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★ Hosted by Keith Nester
Catholic Pilgrimage · 11 Days · Italy

Miracles of the Eucharist Pilgrimage to Italy with Keith Nester and Fr. Brian Dellaert

Join Keith Nester and Fr. Brian Dellaert on the Miracles of the Eucharist Pilgrimage to Italy. You will visit Rome, Assisi, Orvieto, San Giovanni, and more!

Dates
January 22- February 1, 2025
Departs Cedar Rapids
Duration
11 Days
Trip code 25RS01ITKN
From
$3,895
The Pilgrimage

Walk in the Footsteps of Faith

Keith Nester, Fr. Brian Dellaert, and a Christian guide will meet your party at the airport and accompany you on a pilgrimage to visit the sites of Eucharistic Miracles throughout Italy.

Keith Nester
Your Host

Keith Nester

Catholic author, speaker, and founder of Down to Earth Ministry

Keith Nester is a Catholic author, speaker, and founder of Down to Earth Ministry. Before entering the Catholic Church in 2017, he spent more than twenty years in full-time Protestant ministry, serving in Methodist, Assemblies of God, and Evangelical Free communities. His long discernment of Catholic teaching now informs his work with converts, seekers, and lifelong Catholics. He is the author of The Convert’s Guide to Roman Catholicism and Unpacking the Mysteries of the Rosary and produces Catholic teaching through podcasts, livestreams, retreats, and parish events.

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Know Before You Go

What's included

✓ Included

  • ✓Roundtrip airfare from Cedar Rapids or EWR/JFK to Rome
  • ✓Airport taxes and fuel surcharges
  • ✓First-class hotels for 9 nights
  • ✓Service charges and hotel taxes
  • ✓Buffet breakfast daily
  • ✓2 restaurant lunches
  • ✓7 dinners at the hotels (standard 3-course menu, beverages may be purchased at an additional cost)
  • ✓1 Restaurant farewell dinner with wine
  • ✓All transfers with a private A/C motor coach as per itinerary
  • ✓Professional English-speaking Christian tour guide throughout
  • ✓Entrance fees are included to sites specifically listed (outside view means no entrance is included)
  • ✓Luggage handling at hotels (one piece per person in/out)
  • ✓Select International Tours Travel Portfolio
  • ✓Confirmation of daily private Mass
  • ✓Whisper sets

× Not included

  • ×Travel protection - we recommend you consider purchasing CFAR Travel Protection
  • ×Tipping/Gratuities for the guide(s), driver, and wait staff (please refer to the suggestions we will provide for you with your final documents) Suggested budget $200- $220.00 per person
  • ×Any items not explicitly mentioned in the listed 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 at the airport at the same time as the group
  • ×Personal expenses
  • ×ETIAS European Travel Authorization
  • ×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

Tipping/Gratuities for the guide(s), driver, and wait staff (please refer to the suggestions we will provide for you with your final documents) Suggested budget $200- $220.00 per person.

Day by Day

Your pilgrimage, mapped out

Tap any day to explore. Meals: B breakfast · L lunch · D dinner.
Day 1January 22, 2025
DEPART THE U.S.A.
+

Depart this evening on an overnight flight to Rome. Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane. Quotes for add-on flights from most major airports and for Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request.

Day 2January 23, 2025
ROME – ORVIETO – ASSISI
+

Welcome to Italy! Our professional English-speaking tour guide meets us at the airport and assists us to our motor coach. This morning’s drive takes us through the Umbrian hills to the magnificent hilltop town of Orvieto, famous for its wine and the Cathedral, considered one of Italy’s most beautiful. Take a funicular to the town where we see the dodecagon, a rare and unique 12-sided figure in the form of a bell tower, at Sant’ Andrea Church on Piazza della Repubblica. Celebrate Mass at the Cathedral, where we see the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena. We enjoy lunch with a tasting of Orvieto Classico wine, which this region is famous for. In the afternoon, continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight. (Special lunch with wine. D)

LD
Day 3January 24, 2025
ASSISI
+

Visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Degli Angeli (St. Mary of the Angels) to explore the Basilica, including the Porziuncola (the chapel where St. Francis started his order). Continue to the Basilica of Saint Clare, one of the first followers of St. Francis. Here, we descend to St. Clare’s lower crypt, where we pray before her incorrupt body and see many of her relics. We also have a chance to pray before the San Damiano cross, the very cross through which Christ spoke to St. Francis, asking Francis to rebuild his Church. We walk across town and downhill to the Basilica of St. Francis, first visiting the upper Basilica with 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. Our last stop of the day is the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, where we can see the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis in the Church of St. Mary Major. Dinner and overnight in Assisi.

BD
Day 4January 25, 2025
LORETO – LANCIANO
+

This morning, we depart for Loreto to see the Holy House of Nazareth, transported here from the Holy Land according to tradition. We can view the most reproduced Madonna in the world: the Black Madonna of Loreto. Here we join in the celebration of Mass. Continue to Lanciano to see the Host of Flesh, which is still in one piece and has retained the dimensions of the original. The actual spot of the miracle is located beneath the present-day tabernacle of the Church of St. Francis. The Eucharistic miracle is preserved in the second tabernacle found on the high altar. The Host, now changed to flesh, is contained in a silver monstrance. Now changed to blood, the wine is contained in a crystal chalice. This is also a pilgrimage place to Our Lady of Mercy. We depart for San Giovanni to see the places associated with the life and work of St. Pio. Overnight and dinner at the hotel in San Giovanni.

BD
Day 5January 26, 2025
SAN GIOVANNI – MT. SANT’ ANGELO
+

This morning after breakfast, we visit the Old Church to celebrate Mass. After Mass, we tour the sanctuary to see the crucifix, where St. Pio received the stigmata, and visit the confessional, where St. Pio spent innumerable hours listening to confessions. Next, we board our bus and travel along the beautiful Gargano Peninsula to the Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel, a shrine consecrated by St. Michael, who appeared to a Bishop at this grotto to assure him that his diocese would not be annihilated as he feared. Following our visit to the grotto, we have time to explore independently. We enjoy breathtaking ocean views and the surrounding countryside on the way back to San Giovanni Rotondo. Upon arrival, we have time for devotion and reflection. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni.

BD
Day 6January 27, 2025
POMPEII – ROME
+

We depart this morning for Pompeii. Upon arrival, we visit the beautiful Rosary Basilica and celebrate Mass (TBC). After lunch on our own, we enjoy a two-hour walking tour of the ancient city of Pompeii with a local guide. A thrilling archaeological journey unfolds as we walk through the ancient ruins buried in ashes after Mount Vesuvius erupted almost 2000 years ago. We discover the everyday life of Rome’s Imperial age at this UNESCO World Heritage Site. From here, we proceed to the Eternal City, Rome, for dinner and overnight.

BD
Day 7January 28, 2025
ROME – CATACOMBS
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This morning, we visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where we walk through the first Holy Door of our Pilgrimage. We continue to the nearby Tre Fontane Convent to see where St. Paul was beheaded and see the Catacombs where the early Christians prayed in secret. Next, visit the Basilica of San Sebastian Outside the Walls, where we celebrate Mass. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

BD
Day 8January 29, 2025
ROME – PAPAL AUDIENCE
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Today, we attend the General Papal Audience with Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square. Following lunch, we have an afternoon at leisure to explore Rome on our own or visit the Vatican Museum (be sure to purchase tickets online before your trip). Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

BLD
Day 9January 30, 2025
ROME – WALKING TOUR OF FOUNTAINS AND SQUARES
+

After breakfast, we see the Colosseum (outside view) followed by a walking tour including the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, St. Ignatius Church to see the rooms of St. Ignatius, and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, where St. Catherine is buried. Our walking tour ends at Piazza Navona where we also see St. Monica Church with the tomb of St. Augustine. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

B
Day 10January 31, 2025
CHRISTIAN ROME
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This morning we celebrate Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica and walk through the second of the Holy Doors of our pilgrimage. Following Mass, we have time to explore the Basilica and visit the Scavi tunnels underneath the church. (TBC) In the afternoon, we visit St. Mary Major to walk through the third Holy Door, St. John the Lateran, where we walk through the fourth and final Holy Door of our trip, and the Holy Stairs. We also visit the nearby Holy Cross in Jerusalem to see relics from the Holy Land. Tonight we enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Rome. (B. Farewell dinner)

BD
Day 11February 1, 2025
RETURN TO USA
+

We are transferred to the Rome airport for our flight back to the USA.

Pricing

Choose how you travel

Land and Air
$4,695per person

Land and Air. Main trip package.

Most popular
Land Only
$3,895per person

Land Only. Main trip package.

Single Room Supplement
$1,195additional

Single Room Supplement. Additional supplement.

ETA Required
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Deposit
A deposit of $750.00 per person by check should accompany the enrollment form and a copy of your passport picture page by October 10, 2024.
Final Payment
Final payment is due by October 24, 2024.
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This pilgrimage has ended

Completed

This departure has ended. Registration is closed.