12 Days Itinerary Fatima and Classic Rome Pilgrimage ( Sample Itinerany)
(Day 1) - Depart for Fatima Departure
Today we depart on transcontinental flight to Portugal, Lisbon.
Meals served on board of the plane. Our Lady of Fatima.
Arrival to Portugal is next morning.
(Day 2) - Lisbon – Fatima
Upon arrival to Lisbon transfer to Fatima. On the way to Fatima short stop in Santarem to one of the most popular Eucharistic Miracles in Europe! In Fatima group will check to hotel, dinner and first overnight by the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. Same evening optional is candlelight procession & Rosary by the “Little chapel”!
(Day 3) - Fatima - Aljustrel – Valinhos
Sightseeing of Fatima Visit of places connected to the apparition in Fatima, tiny village Aljustrel, home of visionaries, pasturage at Valinhos where Our Lady also appeared and to the Cova da Iria, the actual place of the apparition where Our Lady of Fatima gave a message to the world through Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia. Dinner and overnight stay in Fatima.
Same evening optional is candlelight procession & Rosary by the “Little chapel”!
(Day 4) - Day Four: FATIMA - ROME Departure / Arrival
We will have a quick breakfast and depart the hotel to the airport. Arrival to Rome; meet your guide who will be with you the rest of the journey. Rome one of the most magnificent and interesting cities in the world, and also known as the “Eternal City”! You will be transferred to your hotel, followed by a welcome dinner with wine. This evening we will walk to St. Peter’s Square for Rosary. (Optional)
(Day 5) - Rome: Papal Audience - Trevi Fountain / Piazza Novona - Basilica of St. John the Lateran and St. Mary Major - Holy Steps
After breakfast, we will make our way to St. Peter’s Square to attend the Papal Audience, led by His Holiness, Pope Francis. (Papal Audience: Is scheduled to take place every Wednesday, pending the schedule of Pope Francis)
Following the audience, we will make our way to the Trevi Fountain built in the 15th Century to mark the ending destination of the Aqua Virgo - a man-made channel erected in 19 B.C or Piazza Novona where at the center: Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi “Fountain of the Four Rivers. After free time for lunch we will visit the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral church where relics of both Peter and Paul remain under the main altar. It was here that Pope Francis was formally installed two year ago as Bishop of Rome. Next we cross the street to see the Holy Staircase which is believed to be a staircase from Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem and brought to Rome by St. Helen in the 4th century.
We will continue to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the most important and the oldest church dedicated to Our Lady. St. Mary Major contains a relic from the Manger of the infant Jesus. We will celebrate Mass, then dinner and overnight.
(Day 6) - Rome: Vatican Museum - Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls – Catacombs
Depart to celebrate Mass in the largest church in Christendom, St Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St Peter was martyred. 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. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. Celebrate Mass and then we will visit of the Vatican Museums, containing a group of the most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics, and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith.
We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. The tour ends as we make our way back into St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis visited the tomb of St. Peter, following his elevation, for a visit of devotion that lasted 45 minutes. He is the first Pontiff to visit the necropolis since extensive archaeological excavations were conducted at the ancient site decades ago. We will also visit the tomb of St. John Paul II located at the Vatican.
There will be free time for lunch, and then we will continue on to visit St Paul. Outside the Walls. Continue our tour via the Appian Way -- the oldest road from Roman times--plus the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel; see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus; Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution, Dinner and overnight in Rome.
(Day 7) - Rome - Monte Cassino - San Giovanni Rotondo
Today we will head south and cross through the Roman countryside with its villas and vineyards. During your drive, your tour guide will explain the spiritual, historical, and cultural overview of Italy, which will help to orient you to this beautiful country and prepare you for all that you will experience in the days to follow. We stop at Montecassino, a beautiful town founded by Saint Benedict in 529.
Enjoy lunch and then continue through the countryside heading east to Padre Pio’s town, San Giovanni Rotondo, our base for the following two nights, Dinner and overnight.
(Day 8) - San Giovanni Rotondo - Monte Sant’ Angel
After celebrating Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio, we tour the sanctuary, see the old church and the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. You will see the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. (We will have the opportunity to view and pray before the incorrupt body of Padre Pio.)
Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Gargano Peninsula and a visit to the Grotto of Michael the Archangel. Six different popes, St Francis and at least four other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St Michael. Following lunch, take in the panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection, Dinner and overnight.
(Day 9) - San Giovanni Rotondo - Lanciano - Loreto – Assisi
After breakfast, we make our way to Lanciano, and visit the Church of St. Longinus where we will see the Eucharistic Miracle and celebrate Mass. It was here, as they celebrated the Latin Rite, a Basilian hieromonk was assigned to celebrate Mass. The monk had doubts about the real presense of Jesus Chris in the Holy Eucharist. With doubt in his voice, he said the “Words of Consecration” and the bread turned into living flesh, and the wine changed into live blood.
The blood coagulated into five globules, corresponding to the wounds Christ suffered in each hand and foot on the cross, and the wound from the centurion’s spear. After free time for lunch, we will continue on toward the Adriatic coast to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. More than 50 popes have made a pilgrimage to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived.
Enjoy lunch before we make our way to Assisi, the hometown of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment, and the founder of the Franciscan Order, Dinner and overnight.
(Day 10) – Assisi
Today we will spend a full day touring the home of Saint Francis the Saint of Nature and Servant to the Poor. Known for being a humble man himself, Pope Francis spent most of his life denying the luxuries of life, and preferring to live in simplicity and humility. Following breakfast, we will begin a tour of Assisi. Visit the tomb of St Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St Francis began his ministry.
Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of the saint's possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St Mary of the Angels Basilica where St Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer.
Walk the medieval streets of the compact little town. You will have some free time to shop or eat lunch at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple; we go to the Church of St. Clare to view the relics of St. Clare. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. We will visit these two saints' tombs before dinner and overnight.
(Day 11) - Assisi - Siena – Assisi
After breakfast we will head south to Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine (Doctor of the Church, and one of the two patron Saints of Italy, with St. Francis of Assisi) and Bernardine (known as the “Apostle of Italy” for his efforts to revive the Catholic faith in the 15th century).
Siena is also one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy’s finest squares and visit the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. After lunch, we will continue on to view the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic (Her body is preserved in Rome in the Basilica St. Maria sopra Minerva). We travel back to Assisi for dinner and overnight.
(Day 4 OR 12) - Assisi - Rome – USA
Today we will board our bus that will take us to Rome for our return flights home. We will bid farewell to our new friends and to a Pilgrimage which will be in our memories and hearts for many years. We depart for Rome Airport and fondly say, Arrivederci Italia!
