Day 3 - Rome  (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour) 
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 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). Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.

This morning we depart for a sightseeing tour with focus on "Christian Rome" .Touring we will see many  important cultural and monumental sights around Rome. Stop for a visit at three major Basilicas: St Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine that contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. The Basilica of the St John in Lateran, is the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377. St Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St Paul under its main altar. We will also see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus, Chapel "O'Domine Quo Vadis?" the remains of imperial tombs, Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. Dinner and overnight for your last evening in Rome.

 

Day 5 - Rome - Medjugorje    

Afternoon departure from Rome for your flights to Medjugorje.  Upon arrival, you'll be greeted by a tour guide and/or driver who will then take you on the 2 1/2 hour drive by private coach to the village of Medjugorje. Guide will be with your throughout your stay. Once there, you'll meet your fellow pilgrims and your spiritual leader and be introduced to your host family in whose modern and comfortable house you will be staying for the next seven nights.

 

Days 6 to 11 - 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. Our local guide will accompany us throughout your stay.

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 or 6:40 daylight savings time, and then stay on for Croatian Mass. 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. 

Day 12 - Medjugorje - USA     

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

 

 

For Additional Information & Travel Tips Please Visit:

What to Know Before You Go to Italy

What to Know Before You Go to Medjugorje

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Any questions?      Call  800-206-TOUR  - or -    E-Mail Us

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2008 Departure Dates & Prices
	Travel Dates			Land Only	All Inclusive
	May	19 - 30		$2,049	$4,349
	Jun	16 - 27		$2,049	$4,349
	Jun	30 - Jul 11		$2,049	$4,299
	Jul	28 - Aug 08		$2,049	$4,299
	Aug	25 - Sep 05		$2,049	$4,299
	Sep	08 - 19		$2,049	$4,299
	Sep	22 - Oct 03		$2,049	$4,299
	Oct	06 - 17		$2,049	$3,949
	Oct	20 - 31		$2,049	$3,949
	Nov	10 - 21		$2,049	$3,949
2009 Departure Dates & Prices
	Travel Dates			Land Only	All Inclusive
	Feb	09 - 20		$2,049	$3,599
	Mar	09 - 20		$2,049	$3,699
	Mar	23 - Apr 03		$2,049	$3,949
	Apr	06 - 17		$2,049	$3,949
	Apr	20 - May 01		$2,049	$3,949
	May	04 - 15		$2,049	$3,949
	May	18 - 29		$2,049	$4,349
	Jun	01 - 12		$2,049