Early this morning we depart the U.S. for Rome. Meals are served on board.

This afternoon we arrive at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) Airport 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 to celebrate Mass at the Catacombs. After Mass, we will visit the first of the four major basilicas of Rome, St. Paul's Outside the Walls where the Apostle was martyred and is buried. We proceed to the historic center of Rome to check in at our hotel near the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. A panoramic sightseeing tour of "illuminated Rome by night" follows our Welcome Dinner. Overnight at our hotel in Rome.

This morning we go to the Vatican for a Papal Audience with the Holy Father. Following the Audience, our sightseeing begins at St. Peter's 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. We then participate in a late afternoon celebration of Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

This morning we visit the Colosseum, Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Imperial and Roman Forums and Constantine's Arch. Finally, we visit the remaining major basilicas of Rome, first stopping at 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 5th 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. The remainder of our day will be spent visiting the churches of San Clemente and its Crypt and also San Croce in Gerusalemme, which house pieces of the True Cross. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

This morning we depart Rome en route to Loreto, one of Italy's leading pilgrimage sites, where local tradition says angels moved the house that had been the Holy Family's home in Nazareth. After lunch we go to nearby Macerata where we pray and celebrate Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, scene of another Eucharistic miracle, where in the 14th century, another priest torn by the doubt that Christ was really present in the Eucharist, saw the host bleed into the chalice and some of the blood spilled onto the corporal. Next we move on to Lanciano where another priest, much like those at Macerata and Bolsena, was doubtful about the Real Presence. During his celebration of Mass, the host turned into flesh and the wine into blood. Dinner and overnight in Lanciano.

After breakfast, we travel south and enter the Region of Puglia to reach San Giovanni Rotondo, one of the most renowned pilgrimage destinations in Europe because of the extraordinary life and reputation for sanctity of the Franciscan Padre Pio da Pietralcina, who lived, labored, and in 1968 died here. We have Mass in the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie where Padre Pio lived and afterwards hear about his life and works from the Franciscan friars, then visit the institutions he left behind. The rest of the day is free for relaxation and reflection. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni.

Following Mass this morning at San Giovanni, we go to nearby Monte Sant'Angelo, one of the most ancient of Christian shrines, dedicated to the Archangel Michael who appeared here in the 5th and 8th centuries. We return to San Giovanni for free time to explore the home of Padre Pio and reflect on his life. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni.

We move across the Italian Peninsula to Pompeii on the Mediterranean Sea and pray in the famous shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. After offering Mass in this beautiful shrine, we continue with a guided visit to the ruins of the Roman city destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius. Following lunch we proceed to Sorrento on the Bay of Naples, one of Italy's loveliest resorts with its captivating views of Capri and of majestic volcanic Mount Vesuvius. Dinner and overnight in Sorrento.

After breakfast, we depart for Naples where we stroll through the streets of the historical center, an open stage for the colorful, pulsating life of this city in the sun. We see the city's most beautiful churches beginning in the Piazza del Gesu', then we continue to the Church of Santa Chiara and its Chiostro delle Clarisse, and on to the Cappella San Severo. Then along Spaccanapoli we pass the Church of Sant'Angelo a Nilo and the Renaissance Palazzo Marigliano before arriving at the Duomo of San Gennaro. After lunch, we depart for Rome with a stop in Montecassino to visit the Benedictine Abbey and museum set high atop a mountain. The abbey was founded in the 6th century by Saint Benedict of Norcia. St. Benedict established his first monastic community here. The abbey has been destroyed four times, most recently in World War II, but still serves as home to the Benedictines. We continue to Rome for dinner and overnight.

Following breakfast, we depart for the airport for our return flight home. Though our pilgrimage has come to an end, its memories are sure to last a lifetime.