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Providing Superior Catholic Pilgrimages to
Rome, Italy, Fatima, Lourdes, Medjugorje, Pope John Paul II, Steps of Paul, the
Holy Land, World Youth Day, the Passion Play & more!
The Catholic Pilgrim Office operates tours for
pre-formed groups of 15 or more from U.S. departure cities. Call us about
details and generous host benefits!
The Catholic Pilgrim Office and
The Quest Travel Group
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Day 1: USA - Europe. Tour members depart for Padua/Venice.
Dinner and breakfast are served in-flight.
Day 2: Padua/Venice. Late morning arrival at Marco Polo
airport in Venice. We are met and transferred to our hotel in Padua for
check in. This afternoon, we visit the Abbey where St. Anthony is buried.
Anthony, the Saint of poor people, wanted to live side by side with the most
humble and poor class of society, taking on as his own their sufferings and the
contradictions in which the populace groaned, abandoned to the arrogance of the
strong, unprotected from the violent. Anthony fought courageously to
restore each man with his original image and resemblance to God, opening his
heart to receive the Gospel of the Kingdom carried by the Savior.
"He brought brothers in discord together in peace; he gave freedom back to
prisoners; he caused the restitution of that which had been robbed through usury
or violence He liberated prostitutes from the obscene market, and thieves famous
for misdeeds held back from laying their hands on the things of others."
Mass is celebrated in the Basilica of St. Anthony. Return to our hotel for
dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Venice. Breakfast before proceeding to Venice for a
full day of excursion, by boat and on foot, in this fascinating town.
First, a guided tour to visit the Doge’s Palace, the Basilica of St. Mark the
Evangelist. Balance of the day at leisure for an optional “Gondola ride”,
shopping or to discover the city on our own. Return at hotel in the late
afternoon for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Pisa - Montecatini. After breakfast, we travel south
and arrive at Pisa.
. . . and the time came when the people of Pisa wanted to write in marble the
faith they had received from their fathers, to hand it down to their children.
This is how the "Piazza dei Miracoli" was born. The Baptistery, where the
water, full of the Holy Spirit, becomes the mother of new life: It makes
God’s children. The Cathedral, where the family gathers with other people,
feeding on the Word and the Eucharist. The Tower, which reaches up to the
sky with the magic of its impossible equilibrium and lets the calling Voice come
down. The Cemetery, for the waiting to be freed of tears, to become a
nostalgia full of hope. Four "miracles" on a green carpet: To walk
in amazement in everyday life towards the miracle of love that the Father
prepares for His children. Four miracles of stone that sing of the
infinite Beauty and are an invitation to praise. Afterwards, we continue
on to Montecatini for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Florence - Assisi. After breakfast, we board our motor
coach and drive to Florence. Florence is regarded as the birthplace of the
Italian Renaissance and is one of the most beautiful and inspiring cities of the
world with its rich artistic, historic and spiritual heritage. It is
birthplace or chosen home of Dante, Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli,
Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Donatello & Galileo. This is a wonderful tour
of the Cradle of Renaissance, allowing us to see many unforgettable sights such
as the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo, Piazza
della Signoria, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the bronze “Gate of Paradise" at St. John’s
Baptistery. Afterwards, we continue on to Assisi for dinner and overnight.
Day 6 Assisi – Cascia - Loreto. After breakfast, we meet our local
guide and begin with the Church of St. Clare which houses her incorrupt body.
One of the chapels contains the crucifix that bowed its head and ordered St.
Francis to “repair God’s Church.” Next, we visit the Basilica of St.
Francis built in 1228 to house the Relics of the saint. The "upper"
basilica houses beautiful Giotto’s frescoes of the life of St, Francis.
Afterwards, we board our motor coach and head for Loreto. On the way, we
stop in Cascia to visit the shrine of Santa Rita and here we celebrate Mass.
We continue to our hotel in Loreto for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Loreto - San Giovanni Rotondo. We meet local guide
after breakfast and visit the house of the Virgin Mary, which arrived from the
Holy Land. This precious relic was brought to Italy after the fall of the
kingdom of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. Recent studies of the stones,
graffiti and other documents, purifying the tradition of legendary elements,
confirm and certify the authenticity of the Holy House. The shrine of
Loreto has been for centuries, and still is, one of the most important
pilgrimages of the Catholic world. We then depart Loreto, around noon, and
travel south to arrive in San Giovanni Rotondo in the afternoon. Check in
at hotel and relax before we celebrate Mass on the Tomb of Saint Pio
O, Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible
not to have compassion on the afflicted,
have pity on us miserable sinners,
and grant us the grace which we ask of you,
through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary,
your tender mother and ours.
Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: San Giovanni Rotondo - Pompei - Rome. Some time at
leisure after breakfast, and then we visit the convent of Santa Maria delle
Grazie where Padre Pio lived and the modern Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church built in
2004 behind Santa Maria delle Grazie Church. Then, we leave San Giovanni
Rotondo and travel north towards Rome. On the way, we stop in Pompeii to visit
the The Marian Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary.
O good Mother, have pity on us, on our souls, on our families on our
relatives on our friends, on our deceased, especially on our enemies, and on so
many who call themselves Christian and yet offend the Heart of your loving Son.
Today we implore pity for the misguided Nations, for all the world, so that it
may return repentant to your heart.
Mercy on all, O Mother of Mercy!
Celebrate Mass and then continue on the highway and arrive in Rome for dinner
and overnight at our hotel.
Day 9: Ancient Rome - Basilicas. We greet the new day in a
city nicknamed Caput Mundi (Capital of the World) and The Eternal City.
Not only because Rome has always been the hub of art, education, high culture
and politics in the western world, but also it is a spiritual capital and a
powerful center of pilgrimages. 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 and the 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. Afterwards, we board our bus for an afternoon tour of the major
Basilicas of Rome. At the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the ceiling is said
to be decorated with gold that Columbus brought back from the new world.
This basilica, the largest in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Mother, is part of
the day’s “Christian Rome” tour and has beautiful Biblical mosaics, a marble
floor and bell tower and one of the oldest shrines (containing a relic from the
manger of the infant Jesus) dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. We also visit
the Basilica of St. John Lateran which is the oldest of the major basilicas and
ranks first as the actual “parish church” of the Pope (Bishop of Rome).
There, we learn about the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs). Tradition has
it that these steps, said to be the staircase leading once to the praetorium of
Pilate at Jerusalem, are sanctified by the footsteps of Jesus Christ during his
Passion. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Vatican Museums – Fountains and squares. We start the
day with a guided tour of the Vatican Museums which house what can be described
as the most important collections of art in the world. The history and awe
surrounding the galleries and all the treasures they contain will truly transfix
us. Highlights include The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms, and The Sistine
Chapel where we will gaze on Michelangelo’s incredible masterpiece. We will also
enter St. Peter’s Basilica which has the largest interior of any Christian
church in the world and which has been described as the reason Rome is still the
center of the civilized world. Tradition and historical evidence hold that St.
Peter’s tomb is directly below the altar of this basilica, which American Ralph
Waldo Emerson described as an ornament of the earth… the sublime of the
beautiful. Next we will have the chance to marvel at Bernini’s beautiful bronze
canopy and Michelangelo’s Blessed Mother holding her crucified son, known as the
Pieta. Time permitting , we will visit the tomb of Pope John Paul II,
Balance of the day for a walking tour throughout most known fountains and
squares of Rome
See Trevi Fountain, Navona Square and Spanish Steps
Return at hotel for dinner and overnight
DAY 10 Departure
Early morning , transfer to the airport ..
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