Join us on a Retreat with  Tony Hickey to......

Turin, Siena, Corato, San Giovanni Rotondo, and Rome

April 26 – May 6, 2010    $3,300 All Inclusive from Newark

YOUR TRIP INCLUDES:
Round-trip air from Newark to Italy   (special Add-on Airfares  from all other US gateways)

All Airport Taxes (approx. $400 per person)
9 nights at 3-star & 4-star hotels: (or similar)

   1 night:  Turin

   3 nights: Siena

   3 nights: Corato 

   2 nights: Rome
Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach

Breakfast and dinner daily (Farewell dinner in Rome with wine)

Headset’s for included sightseeing

Arrangements of tickets/booking  for visit of Shroud

Guide services : Half day Turin, Half day Siena &  Half day Rome

Admissions : Duomo in Siena, Vatican Museums in Rome.

Hotel taxes and service charges
Papal Audience (if available)

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

Not included: Lunches, Travel Insurance optional at $169-229. Tips to your guide & driver (Euro 6-8 per day). Items of a personal nature. Single Room Supplement ($416.00  based on availability), Anything not mentioned above. Business class upgrade ($1,450 each way).

Sample Day by Day Itinerary:

Apr. 26 : Depart Newark for Italy

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

Apr. 27 : Arrive Turin & the Holy Shroud

After breakfast we will be met by our tour guide and depart on our day tour of Turin and visit to the Holy Shroud.  During our tour of Turin we will see Piazza San Carlo, Po Street, and Mount of the Capuchin Monks.  We then have the opportunity to view the Shroud of Turin in the St. John the Baptist Cathedral. Reputed to be the burial cloth of Christ, it is an amazing sight. It is a linen cloth 14 feet, 3 inches long by 3 feet, 7 inches wide bearing the distinct image of a crucified man. The last time the shroud was displayed publicly was during the Jubilee Year of 2000 and was not originally due to be displayed again until 2025. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has authorized it to be displayed for a brief period in 2010. We will have what is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the Shroud.  We return to the hotel in time for dinner and a restful overnight!

Apr. 28 : Siena

After departing from Turin, We are off to the beautiful town of Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine and Bernardine and one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy’s finest squares Dinner and overnight in Siena.

Apr. 29 : Half day guided tour of Siena

Today we will have a half day guided tour of Siena.  We will see many sights including a visit to the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic.  Celebrate the Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena today.  Dinner and overnight in Siena.

Apr. 30 : Free day in Siena  (No services)

Today is a free day in Siena.  You will have the option of taking an optional excursion to Assisi from Siena including bus service and local guide (at additional cost - please inquire). Dinner and overnight in Siena.

May 01 : Siena/ Loreto / Corato

Depart from Siena this morning and continue on to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. More than 50 popes have made a pilgrimage to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived.  Continue to Corato for dinner and overnight.

May 02 : Corato

Today we spend in Corato The chief features of the ancient centre of the town, which is surrounded by modern buildings, are the Romanesque church of Sta. Maria Maggiore, the Gothic church of S. Domenico, and the Catalano and Ottinera palaces.  We will visit all the special places related to Luisa Piccarreta. Dinner and overnight.

May 03 : Corato - San Giovanni Rotondo – Monte S’Angelo

Depart this morning for San Giovanni Rotondo. 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.  We will have an opportunity to view his exhumed body (through September 2009). 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 Corato for a restful overnight.

May 04 : Corato - Rome

We leave Corato, for Rome, the Eternal City. Stop in Lanciano where we will see the Eucharistic Miracle and celebrate Mass. Arrive Rome and transfer to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

May 05 : Rome  (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour – on foot) 
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 the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (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. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican (time permitting). Farewell dinner tonight with round trip transfer to/from the hotel.  Overnight in Rome.

May 06 : Depart from Rome

* This tour is booked on a first come first serve basis, Thank you!

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