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Trip Includes

• A Catholic priest will be with the group to celebrate daily Mass.
• Round-trip airfare from your hometown connecting in a major city to fly overseas is included.
• Airport taxes, security fees, and fuel surcharges!
• Exclusively 4 or 5 star hotels in downtown areas.
• All breakfasts and all dinners. Wine is included with all dinners.
• Transportation with luxury bus.
• All entrance fees to all the sites.
• All tips to everyone involved in the tour.
• The tour fees for our guides. Our tour guides are well educated, caring, and professional. Most of them have their PhDs in church history, archeology, philosophy, languages, or theology.
• Luggage handling. Please pack light, one piece of luggage and one carry-on.
• Dress casually throughout the whole trip. Shoulders and knees should be covered when visiting basilicas or churches.
• If you are traveling alone and you allow us to find you a roommate, you don't pay the single supplement. If you wish to have your own room and you are not open to rooming with another passenger, then the single supplement fee is $1,200.
• Wheelchair can be provided for those passengers who cannot walk, with prior notice at registration for $150. A traveling companion has to push the wheelchair throughout the trip.
• NOTE: If you wish to deepen your knowledge of the Catholic Faith as a preparation for this pilgrimage, we recommend the following book as it is faithful to the teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church (Imprimatur by ARCHBISHOP FELIPE AGUIRRE FRANCO): The Catholic Faith in Easy Terms. Introduction, Nihil Obstat, and Imprimatur by Archbishop Felipe Aguirre Franco.
• At the time of registration, as a part of the total balance, a non-refundable $500 deposit is due in the form of a credit card. For example, if your trip costs $3,700, when you sign up, you pay a $500 deposit, then your balance would be $3,200. Final balance is due 4 months before departure date.
• One month after registration, a $1,000 additional deposit is due only in the form of cash, personal check, cashiers check, or money order.
• If you sign up after the final payment due date or at the last minute, you pay the entire cost of the trip at registration only in the form of cash, personal check, cashiers check, or money order.

Trip Does Not Include

• Lunch
• Insurance ~ The total trip cost is non-refundable, we recommend trip insurance to protect your investment.

Trip Itinerary

Day 1: Departure from USA.

Day 2: Arrival. Visit the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Wall where the body of St. Paul is buried. It is the 2nd largest basilica in Rome and the 5th in the world. GO THROUGH THE HOLY DOORS. Check in the hotel and rest for a few hours, if time permits. In the afternoon, we will be visiting St. Mary Major, the main Basilica dedicated to Mary in Rome. We will see the remains of Jesus' manger, the tomb of Bernini, the remains of St. Matthew the Evangelist, the tomb of St. Jerome, and the oldest icon in the world of the Virgin Mary painted by St. Luke: the famous Salus Populi Romani. GO THROUGH THE HOLY DOORS. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Day 3: Start around 9:00am. Tour of the Colosseum from the outside, the symbol of the city of Rome; a great building that has been standing since 80 A.D. Then visit St. John Lateran, the first Basilica ever to be built in the Roman Empire and the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. GO THROUGH THE HOLY DOORS. Visit he Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, (a minor basilica). This was Saint Helena's residence and houses some of the most important relics of Christendom. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Day 4: Start the day around 9:30 am, by visiting the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's private chapel). Proceed to St. Peter's in the Vatican, the largest Basilica in the world. GO THROUGH THE HOLY DOORS. There will be time for private devotion, lunch and shopping for religious items that will be blessed by the Pope next day during the Audience. Long pants, capris, or skirts below the knee will be required and shoulders covered. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Day 5: We will have an early start as our private bus takes us to the Vatican to experience the Audience with the Pope. There will be time for lunch in the Vatican area. After lunch we will visit the Spanish Steps known for the area where the Romans gathered to meet followed by a walk to the Trevi Fountain. We will continue on from there to the Pantheon, the oldest functional building in the world. We will conclude by visiting the great artistic Piazza Navona. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Day 6: Fly to Athens. Tour of the city by bus. Dinner and overnight in Athens.

Day 7: Athens ~ Start 3-day Cruise (Luis Hellenic Cruise Lines) Mykonos Our first port-of-call is Mykonos. It is the most cosmopolitan of all Greek islands and attracts many visitors from all over the globe, including large numbers of artists and intellectuals. Your coaches will take you to Hora the island's capital where you'll enjoy a walking tour in the narrow cobbled streets of the town, passing by chic boutiques, elegant nightclubs and white washed houses till reaching Alefkandra. Alefkandra is a charming corner of Hora, known also as the "Venice" of Mykonos. You'll return then to Mykonos Town (Hora) from where you'll take the ship's shuttle service back to the port. Return back to the ship.

Day 8: Kusadasi and Ephesus (Turkey) and Patmos ~ we begin our day arriving at Kusadasi which is a lively Turkish port. Drive through the colorful town of Kusadasi to reach Mt. Koressos. Situated in a small valley, it is here where you will visit the humble chapel which lies on the site of the little house where The Virgin Mary is believed to have spent her last days. This site has been sanctioned by the Vatican for pilgrimage. Continue on to Ancient Ephesus and accompanied by your guide, walk through the Magnesian Gate which is the entrance to the ancient city of Ephesus. See the Odeon (concert hall), the Fountain of Trajan, the steam-heated Baths of Scolastika, the Temple of Hadrian and the Latrians, the Library of Celsus and The Great Theatre, where St. Paul preached, which is the largest theatre in antiquity having a capacity of 24,000 people. Walk back to your motor coach along the Arcadian Way, where Mark Anthony and Cleopatra once rode in procession. While driving back to Kusadasi and just outside Ephesus, view the Basilica of St. John, which was erected over his grave in the 6th Century AD by the Emperor Justinian. Before returning to the ship, enjoy free time in Kusadasi. Continue our journey to Patmos, where we will enjoy a short journey to the village of Chora, where the monastery of St. John is built within the walls of a strong fortification. As you walk uphill towards the entrance of the monastery marvel at this magnificent structure, which was build 900 years ago, exceptional in its architecture. View the courtyard, the monk's dining room and the old bakery before you visit the main church noting its outstanding frescoes and interior decoration. Next, see the priceless ecclesiastical treasures housed in the beautiful but small museum: books and manuscripts, mosaics, Icons, splendid medieval textiles and vestments as well as jewelry. Return to your motor coach to continue on to the nearby Grotto of the Apocalypse, where above stands the Monastery of the Apocalypse, a sub-unit of the main monastery. Walk down the steps to visit the Grotto of the Apocalypse. Here you will see the silver niches in the wall that mark the pillow and ledge used as a desk by the author of the Book of the Revelation as well as the three-fold crack made by the voice of God emphasizing the honor of the Holy Trinity. Afterwards, drive back to the port of Scala and enjoy some free time in this quaint and picturesque harbor.Return back to the ship.

Day 9: Heraklion and Santorini ~ in the morning we will visit Heraklion. Heraklion is just three miles away from the fantastic ruins of the Palace of Knossos. Discovered in 1899 and partially reconstructed, the elaborate Palace is believed to be the mythical Labyrinth of King Minos and the seat of ancient Minoan culture. It is in Heraklion where Paul met the owner and captain of the ship who warned him of continuing his journey to Rome. In the afternoon we will cruise on to the idyllic island of Santorini. Santorini is perhaps the most breathtaking of all the Greek Islands. In the town of Thira, white-washed houses, narrow streets, open-air cafes and glittering boutiques cling to steep cliffs, accessible by cable-car or mule. Return back to the ship.

Day 10: Finish the tour of Athens. Dinner and overnight in Athens.

Day 11: Fly back home.

General Trip Information