Rome with Cenacle, Producer of Messiah

You depart from your selected city for the Eternal City, Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the overnight commercial flight. (M)

You arrive at Leonardo Da Vinci Airport in Rome in the morning. After you pass through immigration, you will be welcomed by your tour leaders and transported to your hotel by deluxe motor coach. We will gather for brunch and you will have a few hours to settle in and rest. In the afternoon we will enjoy a panoramic bus tour including the Colosseum, Constantine’s Arch, the Circus Maximus, and the Roman Forum. We conclude our tour at the Pontifical North American College for an opening Mass. After a light reception, your tour leaders will return you to your hotel. You are free to enjoy dinner independently with your deacon candidate. (B)

We depart our hotel after breakfast and arrive at Saint Peter’s Square where we will attend the General Audience by His Holiness Pope Francis. During our wait, we will pray a group rosary for our deacon candidate and the special intentions of our group. At the end of the ceremony, Pope Francis will give all present the papal blessing. Bring your religious articles to be blessed during this moment as well. We break for an independent lunch, when perhaps you’ll want to enjoy a taste of gelato, or shop for souvenirs. In the afternoon, we reconvene for a tour of two more of Rome’s four Papal Basilicas. We begin at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome and site of the Scala Sancta, the Holy Stairs from Pilate’s palace brought to Rome by Saint Helena. We then visit the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, the “Bethlehem of Rome” housing wood from the Holy Manger. Saint Jerome, who first translated the entire Bible into Latin, is buried here, as well as Saint Matthias the Apostle. We will pause to ponder the enormity and beauty of the Basilica and for silent prayer. We return early to our hotel for dinner and to prepare for our big day tomorrow. (B,D)

After breakfast, our group will gather for the crowning moment of our pilgrimage, the ordination of our deacon candidate at Saint Peter’s Basilica. Here we will attend the Ordination Ceremony, and then walk to the North American College for the reception of our newly-ordained deacons. Following the reception, our bus will be available to take you back to the hotel. The evening is free for personal celebrations with your newly-ordained deacon. (B)

We enjoy breakfast and then everyone independently departs for the mass of Thanksgiving for their newly-ordained deacon at his chosen church in Rome. Early afternoon, we gather for a guided tour of the catacombs, tombs of some of the earliest Christians, and their refuges in time of persecution. We visit the Appian Way, which spread Roman civilization, and later our Christian faith, far and wide. We visit the Circus of Maxentius, the Roman tyrant overthrown by the emperor Constantine. Concluding our tour, we visit Rome’s fourth Papal Basilica, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, housing the great Saint and Apostle who fulfilled in an extraordinary way the Lord’s command to “make disciples of all nations.” We return to our hotel and enjoy dinner and conversation together. (B,D)

After breakfast at our hotel, we board our deluxe motor coach for a journey through the beautiful Italian countryside where we take in sweeping views of the Umbrian hills, mountains, and valleys, including the striking Duomo of Orvieto, a cathedral perched high on the hillside dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. In Assisi, we disembark to visit the Basilica of Saint Francis where we will pray the prayer of Saint Francis as a group. We will also visit the basilica of Saint Clare and the basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, where Saint Francis received his divine commission to rebuild the Church. Midday you will have free time to contemplate the majesty of the area, get your lunch, and shop for souvenirs. We return to Rome to enjoy dinner at or near our hotel. (B,D)

Breakfast will be served at our hotel, followed by a day of exploring Vatican City, the see of Peter and headquarters of the Catholic Church. In the morning, a seminarian leads our group through the magnificent Saint Peter’s Basilica, including the fascinating excavations where we will visit the tomb of Saint Peter in the Clementine Chapel. After an independent break for lunch and shopping, we will gather in Saint Peter’s Square. There we will make the short walk to the Vatican Museums to see hundreds of priceless works of art, including the most famous, the Sistine Chapel. In the late afternoon, we return to our hotel where we have time to refresh, rest and prepare for a delicious and convivial dinner with our group. (B, D)

As we near the end of our pilgrimage we enjoy our last breakfast together at the hotel. On our final day we visit the tombs of two great saints of early modern history, who were contemporaries and friends: Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and Saint Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome, saint of joy, who established the Oratorian way of life. Each found new ways to exemplify and share the faith in the circumstances of their day. After visiting the saints and the beautiful churches which house them, the Gesù and Santa Maria in Vallicella, we return late afternoon to our hotel to prepare for a special evening. We’ll attend the closing Mass at the North American College and join the newly-ordained deacons for the Farewell Dinner. (B)

With a renewed sense of faith and a rekindled spirit we will board our plane for our flight home.