0929AA5 - Holy Year Italy Pilgrimage 10 days from Pittsburgh

Today we depart from Pittsburgh to connect with our overnight flight to Rome aboard a wide-bodied jet. We enjoy in-flight movies, dinner, and breakfast aloft.

This morning, we arrive in Rome where we are met by our Unitours Tour Manager at the airport. We start our day at the Callistus Catacombs, a burial place of early Christians where we celebrate our opening Mass. The balance of the day is at leisure in this world -famous city. Those who wish to rest in the hotel after check-in are welcome. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

This morning, we make our way to St. Peter's for an audience with Pope Francis, if he is in residence. This afternoon, following a stop for lunch on our own, we tour Santa Prassede with its 9th Century mosaics and the Chapel of San Zeno, which holds a relic of the column on which Jesus was scourged. Bring a coin to light up the chapel, revealing the grandeur of the decorations. Next, we visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major and pass through the 1st set of “Holy Doors”. St. Mary’s holds relics of Christ’s Holy Manger from Bethlehem and a piece of the true cross from Golgotha. The golden ceiling of St. Mary’s is decorated by the first gold brought back from the New World by Christopher Colombus, given as a gift to the Pope. We celebrate our Mass here in honor of Our Lady at one of the side altars of the biggest church in the world dedicated to the Blessed Mother. We then enjoy a tour of Rome’s sites, including a walking tour to the Roman Fora passing the Arch of Constantine and Flavian Amphitheater, more commonly known as” the Coliseum.” Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

This morning, we make our way to St. Peter's Basilica for Mass at one of the side altars in the crypt. We pass through the 2nd set of “Holy Doors” and enjoy a tour of the world’s largest church with its many treasures including the famous Bernini altar columns. One altar column contains the spear of St. Longinus, the Roman centurion who pierced the side of our Savior and was healed by the blood and water that flowed from it! We proceed our tour to the Vatican Museum including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. This afternoon, following a break for lunch on our own, we visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls to pass through our 3rd set of “Holy Doors. This imposing Basilica, second only to St. Peter’s in size, contains an unusual gallery of 268 papal portraits including Pope Francis. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Today, after an early breakfast we tour the Holy Stairs and Basilica of St. John Lateran where we celebrate Mass. The Holy Stairs were taken from Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helen, the Emperor Constantine’s mother. These are the stairs that Jesus climbed to be sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate after being mercilessly scourged. Many pilgrims climb these stairs on their knees in prayer. We also visit St. John Lateran Basilica and pass through the 4th set of “Holy Doors”. St. John Lateran served as Pope’s home church until the 14th Century when it switched to St. Peter’s Basilica. After our tour we travel to Assisi in prayerful preparation for the celebration of the Feast of St. Francis tomorrow. If possible, we will participate in “The Transitus”, a special vigil that celebrates St. Francis’ embrace of “Sister Death”. The Transitus is a treasured service in the Franciscan community that occurs in the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels with everyone encircling the small chapel of the Porziuncola—the original chapel that St. Francis rebuilt by hand after the Lord told him to “Rebuild my Church”. Dinner and overnight at our Assisi hotel.

Today, the Feast of St. Francis, we visit and tour the Basilica of St. Francesco, where St. Francis is buried. We enjoy the festivities of St. Francis’ feast day during our walking tour of the village. We stop at the Church of St. Clare to view the tomb of St. Clare and the famous San Damiano crucifix. From this cross, Christ spoke to St. Francis and commissioned him to renew the Church through his simplicity and passionate love of Christ. We celebrate our Mass here if possible. After lunch on our own, we visit the resting place*** of newly canonized St. Carlo Acutis who was 15-years old when he died in 2006 from leukemia. Acutis' tomb is located in Assisi's Sanctuary of the Renunciation, the spot where a young St. Francis of Assisi is said to have cast off his rich clothes in favor of a poor habit. Afterwards, our taxis take us up to the Hermitage of the Carceri, where Francis and his Friars retreated from the world to pray and fast. Here the grotto of St. Francis can also be seen. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. ***The body of St. Carlo Acutis may be moved to Rome for his canonization.

Today, we drive to Florence to spend time in this beautiful city and celebrate Mass at Basilica di San Marco, near the Accademia Gallery. Following a break for lunch on our own we have a tour of the Academia Gallery or Medici Chapels. We continue our tour of Florence with the Piazza della Signoria, dominated by the Palazzo Vecchio and its embattlement crowned tower. Across from the Palace, we visit the Loggia dei Lanzi with the statues of the Perseus by Cellini; Giambologna's the “Rape of the Sabines” and “Hercules.”. We enjoy free time for shopping, a visit to any of the art museums or a leisurely walk along the Arno River admiring the world-famous Ponte Vecchio. This evening, our dinner location will be one of the restaurants of this city. After our included dinner we return at our hotel in Montecatini for overnight.

This morning, we return to Florence where our first stop is “Piazzale Michelangelo” for the best panoramic view of this spectacular city one could ask for. We proceed with a visit to the beautiful Basilica of Santa Croce, where we celebrate Mass. Among the most famous Italians interred here, lie Galileo, Rossini, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli. We continue with a visit to the Duomo (also known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore), in the heart of the city, and the fourth largest in the world! We break for a leisurely lunch on our own at one of the many trattorias along Florence’s Arno River. In the afternoon we will meet the guide in Piazza della Repubblica and we will begin our afternoon tour, passing Palazzo Strozzi (external), we will continue along Via Tornabuoni up to Piazza Santa Trinità. We will cross the bridge from which we will be able to admire all the beauty of Ponte Vecchio from a distance and continue the walk in Oltrarno. Visit to the church of Santo Spirito and the magnificent Crucifix by Michelangelo. We continue our walk passing Palazzo Pitti (external) and we will finally reach Ponte Vecchio where we will be free for shopping and/or to enjoy a delicious Italian ice cream. We leave for our hotel in the delightful spa town of Montecatini just outside of Florence for dinner and overnight.

We travel to the breathtaking Orvieto Cathedral, which is known as the jewel of Italian architecture. We celebrate our Mass here. Inside the Cathedral is the Chapel of the Corporal, which houses the chalice cloth, involved in the Eucharistic Miracle. In 1263AD, a pilgrim priest named Fr. Peter of Prague was celebrating Mass at the crypt of St. Christina. He doubted the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. But while speaking the words of consecration, blood started to drip from the consecrated Host. Subsequently Pope Urban IV instituted The Feast of Corpus Christi. Afterwards, we enjoy lunch on our own in this charming Italian town before returning to Rome. The balance of the day is free for prayer, seeing any sites of personal interest to you and leisure. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

This morning, we fly out of Rome and make our way home with memories of a lifetime.