Pilgrimage to Italy with Dr. Ray and Fr Leo

Depart on an overnight flight from Newark to Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the flight. Add-on flights, premium economy and business class upgrades can be quoted upon request.

Welcome to Italy! We arrive in the Eternal City, and our professional English-speaking guide greets us at the airport to assist with luggage and boarding our bus. En route to Rome, we stop at St. Paul Outside the Walls for a visit and the nearby Tre Fontane Convent to see where St. Paul was beheaded. Mass will be celebrated. We check into our hotel and enjoy dinner at the hotel and our first overnight stay in Rome. (D.)

This morning, we travel to St. Peter’s Square, where we are blessed by the Holy Father during the Papal Audience. We enjoy lunch in a local restaurant followed by a tour of Christian Rome, including a visit to the Holy Stairs and the Basilica of St. John the Lateran. We also visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major where we celebrate Mass. Dinner and overnight in Rome. (B. Spe-cial Lunch. D.)

Following breakfast, we celebrate Mass at the Gesu Church, where we see relics of St. Francis Xavier and rooms where St. Ignatius lived. Following Mass, we start a very unique walking tour led by Fr. Leo. The afternoon and evening are at leisure. Overnight in Rome. (B.)

This morning, we celebrate Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica (TBC) and visit the Scavi (TBC), the underground tunnels beneath the St. Peter’s Basilica. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church to which pilgrims come from around the world, St Peter’s is the grandest of the world’s churches. Our visit includes headsets, so each pilgrim can benefit from hearing a clear explanation of what we are seeing. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure. We enjoy an early dinner of pizza and pasta at a local restaurant before we re-turn to the Vatican for an evening visit to the Vatican Museum. Overnight in Rome. (B. Special Dinner.)

Today we depart Rome and drive to Assisi, the city of birds and silence. On the way, westop in Orvieto to visit the magnificent Duomo and view the Miracle of the Eucharist of Bolse-na. Following lunch at a local restaurant with an opportunity to taste the famous wine from this region, we visit Le Velette Estate for a history lesson about wine and olive oil production and a wine tasting. Next proceed to Santa Maria of the Angels Church and celebrate Mass (TBC) before checking into our hotel in Assisi for dinner and overnight (B. Special Lunch. D.)

This morning we visit the Basilica of St. Francis - 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. Proceed to 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. The afternoon is at leisure. Dinner and overnight in Assisi. (B. D.)

We depart for San Giovanni Rotondo, home of St. Padre Pio, this morning. En route, we stop at Manoppello to celebrate Mass at the old Capuchin Monastery and see the miraculous image of Christ’s face on the veil, the “veronica” (true icon) in the Sanctuary of the Holy Face. The image shows a male face with long hair and a beard parted in bands. The story is told that a mysterious pilgrim arrived in Manoppello one day in the year 1506, leaving behind a veil, which was said to bear the image of Christ’s face, but is not a painting. We continue to San Giovanni, where we settle into the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B. D.)

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 he 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 con-secrated by St. Michael. St. Michael 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. On the way back to San Giovanni Rotondo, we enjoy the breathtaking ocean and surrounding countryside views. Upon arrival, we have time for devotion and reflection. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni. (B. D.)

This morning, we depart for Naples, a city of eccentricities and ironies. Neapolitans are fiercely proud of their city as it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the city that invented pizza. For pilgrims, there are plenty of reasons to visit. Naples has numerous churches and 52 patron saints! Neapolitans are just as loyal to their saints as they are to their soccer club, Napoli. We visit the Duomo to see the Chapel of St. Januarius (San Gennaro) the city’s main patron saint.The best-known miracle, still ongoing, relates to the saint’s blood - two vials contain San Gennaro’s coagulated blood, which liquefies each year thrice. On September 19, the saint’s feast day, the archbishop of Naples presides over a Mass and ritual marking the liquefaction. After the blood liquefies, the bishop places the vials on the altar for eight days so the faithful can venerate the relics. A 21-gun salute sounds off from the 13th-century Castel Nuovo near the port. Our next stop is the Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore to see the Presepe Nativity Scene. We have time to taste the amazing pizza of the city and enjoy a pizza-making class. Mass will be celebrated. Dinner and overnight in Naples. (B, D)

Following a morning at leisure to explore Naples, we depart for the Frascati wine region, and settle into our hotel for the last night of our trip. Mass will be celebrated. Farewell dinner at the hotel. (B. Farewell Dinner.)

After breakfast, we depart for the airport in Naples for our flights back home. (B.)