Tracing Saint Francis and Saint Benedict

Day 1: USA - ROME. Tour members depart for Rome from New York.  Dinner and breakfast are served aboard the flight.

Day 2:   ROME - ORVIETO - ASSISI. Upon arrival in Rome, we are met by our tour guide and begin with a drive to Orvieto.  We take a funicular to upper town for a city tour including the Romanesque – Gothic Cathedral which houses the relics from the miracles of Bolsena.  Continue our drive to Assisi for dinner at our hotel and overnight.

Day 3: ASSISI - LA VERNA - SANSEPOLCRO - ASSISI. This morning, we make an early departure to discover the Sanctuary of La Verna.  Here St. Francis, with a few companions, built a cluster of huts.  In September 1224, he received the stigmata and from then on the place became an important sanctuary.  We can celebrate Holy Mass in the Chapel of the Stigmata, which harks back to 1263.  We then proceed by coach to Sansepolcro - the so-called “Little Jerusalem.”  We visit the chapel containing the relics that St. Egidio and St. Arcano bought with them from Jerusalem.  Afterwards, we have free time to walk through this medieval city.  Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Day 4: ASSISI.  We have a full day guided tour of this charming town - the pilgrimage centre where St. Francis and St. Clare lived.  Visit the Upper and Lower Basilica of St. Francis (with its Renaissance masterpieces by Giotto and Cimabue,) and the Basilica of St Clare.  In the afternoon, we tour the Church of St. Damiano - where St. Francis probably wrote his famous canticle to the sun and to the moon.  Mass is celebrated at the Porziuncola.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Day 5: GRECCIO - SUBIACO.  Today, we travel south by coach through the Umbrian Valley and the picturesque cities of Spello and Spoleto to reach the hermitage of Greccio - the “New Bethlehem.”  The edges of the building blend into the lush Holm oak woods that greeted Saint Francis on his solitary retreats.  The sanctuary is famous because Saint Francis chose it as the backdrop to one of the highest and most lyrical moments in his life: the first recreation of the Bethlehem Nativity in Christianity on Christmas Eve, 1223.  Our visit to the Sanctuary starts with the Chapel of Nativity and continues through the ancient Convent:  the refectory, the dormitory and the cell dug where St Francis slept.  Mass will be celebrated here at the Chapel of Nativity.  After free time for lunch, we continue by coach to the little village of Subiaco.  We spend two nights in this mystic place that St. Benedict (5^th Century) chose to spend time praying and meditating.  Dinner and overnight in the monastery to experience aspects of monastic life.

Day 6: MENTORELLA - SUBIACO.  In the morning, we proceed to Mentorella to experience this imposing monastic complex: the Grotto of Sansepolcro (where St. Benedict spent his years of isolation), the Grotto of Shepherds, the Abbey of St. Scolastica (St. Benedict’s twin sister), the Library of the Archive (containing copies of ancient codex's,) the Cloister and the Church.  In the afternoon, we have a guided tour of the Sanctuary of the Mentorella - the most ancient in Italy, founded 1,800 years ago thanks to Constantine.  We experience the strong religious and harmonic atmosphere of this place where art, faith and nature coexist, pervaded by the fragrance of an ancient ”sweet - smelling mint”.  Mass will be celebrated here.  In the evening, we head back by coach to Subiaco for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: MONTECASSINO - ROME.  We have an early morning departure to visit the famous Abbey of Montecassino founded, thanks to St. Benedict, in 529.  On this site, the Saint established the principles of the Rule (540) and was buried with his sister, Saint Scolastica.  Relics found in 1950 are preserved in the crypt.  Mass is celebrated here.  In the late afternoon, we travel by coach to Rome for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: ROME.  After breakfast, we walk through the very core of Roman antiquity.  We tour Trajan’s market, Nero’s Golden House, Trajan’s Forum and Column, Arch of Constantine, House of Knights of Rhodes.  Next, we proceed to the Mamertine Prisons (where St. Peter was held prisoner), the Roman Forum (the civic heart of the Roman Republic), the Coliseum and St. Peter in Vincoli to see Michelangelo’s Moses.  In the afternoon, we have free time for a walk at Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spagna and Navona Square.  Mass will be Celebrated at a selected location.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Day 9: ROME.  After breakfast, we embark on a trip to the Vatican to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.  A papal audience will be arranged, if available.  We continue with a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica to admire the famous Michelangelo’s Pieta.  After a break for lunch, we continue with a drive along a section of the old Appian Way to see the huge slabs that originally paved its length and several surviving patrician tombs that once lined the way.  We visit the Catacombs and then proceed by coach to see the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.  Mass will be celebrated at a selected location.  Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

Day 10: ROME - USA.  After breakfast, we are transferred by coach to the Leonardo da Vinci Airport for our return flight to the States.  The end of an unforgettable pilgrimage.