Holy Year Pilgrimage to Italy with Dr. Marcellino and Susan D’Ambrosio

Depart on an overnight flight from New York or Dallas to Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flight. Quotes for add-on flights, optional premium economy, and business class upgrades are available upon request. Group airfare does not permit us to assign specific seats. If specific seating on the airplane is an important feature of the trip for you, please purchase your own flights and purchase the land-only portion of the trip with us.

We arrive in Rome in the morning and are greeted at the airport by our English-speaking tour guide, who will accompany us during the pilgrimage. We board the bus and drive north for approximately 2 hours to reach Orvieto, where we visit the Gothic cathedral built to house the holy relics of the Eucharistic Miracle of Orvieto. This miracle occasioned the proclamation of the Feast of Corpus Christi and inspired St. Thomas Aquinas to write the famous hymn “Tantum Ergo.” After lunch, we celebrate Mass. Continue to Umbria, where we will spend the next two nights. Check-in at the hotel for dinner and an overnight.

After an early breakfast, we transfer to Assisi. We start at the Basilica of St. Francis to Celebrate Mass at the Tomb of St. Francis. Our local guide will take us to explore the Basilica complex, which is composed of two churches built atop each other. Beneath both churches is the crypt that houses the tomb of St. Francis. The lower Basilica dates from 1228 to 1230 and is richly decorated with beautiful stained glass windows and paintings done by some of the most important artists of the 13th and 14th centuries. In the upper Basilica, built from 1230 – 1253, we will marvel at the monumental frescoes painted by Giotto, which depict scenes from the saint’s life. Continue to visit the Basilica of St. Clare, the Franciscan movement’s first and most important heroine, view her remains, and see the miraculous Crucifix. After lunch on your own, we will visit San Damiano Sanctuary. “One day in the autumn of 1205, the Lord was waiting here for Francis, and on a morning in April of 1211, the Lord welcomed Clare together with her first sisters. They encountered each other and thus began their Christian adventure. Next, we will visit the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Crowned by the magnificent dome designed by Alessi, this great Basilica was built in 1569. It enclosed the shrine of the Porziuncola or the Little Portion Chapel, around which the first Franciscan community was centered, where Clare received the habit from Francis, and the Capella Del Transito, which marks where the Saint died. We will also visit Blessed Carlo Acutis’s grave at the Renunciation Shrine. Return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight.

After breakfast, we board our motorcoach and drive towards the Adriatic Coast. Our first stop is Loreto, where we see the Holy House of Nazareth transported here from the Holy Land, as tradition tells us. In it, we view the most reproduced Madonna in the world: the Black Madonna of Loreto. We celebrate Mass and then have lunch in Loreto before heading south to our hotel in Pescara. Dinner at the hotel. Overnight in Pescara.

After breakfast, we depart for 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. We celebrate Mass before departing for Ortono, where we will have a wine tasting and lunch at a local winery. We continue towards the Adriatic Coast where we will spend the next two nights. Dinner is at the hotel. Overnight along the Adriatic Coast. (B.Special Lunch with wine tasting.D) ​

Following breakfast at the hotel, we travel to San Giovanni Rotondo, where we visit places associated with Padre Pio, the old church where he received the stigmata, and the new Santa Maria Delle Grazie church, where Padre Pio committed himself to hours of listening to Confession as he was incredibly devoted to the sacrament. It was said that he could read souls, and pilgrims have long been known to leave tiny papers with intentions near his confessional. At this shrine, we will also see the incorrupt body of this great saint, along with his living quarters. Next, we travel along the beautiful Gargano Peninsula to Monte Sant Angelo (grotto of St. Michael), where St. Michael is said to have appeared in the years 490, 492, and 493. We celebrate Mass at the Grotto. Lunch is on our own, and we have free time in this charming and quaint area before returning to the hotel. Dinner at the hotel. Overnight along the Adriatic Coast.

We depart the hotel after an early morning breakfast and drive towards Rome. We stop in Anagni (5 hrs drive). Also known as the City of Popes (four Popes hailed from the town), Anagni is crowned by its beautiful Romanesque cathedral dating back to the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. Under the cathedral floor, the magnificent crypt of Saint Magnus provides an extraordinary example of 13th-century medieval religious art called the Middle Ages Sistine Chapel. We enjoy lunch in a restaurant followed by a guided tour. We celebrate Mass. Upon arrival in Rome, we check- in and have time at leisure to explore Rome, perhaps see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps and have dinner at one of the many small family-owned restaurants which line the streets of Rome. Overnight in Rome.

This morning, we visit the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, where we see the relics of the True Cross. Next, we enter the first Holy Door of our pilgrimage at St. John the Lateran. This Basilica is where the Pope is installed and officiates as the Bishop of Rome. We proceed to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where we enter through the second Holy Door on our trip. This Basilica contains a relic from the Manger of the Infant Jesus. After a break for lunch on our own, we continue to the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, where we enter through the Third Holy Door. We tour the Basilica of St. Paul and Celebrate Mass. We end our day with a visit to Tre Fontane Convent to see where St. Paul was beheaded. Tonight, enjoy dinner at the hotel. Overnight in Rome.

Early this morning, we are transferred to St. Peter’s Square for the Papal Audience with the Holy Father. We stop at the Vatican post office, where we can post and mail prayer petitions for the Holy Father to pray over. Enjoy time at leisure for lunch or return to the hotel to rest. We will be transferred to the Ancient Rome area this afternoon for a guided walking tour. We reach the area called Velabro, the site of the birth of Rome. We start at the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, with its impressive Bell Tower. Entering this church, we will be welcomed by the Gregorian Chants performed by the Greek Orthodox community that worships orthodox rites in this church. Here, we see the famous La Bocca della Verita, or 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. Continue passing by the Teatro Marcello (one of the best-preserved Roman theaters) and reach Capitol Hill. Continue till the Colosseum (outside view) and the Arch of Constantine. Our motorcoach takes us to the Basilica of St. Lawrence, where we celebrate Mass. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Following an early breakfast, we drive to St. Peter’s Basilica, where we celebrate early morning Mass, followed by a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Christendom Church, for a guided tour. The Basilica was built on the site where St. Peter, the first Pope and Bishop of Rome, was martyred. Here, we view Michelangelo’s Pieta and pray at the tombs of St. Peter and Pope St. John Paul II. This is the fourth of the Holy Doors we pass through. After lunch, on our own, we walk past Castel St Angelo, over the Bridge of Angels to Piazza Navona, where we see the magnificent fountain by Bernini. Next is a visit to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, the resting place of St. Catherine of Siena and the Pantheon. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore Rome on our own. Tonight, our farewell dinner will be at a local restaurant. Overnight in Rome. (B. Special dinner)

We are transferred to Rome airport and our flight home. Lunch and snacks will be served on the flight.