Make your way to your local airport where you will board your overnight flight. Your meals are served on board.

Upon arrival in Europe, change gates to board your short connection flight to either: Dubrovnik, Split, or Sarajevo airport. Upon arrival collect your luggage in the baggage claim area, and continue to the arrival's hall where you will be greeted by a tour guide and/or driver, who will take you on the 2 1/2 hour drive to the village of Medjugorje. Enjoy dinner before retiring for the evening.

The most beautiful feature of Medjugorje is its simplicity, and its peace. While in Medjugorje, you will have the opportunity to experience your faith grow, and share in the faith journey of pilgrims from all over the world. The local guide will accompany your group throughout your stay in the village.

Some activities that will accompany you in your spiritual journey:

Attend Daily Mass: Each morning, at 10:00A.M, your group will assemble at St. James Church for Mass (English-Speaking). At the end of each Mass, regardless of language, there is a blessing of the religious articles that you have with you.

On Feast Days, and Sundays: English Mass is at Noon.

Climb Apparition Hill: This mountainous hill is where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. Also, at the base of this hill is a Blue Cross, where it is said Our Lady appeared to the children while they hid from the communist police in the early days of the alleged apparitions. When climbing, your group is invited to recite the Rosary, pausing five times for each decade of the Rosary. At the top of the hill, you will witness the exact location of the first alleged apparition of Our Lady to the visionaries, and enjoy private time in prayer.

Climb Mt. Krizevac (Cross Mountain): In 1933, the villagers built a 30' high cross atop a mountain to commemorate Jesus' passion and death on the cross. Your group will have the opportunity to climb this mountain, and venerate that very cross. When climbing, your group is invited to pray the Stations of the Cross (to meditate on Jesus' suffering Road to Calvary), pausing fifteen times for each Station.

Apparitions: Each evening at 5:00 PM (or 6:00 PM depending on Daylight Savings Time), your group can join the villagers and fellow pilgrims of Medjugorje at either St James Church or Apparition Hill to commemorate the time Our Lady appears to the Visionaries. There you can pray the Rosary, as you all await that time (5:40 PM or 6:40 PM during Daylight Savings Time).
*Afterward, Croatian Mass is held at St. James Church and is free to all to attend. It is broadcasted by the radio, simultaneously in order to translate the services from Croatian into many languages. Following the Croatian Mass, there is a Blessing of the Sick.
**For details about the Visionaries, please visit: www.206tours.com/visionaries

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Our Lady has always called us to be close to her Son. For this, you will have the opportunity to adore the Blessed Sacrament at the outside altar of St. James Church. Adoration is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays; Veneration of the Cross is held on Fridays inside the Church. Additionally, there is an Adoration Chapel on the grounds of St. James Church. Adoration is held here in the afternoon hours.

Visit to the Community of Cenacolo: You will have the opportunity to visit the community of Cenacolo, founded by the Sisters of Charity, for young men and women who have taken a wrong path and are on the road to recovery. You will be able to listen to their inspirational words about their journeys back to Jesus Christ.

Prayer at the Statue of the Risen Christ: Located on the grounds of St. James Church, is the bronze statue of the Risen Christ. Many pilgrims sit and pray on the benches surrounding this peaceful statue. This statue miraculously seeps droplets of water at all times of the day, out of Christ's right knee.

After breakfast and heartfelt farewells, we leave by motor coach for Dubrovnik to celebrate the Mass then Dubrovnik Airport for our flights to Rome. Welcome to Rome, also known as, "The Eternal City." Upon arrival at Rome airport, collect your luggage in the baggage claim area, and continue to the arrival's hall, where you will be greeted by a tour escort and/or driver. You will make your way to the bus and transfer to your hotel. Following check-in, you will have free time to unpack and relax. In the evening, you will attend a welcome dinner. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to walk to St. Peter's Square as a group, for the Rosary (optional).

This morning you will enjoy an early breakfast before making your way to the largest Christendom Church, St. Peter's Basilica. This Basilica was built on the site where St. Peter, the first Pope and Bishop of Rome, was martyred. Also, it was Our Holy Father, Pope Francis who was the first Pontiff to visit the necropolis since extensive archaeological excavations were conducted at the ancient site decades ago. It is here that you will view Michelangelo's Pieta. This stunning marble sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary holding Christ after His crucifixion, death, and removal off the cross before being placed in the tomb. The final stop on your Vatican tour is at the tomb of Saint John Paul II. Afterward, you will be on your own for lunch. Explore the streets of Rome, shop and relax this afternoon until dinner and overnight.

See the Colosseum explained of its history and architecture. Understand the hard life of the gladiators and the gory games held in the arena (Pending ticket availability). Once outside, the visit continues in the nearby Roman Forum, where some of the most fundamental monuments in the history of Rome can be seen, such as the Curia, the center of the Roman Senate, temples including the funeral altar of Julius Caesar, the remains of the magnificent House and Temple of the Vestals, and the Arch of Titus, with decorations recalling the Jewish religion. View the Circus Maximus , the first and largest circus in Ancient Rome used primarily for chariot racing. Stop for lunch then less than a block away from the Pantheon, behind it sits visit the only Gothic Church in all of Rome, the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. It houses Michelango's Christ the Redeemer statue, finished in 1521. The Church is also the resting place of several popes of the Medici line, and Renaissance artists. It also boasts some wonderful stained glass windows which should not be missed! In front of the Church is Giovanni Bernini's statue Pulcino della Minerva, with a Egyptian obelisk and a playful elephant that will delight children. We will have reminder of the day to visit Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The Pantheon in Rome is a remarkable building architecturally. Basically a cylinder with the floating dome on top of columns, it is the largest masonry vault ever built. In the center of this dome is a hole bringing in a shaft of light to show the beauty of this building and its relatively simple, open interior. Being inside the Pantheon feels very special. Originally built in 27 BC and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in 120 AD, the temple has been damaged and plundered over time. In 609 AD it became a Christian Church dedicated to the Madonna. In the 17th century some of its bronze ceiling was taken and melted down for use in St Peter's Basilica. Important figures such as King Victor Emmanuel II and the artist Raphael are buried in the Pantheon.

Today we'll visit the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377. It is also the where Pope Francis was formally installed as Bishop of Rome, and honored the Blessed John Paul II by arriving a half hour early to bless a plaque renaming a corner of the piazza outside the Church after him. We continue on to the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs), famous for being the steps that led up to the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his Passion on his way to trial. Sixtus V had the steps transferred in 1589, to their present site, before the Sancta Santorum (Holy of Holies). Next we'll visit Basilica of the Holy Cross. Holy Cross is well worth a visit for its extraordinary collection of relics from the Holy Land, its full-sized replica of the Shroud of Turin, the Shrine of a young girl who is being considered for sainthood, and its connections with Constantine and St. Helen. This afternoon enjoy a free time for rest, relaxation, exploration or optional tour of choice offered.

Wake up in Eternal City, one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth! It is also spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world. Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend a special Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness, Pope Francis (pending papal schedule). Following the audience, visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest Church in Christendom, St Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St Peter's is the grandest of the world's Churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. Pope Francis visited the tomb of St. Peter, following his elevation, for a visit of devotion that lasted 45 minutes. He is the first pontiff to visit the necropolis since extensive archaeological excavations were conducted at the ancient site decades ago. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican. Stop for lunch, and then we will have the remainder of the day free to spend at your own leisure. Dinner and overnight.

We will bid farewell to our new friends and to a pilgrimage which will be in our memories and hearts for a long time to come. We depart for Rome Airport and our return flights home. We fondly say, Arrivederci Italia!