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Your chaplain
Our pilgrimage begins with an overnight flight from Tampa, Florida to Rome! (Bring a good book, your rosary, and prayer intentions.) Meals and refreshments are served on the plane.
We arrive in Venice, Italy, where we meet our Canterbury Tour Director, who will remain with us throughout our trip, and transfer from the airport to our hotel. We spend the day taking in the sights of this magical city, including the Doge’s Palace (home of former rulers of Venice), St Mark’s Piazza and Basilica for Mass (where the Apostle Mark is said to be buried), the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal. Prior to dinner you may want to step aboard a Gondola ride (on your own) and see Venice from the canals.
Overnight in Venice
We head to Ravenna, a city with early Christian and Byzantine structures that have been recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We see sites the Mausoleum of Galla Placida with its the awe-inspiring art before having lunch and some free time and continuing to Florence. On arrival into Florence, we will participate in Mass followed by hotel check in and dinner.
Overnight in Florence
In Florence, we will visit and participate in Mass at the Basilica of Santa Croce, where Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli are all buried. We see the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery of St. John. We then visit the Piazza della Signoria, where a replica of Michelangelo’s David stands at its original site, before moving on to the Galleria dell’Accademia, where we see the real thing. We have free time in the evening to enjoy the city’s other sites, like Ponte Vecchio bridge.
Overnight in Florence
We drive through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to Siena. We take in sites like the city’s magnificent Gothic Cathedral before moving on to Assisi, hometown of Francis of Assisi.
Overnight in Assisi
In Assisi we see the Basilica of Saint Clare, the medieval town square, the Basilica of Saint Francis and its famous frescoes where we will participate in Mass. In the afternoon we head to Perugia, where we walk some of the most authentic medieval streets in Europe, before returning to our hotel in Assisi for the evening.
Overnight in Assisi
We drive to Rome, where we see the Palatine Hill and the Circus Maximus, the chariot racing grounds of the ancient Romans, and the location of a great number of the early Christian martyrdoms that took place in Rome. We see the Aventine Hill, with its Church of Santa Prisca, named for the early Christian Priscilla (Romans 16:3). After lunch, we see sites including the Roman Forum, the Arch of Titus, the Colosseum, Trajan’s Column, and the Mamertine Prison (where St. Peter and St. Paul were imprisoned).
Overnight in Rome
We visit the Basilica and Catacombs of St Sebastian, where the remains of Peter and Paul were kept during Christian persecutions of the 3rd Century. We move on to the Abbey of Three Fountains, where, Tradition has it, the Apostle Paul was martyred, and to St. Paul’s Outside the Walls which is believed to be the final resting place of the Apostle Paul. We head on to the Saint John Lateran Church, the seat of the Pope. The steps that Jesus is believed to have ascended when he met with Pontius Pilate are across from this basilica. Finally, we visit the Basilica of San Clemente, which was originally the site of early, secret Christian worship.
Overnight in Rome
Following breakfast, we have an early departure for St. Peter’s Square to participate in the Papal Audience (subject to the Pope’s schedule). After lunch, we have a guided tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica where we will have the opportunity to pass through the Holy Door. On the last night of our tour we gather for our farewell banquet.
Overnight in Rome
We transfer from our hotel to the airport for our flight back to the US.
