Pilgrims will depart for Rome. Dinner and breakfast will be served aboard the flight.

Arrival in Rome and transfer to our hotel. In the afternoon, guided visit of Ancient Rome. We will begin with the Colosseum, also known as the Anfiteatro Flavio, and continue to the Roman Forum.

Holy Mass at Santa Maria della Consolazione Church.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to St. Peter’s Square for the Papal Audience.

Following the Audience, free time for lunch. In the afternoon, guided visit of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512, and later painted The Last Judgment between 1535 and 1541 under Popes Clement VII and Paul III. The chapel also serves as the site of the Papal Conclave, where the College of Cardinals elects a new Pope.

We then visit St. Peter’s Basilica, completed in 1590 and built over earlier structures marking the tomb of Saint Peter. The basilica contains more than 100 tombs, including that of Saint John Paul II.

Holy Mass at the Maria Bambina Chapel.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the largest Marian church in Rome, built following the Council of Ephesus (431), which proclaimed Mary as Mother of God. Saint Jerome is buried here. Visit the Confessio (reliquary crypt) housing the relics of the Holy Crib.

Holy Mass and prayer at the tomb of Pope Francis.

Continue to Santa Prassede and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.

Free time for lunch. In the afternoon, visit the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran and the Holy Staircase (Scala Santa).

Return to the hotel. Free time.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, visit the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Holy Mass in one of the chapels. In the afternoon, guided walking pilgrimage through central Rome, including Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Church of St. Augustine, the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, departure for the town of Assisi.

Upon arrival, visit the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, where St. Francis spent much of his life. The basilica includes the Porziuncola, where St. Francis founded the Order of Friars Minor, and the Chapel of the Transitus, marking the place of his death. We will also visit the Rose Garden and the cave where the saint withdrew for prayer.

Holy Mass at the basilica.

Free time for lunch.

In the afternoon, guided visit of Assisi, including the Church of St. Clare, which houses her incorrupt body, and the crucifix that spoke to St. Francis. Visit the Church of St. Mary Major and the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, where the incorrupt body of Blessed Carlo Acutis is venerated.

Continue to the Basilica of St. Francis, built in 1228 to house his relics. The Upper Basilica contains the renowned frescoes of Giotto, depicting the life and spirituality of St. Francis.

Special dinner at a local winery with wine tasting.

Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, departure for toward Bologna, with a stop in Siena.

Siena is the birthplace of St. Catherine, Doctor of the Church, and St. Bernardine. Visit Piazza del Campo and the Cathedral. Continue to the Basilica of St. Francis, site of the Eucharistic Miracle of 1730, where consecrated Hosts were found intact and remain preserved.

Visit the Basilica of St. Dominic, where the incorrupt head of St. Catherine is venerated.

Holy Mass. (TBD). Continue to Bologna. Arrival, hotel check-in.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, guided visit of Bologna, one of Italy’s oldest cities, rich in Catholic heritage. Visit the Basilica of St. Petronius and the Monastery of Corpus Domini, where St. Catherine of Bologna lived.

Holy Mass. (TBD). Free time for lunch.

In the afternoon, visit the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, a revered Marian pilgrimage site dating back to the 12th century.

Continue to Milan. Arrival, hotel check-in.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, visit Milan beginning at the Duomo Square and the Cathedral of Milan, dedicated to St. Mary of the Nativity (Santa Maria Nascente). This Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete and is the largest church in Italy (excluding St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City) and the third largest in the world.

Continue to the Church of San Bernardino alle Ossa and the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio.

Holy Mass. Free time for lunch.

In the afternoon, leisure walk through the Brera district to Castello Sforzesco.

Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at our hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for our return flight home, carrying with us the spiritual fruits and memories of this pilgrimage.