An 11-Day Pilgrimage To Italy And Germany
Including Rome, the Vatican, Assisi, Florence, Milan, Füssen, Munich, Altötting, Oberammergau & more.

In celebration of the 2010 Passion Play in Oberammergau.

September 13, 2010 - Monday 

NEW YORK/ ROME 

Today we depart New York’s JFK airport for our flight to Rome, Italy.  Meals are served on board our transatlantic flight. 

September 14, 2010 - Tuesday 

ROME  

We arrive in Rome this morning and are met by our Pilgrimage Tours ™tour director who will remain with us until the end of our tour.  We enter the Eternal City via the ancient Appian Way, the traditional pilgrims’ route followed by Peter and Paul and stop for a visit at the Catacombs of St. Calixtus.  Next we will visit the first of the four major basilicas of Rome, St. Paul’s Outside the Walls where the Apostle is buried.  While visiting the grounds, we pause for our own celebration of Mass at this wonderful basilica.  Next we go to our hotel for check-in.  A panoramic sightseeing tour of “illuminated Rome by night” follows dinner.  Overnight in Rome. 

September 15, 2010 - Wednesday 

ROME – Papal Audience 

Following Mass this morning, we will go to the Vatican for an Audience with the Holy Father.  Following breakfast we embark on a day’s worth of sightseeing beginning with the Mamertine Prison where Peter and Paul were held and many Christian martyrs died.  We will also see the Colosseum, the Hippodrome, Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Imperial and Roman Forums and Constantine’s Arch.   Next we visit another of Rome’s major basilicas, St. Mary Major, the most important church in the world devoted to Our Lady.  We celebrate Mass here where Mass has been celebrated every day since the 5^th century.  We then depart for a visit to St. John Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral church where relics of both Peter and Paul remain under the main altar.  Next we cross the street from St. John Lateran and visit the church of the Scala Santa.  Here we see the Holy Staircase of 28 marble steps (now covered in wood) which is believed to be a staircase from Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem and brought to Rome by St. Helen in the 4^th century.  Dinner and overnight in Rome. 

September 16, 2010 - Thursday 

ROME  

After breakfast our day begins with our own celebration of Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.  While at the Basilica we see a young Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the deeply moving, magnificent Pieta.  Then we visit one of the great art collections in the world, the Vatican Museums.  We see the Tapestries Gallery, the Belvedere with its marvelous statues.  We also visit Raphael's Rooms, the Pincio Garden and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel that has been restored to its original beauty.  Dinner and overnight in Rome.  

September 17, 2010 - Friday 

ROME / ASSISI / FLORENCE 

This morning we depart for the quiet, medieval birthplace and hometown of the gentlest of saints, St. Francis.  We arrive in the Lower Basilica of St. Francis to explore its wonderful frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto.  While here, we will celebrate Mass.  Next we visit the Basilica of St. Clare, Francis’ friend and foundress of the Poor Clare nuns, and see the crucifix that spoke to St. Francis in San Damiano.  We go to San Damiano to pray in the place where Francis wrote the "Canticle of the Sun."  Finally we visit the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli built to enclose the tiny Church of the Porziuncola, St. Francis' first retreat and place of prayer and where he consecrated Clare as the Bride of Christ.  Late afternoon departure for Montecatini for dinner and overnight. 

September 18, 2010 - Saturday 

FLORENCE  

This morning we awake in the Tuscany region of Italy.  Upon our arrival in Florence, we have a guided tour of the main sights, which include the Cathedral with its magnificent Dome by Brunelleschi, Giotto's elegant belfry and the Baptistery with Ghiberti's Gate to Paradise.  Following lunch, we visit the Church of St. Ambrose where in the "Chapel of the Miracle" a monstrance holds a vial of miraculous blood.  According to tradition, in 1230 a priest did not properly dry the chalice after Mass and afterwards found blood instead of the consecrated wine he carelessly left behind.  The remainder of our day is free to shopping or spending some personal time in prayer.  Dinner and overnight outside Florence. 

September 19, 2010 – Sunday 

FLORENCE / MILAN 

This morning we head to Milan.  Upon our arrival we visit Milan’s famous cathedral, the “Duomo”, Italy’s largest and most elaborate Gothic structure, where we celebrate Mass.  After lunch, we'll visit the Basilica of St. Ambrose, where St. Ambrose baptized St. Augustine and where the saint’s relics can be found.  Dinner and overnight in Milan. 

September 20, 2010 - Monday 

MILAN / FÜSSEN / OBERAMMERGAU 

This morning we depart Milan for Füssen, where we visit one of King Ludwig II’s castles; the Neuschwanstein Castle.  Built at beginning of the 20th century, Neuschwanstein Castle, perched atop the mountain is a scene out of a fairy tale.  Everything inside the castle is so over-the-top, there is no décor in all of Europe to compare.  Next we arrive in Oberammergau, home of the centuries old Passion Play.  Here we enjoy an orientation tour of the town.  Dinner and overnight in Oberammergau.   

September 21, 2010 - Tuesday 

OBERAMMERGAU  

Today is the day we have all been waiting for in great anticipation.  Performed once every ten years over several centuries (this being the 41^st performance), our group continues on its spiritual journey with the more than 2,000 actors, singers and instrumentalists involved in today’s elaborate and beautiful display of Christ’s Passion.  Soon after the most recent performances in 2000, the villagers again began in their preparation for this year’s performances.  The Play will be broken into two halves, the first half in the afternoon, with the second half performed in the evening.  In between sessions allows us time to relax and enjoy some good German cuisine for dinner.  Overnight in Oberammergau. 

September 22, 2010 – Wednesday 

OBERAMMERGAU / ALTÖTTING / MUNICH 

This morning we drive to Altötting, one of Germany's most celebrated shrines and a city whose purpose is pilgrimage.  This small, quaint town is a virtual pilgrimage complex.  While here we visit the Chapel of Mercy, which houses a 13^th century statue of the Blessed Virgin to which numerous miraculous cures are credited.  Here we have the opportunity to visit the Basilica, the Panorama of the Crucifixion, the Pilgrim Museum and St. Konrad's Monastery.  Next we arrive in Munich where we pay a visit to the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), the towering twin-onion domed steeple church that has served as the symbol of Munich for centuries.  Here we celebrate Mass.  Next we will visit the Asamkirche, one of the most richly decorated rococo churches in the world.  Dinner and overnight in Munich.    

September 23, 2010 - Thursday 

OBERAMMERGAU / MUNICH / NEW YORK 

Following breakfast, we transfer to Munich airport for our flight home.  Though our pilgrimage draws to a close, its blessings will last a lifetime and its graces are certain to draw us closer to the Lord. 

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