San Giovanni Rotondo & Medjugorje with Rev. John Grimm

San Giovanni Rotondo & Medjugorje

With Group Coordinator : Michele Lennon

and Spiritual Director: Rev. John Grimm

June 14-22, 2008 ~ $3,129 per person from Philadelphia

Padre Pio's body to be exhumed, venerated : The body of Padre Pio will be exhumed and exposed for public veneration during the coming year, the local archbishop has announced. www.pilgrimages.com/padrepio

YOUR TRIP INCLUDES:
Round-trip air from Philadelphia, PA
9 nights in accommodations as follows: (or similar)

Jun 15-18: ~ 3 nights: San Giovanni Rotondo – Hotel Savoia Regency

Jun 18-19: ~ 1 night: Overnight Ferry to Dubrovnik

Jun 19-22: ~ 3 nights: Centrally located home, Medjugorje

Breakfast and dinner daily
Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach
Guided tours and admission fees
Hotel and ferry taxes and service charges

Mass daily
Baggage handling
Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents

Airport tax (included to $400, if taxes exceed that additional funds will be owed)

Not Included: Lunches, Beverages with dinners, Travel Insurance optional at $129-165. Tips to your guide & driver (Euro 6-8 per day). Items of a personal nature.

Sample Day by Day Itinerary:

Jun 14 - USA - Bari

Depart USA for our overnight flights to Bari . Dinner and breakfast are served on board.

Jun 15 – Arrive Transfer Bari Airport / Hotel in San Giovanni Rotondo

Today you begin your visit to San Giovanni Rotondo. During this period Padre Pio’s body is scheduled to be displayed for veneration. Enjoy your first day here, with dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Jun 16 - San Giovanni Rotondo

The Shrine of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, is the second-most visited Catholic shrine in the world. It centers around the tomb of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, a Capuchin friar, priest and mystic known for his devotion to God, supernatural gifts, and the stigmata. He died in 1968 and was declared a saint in 2002. The shrine centers around Padre Pio's tomb, which is inside the Church of Our Lady of Grace (Santa Maria delle Grazie). You can also see his cell, his confessional and the crucifix from which he received the stigmata. The Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church, completed in 2004, is a notable example of modern architecture. Designed by the Genoan architect Renzo Piano, it can accommodate 6,500 people seated at worship and 30,000 people standing outside. The shrine includes is a Way of the Cross on the hillside above, regular processions and an English-speaking pilgrim's office. The city takes its name from the Rotonda di San Giovanni, an old building on the edge of the old town. Spend the day venerating the Saint Padre Pio, and have dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Jun 17 - San Giovanni Rotondo & Monte S.Angelo

After celebrating Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio, we tour the sanctuary, see the old church and the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. You will see the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a 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 four other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St Michael. A panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection, and a restful overnight.

Jun 18 – Overnight Ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik

Spend the day at leisure before departing San Giovanni Rotondo for the Bari Coastline. The ferry departs Wednesday at 10.00 pm from Bari and arrives following morning at 7.00 am in Dubrovnik.

Jun 19-21 – Arrival in Dubrovnik - Medjugorje

Experience the beauty and peace of this simple village. During your stay in Medjugorje you will have the opportunity to share faith with pilgrims from all over the world. Your trip in Medjugorje is meant to provide you with time for a personal retreat. As such, your time in Medjugorje is not designed to be a “tour”, but rather to provide you with time to pray, reflect, and explore on your own as you feel called. On arrival, you will have an orientation tour after which a representative of 206 Tours will be available should you have any questions or requests, however, you may not have a guide with you through out your stay. Daily Mass in English, as well as English confessions are available at St. James Church.

Here are some of the activities you'll be sharing with our fellow pilgrims: Each morning at 10am we assemble at St James Church for the English-language Mass (Feast days and Sundays English Mass is at Noon). Follow the path up Apparition Hill where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. Touch and pray before the cross that commemorates the spot where Mary first appeared to the visionaries.

Each evening at 5pm or 6pm daylight savings time, we will join the villagers and pilgrims to pray the rosary. The apparition takes place at 5:40pm . Don't miss on Tuesdays and Saturdays Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and on Fridays Veneration of the Cross in the Church. Each evening during Croatian Mass, there is the Blessing of the Sick and blessing of the items you have with you.

Our guide will arrange meetings with the visionaries at their own homes provided that they are in Medjugorje during your trip, and pending their availability. We will have the opportunity to climb Krizevac Mountain, where in 1933 the villagers built a 30' high cross on the anniversary of Jesus' crucifixion. Visit and pray at "Blue Cross", which is a place of great healings and graces- a very special place at the base of Apparition Hill.

We will visit the Oasis of Peace, which has an incredible 24-hour Adoration Chapel.

Jun 22 - Medjugorje - USA

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, we leave by motor coach for Dubrovnik Airport (Spilt or Sarajevo) for return flights home.

Please contact us with any questions or for additional information:

Michelle Lennon Kristin Shea

Tel. (302) 654-3332 -or- Tel. (631) 361-4644

angelcrossing2@aol.com Kristin@206tours.com

206 TOURS, INC.