Depart the USA

Our representative will greet you at the airport. Upon arrival in Lisbon, you will meet your tour escort. Time permitting, enjoy a panoramic tour of Lisbon, including the Basilica of St. Anthony, St. Jeronimo’s Monastery, and Belem Tower. Continue to Fatima and check into your hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

Journey to Santarem. Here, the Church of St. Stephen was the site of a Holy Miracle in the 12th century. The crystal pyx can be seen at the renamed Church of the Holy Miracle. Continue to Fatima, where you will check into your hotel and then celebrate Mass in one of the chapels at the Sanctuary of Fatima complex. There is an opportunity to participate in the candlelight processional while in Fatima.

Today, you will celebrate Mass and then visit the basilica where the three children (Lucia lived to adulthood) are interred. You will then journey to the countryside, where Mary appeared to Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia dos Santos once a month from May 13 to October 13, 1917. You will see their homes nearby, where Francisco died in 1919. Jacinta died in a Lisbon hospital in 1920. Return to Fatima for a time to pray and contemplate the meaning of the Holy Site.

After breakfast, celebrate Mass. Then, travel to Spain and break for lunch in Salamanca (on your own). Known as Spain’s “golden city,” Salamanca is rich in architectural, religious, and gastronomic culture. Marvel at La Casa de las Conchas (house of shells) and visit the impressive 18th-century Plaza Mayor. You will have time for lunch (on your own) and to celebrate Mass before you visit the Old and New Cathedrals of Salamanca. Continue to Burgos, where you will check into the hotel for dinner and your overnight stay.

After breakfast, check out, and with the local guide, you will visit the city’s historical Gothic cathedral with its superb architecture and its unique collection of works of art, including paintings, choir stalls, tombs, and stained-glass windows. Here, you will celebrate Mass. Break for an early lunch (on your own) and then depart Burgos and travel through the spectacular Pyrenees Mountains. Nestled in the mountains stands picturesque Lourdes, the birthplace of St. Bernadette, to whom Our Lady appeared in 1858, near the Grotto of Massabielle. Arrive in Lourdes and check into your hotel. Celebrate Mass. After dinner, you may choose to participate in a candlelight procession dinner. Your overnight stay is in Lourdes.

You will spend the day in Lourdes. Visit the historical and spiritual sites associated with the visionary child, Bernadette. Begin at the Grotto of the Apparitions, and then continue on a guided walking tour visiting the Basilica of St. Pius X, Boly Mill, Soubirous family home, the Basilica of the Rosary, the miraculous spring, and the healing baths. Celebrate Mass. After dinner, join in the nightly rosary and candlelight procession. Dinner and overnight accommodations will be at the hotel.

Today, you will journey from Lourdes to the mountain-top Monastery of Montserrat. The statue of the Black Virgin was uncovered in Santa Cova in 880 AD. Celebrate Mass here in one of the chapels. Stay overnight in accommodations at the monastery.

Fly from Barcelona to Rome today. Upon arrival in Rome, you will be transferred to Assisi for overnight. Dinner is on your own this evening.

This morning, you will wake up to the atmospheric sounds of chapel bells, cobblestone footsteps and a tangible spirit of St. Francis preserved within the walls of this holy town. In themorning, you will visit the lower city. The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels stands at the foot of the hill of Assisi over the Porziuncola, Saint Francis’ Church given him by the Benedictine monks. The Church and Convent of St. Damiano is where in 1205, Saint Francis received his calling to “Rebuild My Church”. Saint Claire will later lead her Order of the Poor Ladies from here until her death in 1253. This afternoon, you will walk to the Papal Basilica of St Francis, the mother church of the Franciscan Order and burial place of St Francis. This basilica, which was begun in 1228, is built on the side of a hill and comprises an Upper and Lower church. These are decorated with numerous frescoes by late medieval painters including Giotto. Celebrate Mass here. Return to your hotel. Dinner is on your own this evening.

Travel through the stunning countryside. Pope Nicholas IV laid the cornerstone for the Cathedral of Orvieto in 1290, dedicating it to the Assumption of the Virgin. Orvieto served as a papal residence through the Middle Ages, Pope Clement VII being one of the last to stay in Orvieto in 1527. Here, the Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated. Dinner is on your own this evening.

Travel to the Basilica of St. Rita, the Chapel with St. Rita’s incorrupt body and relics, the Eucharistic Miracle, Relics of St. Rita, including her wedding ring, habit, and Crucifix from which she received the stigmata. Continue to Rome. Check in at the hotel. Dinner is on your own this evening.

Enjoy a guided tour of the Vatican’s Museums and Sistine Chapel. Built by connecting portions of the old Papal residence with newer structures, the museum houses a world-renowned collection of art and antiquities. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512, and later painted The Last Judgment between 1535 and 1541 for Popes Clement VII and Paul III. The primary function of the chapel is the Papal Conclave, providing the place where the College of Cardinals of the church gathers to elect a new pope. Then, walk through St. Peter’s Basilica and celebrate Mass here. The present structure, completed in 1590, was built over the Byzantine and Middle Ages structures that marked the tomb of Saint Peter. There are more than 100 tombs within the basilica, including, most recently, Saint John Paul II. Finish the day at the Pantheon, built by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC to 14 AD). Emperor Hadrian rebuilt it around 126 AD. The building was given to Pope Boniface IV who converted it into a church - Saint Mary and the Martyrs (Santa Maria Rotunda). Mass continues to be celebrated here. Enjoy a visit to the Forum and the Colosseum, once the heart of ancient Rome and a place of martyrdom for the early saints. You will explore the romance of Rome as you stop at the famous Trevi Fountain. Legend says those who toss a coin into the fountain will one day return to Rome to toss another into the waters of Trevi. Return to your hotel for overnight. Dinner is on your own this evening.

After breakfast, enjoy the opportunity to join in prayer with Pope Francis and receive his greeting, blessing, and prayers (when the pope is in Rome). Begin your afternoon with a visit to the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. Six popes are entombed here. Next door is the Holy Staircase (Scala Santa), brought from Pilate’s Palace in Jerusalem by Saint Helena in the fourth century. Climbing the stairs on your knees is a devotion that many pilgrims perform, and a plenary indulgence is granted for completing this feat. Next is the Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls (San Lorenzo). Saint Lawrence was one of the first seven deacons of Rome who were martyred in 258. The Church is built next to catacombs that lead down to his grave. The relics of Saints Justin Martyr and Stephen are also enshrined here. Continue your pilgrim journey to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Maria Maggiore). This is the largest Marian church in Rome. Its construction began after the Council of Ephesus in 431 proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God. Saint Jerome, translator of the Bible into the Latin Vulgate, is buried here. Celebrate Mass in one of the churches. Dinner is on your own this evening.

This morning begins another day of pilgrimage at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The present structure stands over the place where Constantine built the first church, which is over Saint Paul’s grave. The church features a portrait of every pope who has served the church, with the face of Pope Francis I illuminated as the present pontiff. Step beneath the surface into the Catacombs of Callixtus, built along the Appian Way. Here, 16 popes from the 2nd through 4th centuries were interred though they have been removed to various churches over the centuries. San Sebastian Outside the Walls is another of the seven pilgrimage churches built over the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. The remains of Peter and Paul were temporarily protected here during the Valerian Persecution of 258. Our seventh and fi nal pilgrimage stop is the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Saint Helena brought Passion relics here, and the fl oor was covered with soil from Jerusalem. Relics here include the index fi nger of Thomas that touched the wounds of Christ after His resurrection and a piece of the Good Thief’s Cross. Those who want to complete the seven-church pilgrimage as declared by Saint John Paul II in 2000 can continue with one more stop at the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love. Here, a pilgrim pursued by dogs appealed to Our Lady and she intervened for his safety. Pilgrims began to frequent the site and a chapel was built here in 1745. Celebrate Mass in one of the churches. Dinner is on your own this evening.

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