA- CORTA WINE RESORT
+

Following breakfast, we explore Milan. We pray for the intercession of St. Ambrose and St. Charles Borromeo as we visit the sites of their tombs – the Basilica of St. Ambrogio and the spectacular Milan Cathedral, respectively. The Duomo houses incredible relics, including a nail from the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate Mass and have a guided walking tour of Milan. In the afternoon, we drive to the Franciacorta wine region to visit a winery and learn about the production of this sparkling Italian wine. Return to Milan for a farewell restaurant dinner and overnight. (B. Farewell dinner)

BD
Day 11August 27, 2026
RETURN TO THE USA
+

We are transferred to the airport for our flights home.

B
Day 11August 27, 2026
MILAN – ROME
+

Following breakfast, we are transferred to the train station for a train ride to Rome. Get ready to experience some truly remarkable scenery as we ride south through Italy’s Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Tuscany regions. Our train ride takes about 3 hours. Our tour manager travels with us and assists with boarding and the transfer to the hotel in Rome. Upon arrival we enjoy a walking tour of the historic center, where we see the Trevi Fountain, Gesu Church, the Pantheon, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and the Piazza Navona, where our tour ends. Enjoy time at leisure to explore and have dinner in one of the many restaurants in the area. Our luggage will be dropped off at the hotel and waiting for us when we check in. Overnight in Rome.

B
Day 12August 28, 2026
ROME
+

This morning we visit St. Peter’s Basilica. The afternoon, is a time to explore the sites in Rome on your own. Perhaps visit the Vatican Museum (be sure to purchase tickets online well in advance from the Vatican ticket office) or just roam the streets of the city, each one looking like a museum just waiting to be discovered. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Rome.

B
Day 13August 29, 2026
ROME
+

This morning, we visit the Basilicas of St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major, and St. John Lateran, including the Holy Stairs. Our farewell dinner, accompanied by wine, is held at a local restaurant. Overnight in Rome. (B. Special dinner)

BD
Day 14August 30, 2026
RETURN TO USA
+

Following breakfast, we are transferred to the airport for our flights home.

B
Pricing

Choose how you travel

Land and Air
$6,895per person

Land and Air. Main trip package.

Most popular
Land Only
$5,695per person

Land Only. Main trip package.

Solo Room (Additional Charge)
$1,295additional

Solo Room (Additional Charge). Additional supplement.

ETA Required
Confirm requirements with Select for this destination.
Deposit
A deposit of $500.00 per person should accompany your registration by May 5, 2026.
Final Payment
Final payment is due by June 18, 2026.
Passport Validity
Your passport must be valid through March 2, 2027.
Payment Fee
A convenience fee of 4% will be charged for credit card payments.
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This pilgrimage has ended

Completed

This departure has ended. Registration is closed.