Depart USA for your overnight flight to Turin. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.

Welcome to Italy! Upon arrival at Turin Airport, you will 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. Make your way to the bus where your group will transfer to your hotel. Visit Turin, attend Mass followed by dinner and overnight . (Today's schedule depends upon the time of arrival!)

Today we will wake up in the city of Turin, the city of St. Joseph Marello's birth. After breakfast, we will visit the Church of Corpus Domini of where he was baptized the same day he was born (Dec. 26, 1844), followed by a visit to the Duomo, where the famous Shroud of Turin is housed and venerat-ed. We'll continue on to the city of Asti, where St. Joseph Marello's spiritual life took root in his boyhood town of San Martino Alfieri. It was here that the young Marello spent the formative years of his childhood and embraced his call by God to be a priest. The tour will then visit the Shrine of St. Joseph in central Asti, where the tomb of St. Joseph Marello is located, followed by a visit of the grounds and tour of the Oblate Motherhouse. Later on, Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of San Secondo (Duomo) in Asti, where St. Joseph Marello was ordained a priest on exactly this same day, September 19, 1868. Dinner is planned this evening hosted by the Oblates of St. Joseph priests & brothers in the dining room of their Motherhouse. Overnight in Asti.

After breakfast, we'll visit the town of Acqui and its beautiful Cathedral, where St. Joseph Marello was Bishop. Later, return to Asti and enjoy a visit to an Asti Spumante factory. Later we will attend Mass at the Shrine of Saint Joseph. Dinner and overnight in Asti.

After breakfast at your hotel, we'll depart to visit the coastal city of Savona where St. Joseph Marello visited shortly before his death. We will stop at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy where he celebrated his last Mass. We then depart to Genoa driving along the Ligurian coastal countryside. We will do a panoramic tour of the Cathedral di San Lorenzo, the Basilica of Santa Maria di Castello, other sites of the city and its beautiful seaside. Later, we will con-tinue on our journey south, toward Florence through the beauty of Tuscany. Upon arrival in Florence, you will notice immediately that it is the land for art lovers. Some of the most world renowned artists are from Florence such as, Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Donatello, and many others. This afternoon, you will have the opportunity to explore the streets of Florence on own. In the evening, your group will gather for dinner, followed by an overnight.

Your first full day in Florence begins with breakfast and a guided tour. The tour includes the Church of the Holy Cross, the Santa Croce where many nobles are buried such as Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. This tour also includes a walking portion through the Piazza Signorina, Palazzo Vec-chio, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, and Republic Square, to the Santa Maria del Fiore. This Cathedral is an iconic piece of architecture of the city of Flor-ence. It was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 13th century. After the tour, your group will enjoy lunch on own followed by a visit to L'Academia, the well-known art gallery. At this gallery, you will have the opportunity to view the work from artists such as Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and the ever famous sculpture by Michelangelo, David. During this time in the museum, your group will have the opportunity to enjoy free time to explore the museum and later, the city. Following this free time, your group will return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Today after enjoying breakfast in Florence, we continue on our journey; driv-ing further into Tuscany on our way to the town of Siena. This medieval city is the birthplace of the Doctor of the Church, St. Catherine. During our time here we stroll down one of Italy's finest squares, the Piazza Del Campo, to the Cathedral where we will celebrate Mass. Afterwards we will venerate the relics of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic. Afterwards we continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

As we visit the birthplace of St. Francis, you will become captivated as the atmosphere has not changed since St. Fran-cis began his ministry, in the early 13th-century. We will start our tour at the St. Francis Basilica, visit his tomb of St. Francis, and have the opportunity to view a series of frescoes depicting his life, along with a few of the saint's posses-sions. From there, we will continue on a walking tour through this picturesque town, including the birthplace of St. Francis, and ending with a tour of the Church that honors St. Clare, the foundress of the Poor Clare Sisters. This Saint followed the teachings of St. Francis very closely by also living a life of pov-erty and humility. Enjoy some free time on your own - you may take this time for additional prayer, shop in the many gift shops or enjoy a nice lunch. Lat-er, we will board the bus, which will take us outside of the walls of Assisi, to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels. This is where St. Francis spent most of life. This Basilica is made up of two structures, both of which you will visit. The first structure, is the "Porziuncola", which is where St. Francis founded his order of the Friar Minor (Franciscans). The second, is the "Capella del Transito", which is the place of St. Francis' death. During your time here, you will have the opportunity to visit the beautiful Rose Garden where St. Francis and other friars lived, as well as the cave where the Saint retired to pray. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we depart Assisi , traveling through the Tuscan countryside to the hilltop city of Orvieto. Its Duomo is considered one of the most beautiful Cathedrals in Italy, with construction dating back to 1290 A.D. Later, we'll sample the famous Orvieto wine before we continue to Rome recalling the impression St. Joseph Marello must have had on his visit for the First Vatican Council. Dinner and overnight Rome.

Following breakfast our second sightseeing day in Rome begins with the Papal Audience in St. Peter's Square! This Audience is celebrated each Wednesday by His Holiness, Pope Francis (pending the papal schedule). Following this we make our way to the Trevi Fountain. In the times of Ancient Rome, this served as the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo, the main aque-duct that supplied thermal baths. After free time for lunch we visit the oldest of the four major Basilicas in Rome, first the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Next, we cross the street to visit the Holy Staircase. Tradition states that this stair-case is from Pontius Pilate's palace of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus, brought to Rome by St. Helen in the 4th century. Continuing our day, we proceed to the Basilica of St. Mary Major. which contains a relic from the Manger of the Infant Jesus. On our way back to our hotel, we will visit the Capuchin Church of the Immaculate Conception where St. Joseph Marello was ordained a bishop and whose crypt, or ossuary, now contains the re-mains of 4,000 friars buried between 1500 and 1870. A plaque in one of the Chapels reads the Memento mori, "What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be." We return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

This morning after breakfast we depart for Mass at 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. Here we can also view Michelangelo's Pieta. Following, we proceed to the Vatican Museum where we can see the most impressive of edifices, galleries, and awe-inspiring relics. Additionally, we can observe the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms, Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's masterpiece, the restored mural of the Last Judgment. The final stop on our Vatican tour is at the tomb of St. John Paul II. Later, we'll continue to St. Paul Outside the Walls originally founded by Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century; this Basilica is the burial place of Saint Paul the Apostle. We'll make our way to the Catacombs before return-ing to Rome to visit the Church of Sant'Agnese, where St. Joseph Marello celebrated his first Mass as Bishop. Our tour continues to the beautiful Piazza Navona built on the former Stadium of Domitian that held many festivals and sporting events c.86 A.D. At the center of this square stands the Fountain of the Four Rivers: four figures representing the Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Rio de la Plata.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, we will leave by motor coach and transfer to the Rome Fiumicino airport for return flights home.