Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:

Day 1 – Sunday - October 2 - Depart for Rome

Make your way to your local airport where you will board your overnight flight(s). Your meals will be served on board.

Day 2 - Monday - October 3 - Arrive Rome Welcome to Rome!

Also known as, “The Eternal City.” Upon arrival at Rome 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. Following check-in, your group will make their way to celebrate Mass, followed by a Wel-come Dinner. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to walk to St. Peter’s Square for the Rosary (optional).

Day 3 - Tuesday - October 4 - Rome: Vatican Museum – Appian Way - Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls - Catacombs
This morning, your group will enjoy breakfast at your hotel and depart for Mass. Your group will walk through the Holy Doors and celebrate 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. 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. At this Basilica, your group will have the opportunity to view Michelangelo’s Pieta. Following, your group will proceed to one of the many Vatican Museums. At the world-renowned museum, you will see the most impressive of edifices, galleries, and awe-inspiring relics. Additionally, your group will have the opportunity to observe the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms, Sistine Chapel, and Michelangelo’s Masterpiece, the restored mural of the Last Judg-ment. The final stop on your Vatican tour is at the tomb of St. John Paul II. Afterward, your group will enjoy free time for lunch on your own, or to purchase souvenirs from Vatican City. We will then begin the short journey down the Appian Way, the earliest road of Ancient Rome. This road will lead to the Domino Quo Vadis Chapel, the Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Drusus, the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, and the catacombs of St. Callixtus. The day concludes with a visit to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and walk through the Holy Doors. Originally founded by Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century, this Basilica is the burial place of Saint Paul the Apostle. We will then make our way to dinner at a local restaurant, and an overnight at your hotel.

Day 4 – Wednesday - October 5 - Rome: Papal Audience – Trevi Fountain / Piazza Navona – Basilica of St. John the Lateran and St. Mary Major – Holy Steps
Following breakfast at your hotel, your first sightseeing day in Rome begins! The tour begins with the Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square! This Audience is cele-brated each Wednesday by His Holiness, Pope Francis (pending the papal schedule). Following the Papal Audience, your group will make their way to the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). In the times of Ancient Rome, this fountain served as the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo, the main aqueduct that supplied thermal baths. Following the Trevi Fountain, your tour continues to the beautiful, Piazza Novona. This square was built on the former Stadium of Domitian that held many festivals and sporting events (86 A.D). At the center of this square, stands the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). There are four figures constructed on this fountain that represent four rivers: the Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Rio de la Plata. Next, your group will enjoy free time for lunch, followed by a visit to the oldest of the four major Basilicas in Rome, and the home to the relics of Peter and Paul, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran. This Basilica is where Pope Francis was installed as Bishop of Rome, and where he officiates as the Bishop of Rome. Next, your group will cross the street to visit the Holy Staircase. Tradition states that this staircase is from Pontius Pilate’s palace of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. It is also said that this Staircase was brought to Rome by St. Helen in the 4th century. If time permits, your group will pray in front of the stairs, in memory of Christ’s agonizing Passion. To conclude your day, your group will proceed to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, enter through the Holy Doors, and celebrate Mass. This Basilica contains a relic from the manger of the Infant Jesus. Following Mass, your group will return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 5 - Thursday - October 6 - Rome – Assisi - Rome
After breakfast, we will be transfer to Assisi for a full day of touring the hometown of St. Francis. St. Francis is the “Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment.” Additionally, he is responsible for founding the Franciscan Order, and the inspiration for our Holy Father, Pope Francis. He chose his name in admiration of the Saint of Nature, and Servant to the Poor. Known for being a humble man himself, Pope Francis spent most of his life denying the luxuries of life. He preferred to live in simplicity and humility, while giving up all other worldly possessions, just as St. Francis did. As your group visits the birthplace of St. Francis, you will become captivated as the atmosphere has not changed since St. Francis began his ministry, in the early 13th-century. During the tour, your group will have the opportunity to visit the tomb of St. Francis at his Basilica. Also, at the Basilica of St. Francis, you will have the opportunity to view a series of frescoes depicting his life, as well as, view a few of the saint’s posses-sions. Additionally, your group will visit the Church of San Damiano. At this modest, yet beautiful Holy Church, you will have the opportunity to kneel before the crucifix where Jesus asked St. Francis, “to rebuild His Church.” As the tour continues, your group will visit St. Mary of the Angels Basilica. This Basilica is where St. Francis spent most of life, and is made up of two structures; both of which you will visit. The Porziuncola is where St. Francis founded his order of the Friar Minor (Franciscans), and the Capella del Transito, which is the place of St. Francis’ death. During this visit, your group 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. After visiting this beautiful Basilica, your group will enjoy some free time on your own. Feel free to take this time for additional prayer, or shop in the Gift Shop. The last stop on your tour will be to 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 poverty and humility. Return to the Hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 6 - Friday - October 7 - Rome – Milan - Magenta
After breakfast, we will be transferred by bus to Rome Airport where we will board our plane that will bring us to Milan. Upon arrival, you will transfer to Duomo (the Basilica of Milan), where you will celebrate Mass. In the crypt, you will see the baptismal site where St. Ambrose baptized the great St. Augustine of Hippo. Visit the Basilica of St. Ambrose where the relics of St. Ambrose remain exposed for veneration. We will view “La Scala Opera House” from the outside and the famous Galleria of Milan. Then drive to Magenta for overnight.

Day 7 and 8 - Saturday and Sunday - October 8 and 9 - Magenta and Mesero
Over the next two days, you will take a deeper look into the life of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, “The Patron Saint of Wives, Mothers, and Physicians”, and honor her along with time for prayer, reflection, and meditation. We will start with a tour of the town of Magenta, where St. Gianna was born and grew up, and ending in Mesero where she is buried. Your guide will be St. Gianna’s youngest daughter, Gianna Emanuela, the child St. Gianna sacrificed her life to save. We will learn firsthand about the virtues and life experiences of St. Gianna. Following Holy Mass in St. Martin’s Basilica, where St. Gianna was baptized and married, we will visit the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption where St. Gianna attended Mass regularly, and where the Canossian Sisters School was located. It was here that she visited frequently, and lectured to young girls. We will see the picturesque views of the town she grew up in, and the house where St. Gianna was born. From there we will visit Ponto Nuovo, where St. Gianna lived after her marriage. There we will see the house where she lived the last years of her life, as well as where she died. A few steps from the house is the little Chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel where St. Gianna’s four children were baptized, where she attended Mass and prayed daily, and where her funeral was held. We will make our way to Mesero, and allow time to pray special prayers at the tomb of her mother. Then we will visit her office where she cared for her patients, and the Shrine dedicated to St. Gianna which is a beautiful 13th century Church recently renovated and established by the diocese of Milan as a Shrine to the Family, and dedicated to St. Gianna.Return to Magenta each evening for dinner, and overnight.

Day 9 - Monday - October 10 - Return Home
This morning we will transfer to Milan Malpensa Airport for our return flights home with memories to last a lifetime! Not to mention, a deeper devotion and appreciation of this contemporary role model of our faith, Santa Gianna Beretta Molla - a wife, a mother, a physician, and a lover of life!

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About Rome:
Rome has been one of history's most powerful and important cities, along with home to the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, and the site of the Vatican City. First built in 337, St. Peter's Basilica lies over the tomb of St. Peter. Contained within is a vast array of the most beautiful artwork ever assembled, reflecting the immensity, beauty, vastness, majesty, glory and awesomeness of God.

St. Peter's Square, Rome, Italy

Assisi Basilica, Italy