Rome • Assisi • Florence • Siena • Cinque Terre


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  • 10 Days - Our prices include airfare from your hometown and exclusively 4 or 5 star hotels everywhere

Scroll down to view the itinerary; click on the trip date to book your trip online.

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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. If your city has a direct flight to your destination, we will guarantee a direct flight as long as it is available.
  • 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 PhD's 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.
  • We limit our group to a maximum of 24 passengers, unless the priest on the trip requests a larger group. Small groups with a 5 star service in 4/5 star hotels.
  • If you are traveling alone and you allow us to find you a roommate, you don't pay the $900 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 $900.
  • Taxi and wheelchair can be provided gratis for those passengers who cannot walk, with prior notice at registration. A traveling companion has to push the wheelchair throughout the trip.
  • At the time of registration, as a part of the total balance, a non-refundable $500 (hotel and airfare 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 and is due 4 months before departure date. 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.

Trip Does Not Include

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

Trip Itinerary

 

ITINERARY FOR ITALY with FR. BIERBAUM ~ PILGRIMAGE

APRIL 22- MAY 1, 2017

 

Day 1: You will depart from your hometown airport in the United States.

Day 2: Upon arrival, you will be met at the airport by one of our local tour guides. Our first stop will be to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall where the body of St. Paul is buried. As amazing as it is, it is the second largest Basilica in Rome and one of the five largest in the world. After we leave the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the wall, we will stop and check into the hotel. In the afternoon we will celebrate Mass at St. Mary Major, the main Basilica dedicated to Mary in Rome. St. Mary Major is home to the remains of Jesus' manger, brought by St. Helen, the mother of Constantine, to the Eternal City of Rome; the tomb of Bernini (the Architect of St Peter's in the Vatican); the tomb of St. Jerome who translated the Bible from Greek to Latin as he lived next to the manger of Jesus in Bethlehem; and the oldest icon in the world of the Virgin Mary painted by St. Luke: the famous Salus Populi Romani. We will have dinner with red and white wine included and stay overnight in Rome.

Day 3: Today we will celebrate Mass at the alter of St. John Paul II beginning at 7:15 am. Afterwards we will spend the day in Vatican City,visit the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's private Chapel) and St. Peter's Basilica. We arrange all of our tours in advance shortening the long lines to gain entrance. St. Peter's is the largest Basilica in the world and the building itself is great piece of art by Bernini. Vatican rules dictate that your shoulders and knees must be covered out of respect while in St. Peter’s Basilica, so make sure your wardrobe today includes long pants, capris, or skirts below the knee, and no sleeveless shirts or tank tops. Again, we will have dinner with red and white wine included and stay overnight in Rome.

Day 4: Today, enjoy the most well know symbol of the city of Rome: The Colosseum. Built in 80 A.D., it still stand as one of the greatest monuments in human history. This will be followed by a visit to the nearby Basilica of St. John Lateran and Mass.  (This is the a Feast Day for Italy: celebrating St Mark and Mass may change); the first Basilica ever to be built in the Roman Empire after it became a Christian empire under Constantine. In the afternoon visit The Scavi. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Day 5: Today's Mass will be at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. We will be outside most of the day today so dress casually with comfortable walking shoes. This morning is the Audience with the Pope at 10:00 am (10:30 am). We will need to depart from the hotel early so we get to see the Pope very closely. Following the General Audience there will be time for lunch in the area of the Vatican. We will spend the afternoon visiting the historical center of Rome. Our first stop will be the Spanish Steps, where the ancient Romans hung out. From there it is a short walk to Trevi Fountain; throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain and have time for shopping. This will be followed by a walk to the Pantheon, the oldest functional building in the world. Finally, we will end at the great artistic place of Piazza Navona, arriving about 4:30 pm. This evening’s dinner will be at a local restaurant in the area of Piazza Navona, and, as always, will include red and white wine. This will be our last night at our hotel in Rome.

Day 6: This morning we will say good-bye to Rome as we head north toward the Tuscany region. We will break up the drive by stopping to visit the beautiful town of Assisi where we will have a quiet Mass at one of the convent's chapels. There will be time to see the tombs of Sts. Francis and Clare, take a self-guided tour of the Basilica of St. Francis, and enjoy the peace and serenity as you wander the streets of Assisi. Make sure you have some lunch at one of the café’s while in Assisi, then we will continue on our way to Florence. Dinner tonight will include red and white wine served at a local restaurant in Tuscany on the way to our hotel in Florence.

Day 7: Today, dress casually and get ready to see everything Florence has to offer: museums, shopping, a Cathedral, and more. We have requested Mass at St. Lawrence di San Lorenzo.  Our tour will include Ponte Vecchio; Piazza della Signoria; the Uffizzi; Michelangelo's masterpiece, The David; the Flea Market; the Duomo (Cathedral); and the Baptistery. The tour guide will be available to assist you, if you are interested in seeing even more sites. Our dinner will include red and white wine and will be at a local restaurant in Florence. Overnight at the hotel in Florence.

Day 8: If we have time, we will start the day by visiting Pisa, most likely we will go straight to ** San Gimignano which is known for its many towers and plan to celebrate Mass. Seven of its towers are around the Piazza del Duomo. Visit the Palazzo del Popolo Civic Museum which contains outstanding artwork and frescoes from the 13th-15th centuries, including the famous Sala di Dante with frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. In the afternoon, travel to Siena. This beautiful medieval city is centered within ancient walls which hold artistic monuments and museums. We will stop at San Domenico, where the head of St. Catherine, patroness of Italy, is reposed. Later, we will visit the Piazza del Campo, home to the Duomo di Siena and Torre (tower) del Mangia, and the Palazzo Communal.

**We may reverse the order of the day and enjoy a special "Country Dinner and Wine Tasting" in San Gimignano.  We will return to Florence and our hotel for the night. 

Day 9: Visit Lucca on the way to Cinque Terre, known as "Five Lands" composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Mass is planned at San Martino-La capella del Volto Santo de Antonio Bassi.  Dinner in the Cinque Terre region and overnight in Florence.

Day 10: Today we will return home to the United States.  Mass will be at the Nilhotel in the Chapel.

Current Mass schedule:
St. Mary Major
Mass at Alter of St. John Paul II 7:15 am
St. John: It is the Feast of St. Mark and a holiday in Italy ... Mass may change 
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva  
Assisi- chapel of the convent, there are no masses in the Basilica except local Italian Mass
St. Lawrence di San Lorenzo- requested- 
St. Gimignano (unconfirmed by church- requested in February)
Lucca- San Martino-La capella del Volto Santo de Antonio Bassi -Requested no answer yet
This is a travel day, therefore before flightsMass will be at the Nilhotel Chapel

 

General Trip Information