To receive a plenary indulgence for your Italy pilgrimage, each pilgrim must pass through the doors of four major basilicas in Rome:

St. Peter's Basilica
St. Mary Major
St. John Lateran
St  Paul Outside the Walls

At each Church, in Rome the pilgrim is to say the Lord’s Prayer, Rosary and Glory Be to the Father.  By completing these holy acts, each pilgrim visiting the Holy Land in the Jubilee Year will receive a plenary indulgence.

Day 2 Rome 
Arrive early morning in the Eternal City of Rome.  Meet our guide and transfer to our first class hotel. The afternoon is at your leisure to relax or stroll along the charming streets of Rome. Walk to the city’s center, past numerous fountains ending at the famed Spanish Steps.  You may wish to stop at an outdoor cafe for an espresso before retiring for the evening.  Dinner and overnight. 

Day 3 Rome (Papal Audience at the Vatican)
After breakfast we go to Vatican City and attend the weekly Papal Audience and Blessing given by His Holiness, John Paul II.  Visit St Peter’s Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter was martyred.  This largest religious temple in the world has housed 264 popes.  Unsurpassed in beauty, importance and history, pilgrims from around the world are welcome to the most grandiose, sacred church in the world.  View historical treasures such as a piece of the true cross, the lance that pierced Christ’s side and numerous papal tombs.  Michelangelo’s mural of the Last Judgement restored on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is considered one of Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces, in addition to his Pieta and 4 mighty piers supporting the magnificent dome. In the afternoon take time to visit the Vatican Garden, Library and Museum to see the awe-inspring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. Dinner and overnight in Rome. 

Day 4 Rome
Breakfast, then we depart for a tour of Christian Rome.  The tour includes three major Basilicas: St Mary Major, this is one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, after she appeared to Pope Liberius in 358 requesting a church be built in her honor.  This shrine contains a relic from the manger where the infant Jesus was laid.  The Basilica of the St John in Lateran, the former residence of all the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377.  Five Ecumenical Councils were held in this cathedral housing the remains of 4 saints.  St Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St. Paul under the main altar.  Many relics are displayed, along with the chains that once bound the apostle while a prisoner in Rome. We  will also see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus, Chapel "O'Domine Quo Vadis?", the remains of imperial Tombs, Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the Catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. Dinner and overnight for your last evening in Rome. 

Day 5 Rome - San Giovanni
We leave the Eternal City and head south-east to San Giovanni. Time permitting we will stop in Monte Cassino to see the Monastery founded by St. Benedict in 529.  This lovely Abbey sits atop a hill overlooking the village of Cassino.   Continuing on, we arrive at the birthplace and home of Padre Pio, San Giovanni in time for dinner. 

Day 6 San Giovanni Rotondo - Monte Sant’Angelo
Celebrate Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio and a visit to the sanctuary, led by one the fathers who knew Padre Pio personally.  We will tour the old church and behold the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918.  You will see the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with the multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Cargano Peninsula and a visit to the Grotto of Michael the Archangel.  Six different popes, St. Francis and at least 4 other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St. Michael.  Claiming the promise of  “sins pardoned and prayers granted”, a panoramic view of the ocean and surrounding countryside awaits you at one of the most celebrated shrines of early Christianity.  This site is the only catholic church consecrated by St. Michael’s presence in 490, rather than by a human.  Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection and a restful overnight. 

Day 7 Lanciano - Loreto - Assisi
Our travels today first take us to Lanciano to see the 8th-century Eucharistic Miracle in the little Church of Lagontial.  Expressing doubts about Christ’s true presence in the consecrated host, the monk found himself holding a host that had changed into flesh and the wine changed into blood.  Scientific examination in 1970 affirmed the mystery.  This moving sight defies human explanation and breathes new meaning into the words, “Take and eat, for this is My body.”  Next we follow the fertile Adriatic coast to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto.  Over 50 popes have made pilgrimages to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294.   Tradition states this is the house where Mary prayed her “fiat”, where Jesus grew up and the Holy Family dwelled. Mass at the Shrine in Loreto, then transfer for dinner and overnight in Assisi. 

Day 8 Assisi
After breakfast we celebrate Mass at the tomb of St Francis.  Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis which still retains an unspoiled quality similar to the early 1200’s when he began his ministry.  Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of his possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St. Francis, asking him to rebuild His church.  It was St Mary of the Angels Basilica, where St 
Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. After stopping at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple, we go to the Church of St Clare to see the saint's incorrupt body.  The foundress of the Order of Poor Clare’s followed the teachings of St. Francis and lived life in poverty and humility.  We will visit these two saint’s tombs before dinner and retiring for the evening. 
 
Day 9 Assisi - Rome - USA
In the early morning we say Ciao Italia! departing Rome for our journey home to the USA. 

Your Trip Includes:
   Round-trip flight from New York to Rome 
   7 nights at First class hotels or similar: 
  3 nights:  Hotel Michelangelo, Rome 
  2 nights:  Hotel Parco della Rose, San Giovanni Rotondo 
2 nights:   Hotel Giotto, Assisi 
   Breakfast and dinner daily 
   Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach 
   Guided tours and admission fees 
   Hotel taxes and service charges 
   Papal Audience 
   Mass daily 
   All baggage handling 
   Flight bag and portfolio of travel documents 

Not Included:  Lunches, Airport tax of $85.  Travel insurance at $99. Tips to your guide & driver($5 daily).  Items of a personal nature.   Add-on airfare from your home town.