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Highlights
Day
1 USA Venice
U.S./Fly
overnight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Venice, Italy via
scheduled airline accompanied by Fr. Allan Weinert with others
in the
group.
Day
2 Venice
Upon arrival in Venice we are met by a Peace Center Tours representative
who accompanies you from arrival throughout your stay until departure.
Transfer via water-taxi to your hotel - formerly a monastery overlooking
the Grand Canac - with its own church, a few blocks from St. Mark's
Square.We gather later for a get-acquainted welcome dinner with the Mass
at the heart of our pilgrimage.
Day 3
The Spiritual Soul
of
Venice
Through Venice’s ancient churches, monastery’s & religious
confraternities you learn about the life of the church during the Middle
Ages and Renaissance and about the people behind its incomparable works of
art. Our guide will ensure that you discover the best of Venice beginning
this morning at the massive Basilica of San Marco - the spiritual soul of
Venice - built for the relics of the Apostle Mark where we celebrate the
Liturgy. The glittering gold mosaics cover nearly every inch of the
interior as if they were rubies, diamonds and emeralds. Then visit the
greatest of all Venetian palaces, the Palazzo Ducale, seat of the Doge
(ruler) since the 9th century. Climbing to the gallery for a close-up view
of four bronze horses on the basilica’s façade, we leave by a special
passageway connecting the church to the Doge’s Palace next door by
crossing the Bridge of Sighs where the dark prison cells held those who
refused to pay the taxes the governing Council of Ten assessed all
Venetians. Once the only mode of transportation in Venice, a gondola ride
is still the best way to see the city as the Venetians always did hundreds
of years ago.
Day
4-5 Divine Presence Venice Padua
Assisi Florence
Assisi
Entering Padua’s magnificent Shrine of St. Anthony, the treasury of
his relics has a dazzling effect. St. Anthony joined the Franciscans while
St. Francis was still alive - probably the most popular follower of St.
Francis.
We drive to
Florence to visit the pink, white, and green marble Cathedral, with its
magnificent dome and bell tower and if time allows the tiny workshops of
local artisans who are happy to have you peer in.
Arriving in
Assisi
we visit the
sites where Francis and his wandering band of “God’s troubadours'
reinvigorated God’s kingdom on earth. The reminders of Francis and Clare
in all of these places, make much more real and concrete: the mystery of
holiness and the mystery of Christ himself.
Through the lush
vineyards and rolling hills of the Apennines Assisi's mystical Hill of
Paradise appears before us , hardly changed since the Middle Ages.
Entering the great Basilica of Saint Francis containing his
tomb, we descend into the lower crypt kneeling before his tomb as we devoutly
offer an act of thanksgiving. The enchanting winding streets of this
little town easily carry us back to the time of Francis. As we walk along
we come to understand, the more that Francis embraced
the grace of Christ, the more that Christ shone through him until he bore
the marks of Christ in his own body.
We enter the Holy
House of Loreto which tradition holds was transported from the Holy Land.
But more important than all of its architectural and artistic glory is the
sense of “Divine Presence” that imbues the hardest of hearts the
instant they pass through the doors of the Holy House.
Day 6
Loreto
Lanciano
San Giovanni
Early morning scenic drive
San Giovanni and the tomb of Saint Padre Pio where he may be seen and
where we may revere him and celebrate the Liturgy and participate in the celebrations at
his tomb.
Day
7 Holy Rome St. Peter’s Basilica Catacombs Appian Way Forum Colosseum Tomb of St. Paul
No matter how many times you visit Saint Peter's Basilica, the impact is
always awesome. Our morning visits begin in Piazza of Saint Peter from the
Holy Door to the exquisite Baldacchino covering the papal altar over the
tomb of St. Peter to the grottoes of the Popes below. Inside the Basilica
are Michelangleo’s Pieta, Bernini’s masterpiece the Cathedra - chair of
St. Peter -and the statue of Saint Peter which offers a Plenary Indulgence
(under the usual conditions) if we kiss the foot of the statue of the
first Pontiff. You will walk in the footsteps of the Apostles along the
Via Sacra in the Roman Forum understanding how the Christian faith became
firmly established in believers during the early centuries of the
church. Past the Arch of Titus, the Mamertine prison where St. Paul and
St. Peter were imprisoned, & the Arch of Constantine leading us to the
Colosseum. You learn about the transformation of Imperial Rome into the
capital of Christianity. Today’s highlights include the Castel Sant’
Angelo, Palatine Hill, Piazza Venezia, Circus Maximus and the Benedictine
Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls to pray at the tomb of the great
mystic apostle St. Paul. We have time to kneel before the
miraculous crucifix that spoke to Saint Bridget in the 14th century before
leaving for the Catacombs. Driving past the chapel of Domine Quo Vadis
(not open to the public) along the way. Travel on the stones of Rome's
most ancient road, the Via Appia, near the gigantic mausoleum of Cecillia
Metella, where time seems to have stood still since the days when Saint
Paul & Saint Peter walked these roads.
Day
8 In the footsteps of the Apostles and Saints Vatican Museum Sistine Chapel
Some of today's visit include the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel.
Afterwards we continue walking along one of the most picturesque avenues in Rome;
the Corso Rinascimento and via Condotti; to the Piazza Navona; the
Pantheon begun in 27 B.C.; the church of Saint Agnes built over the
stadium of Dormitian where she was paraded naked to the crowd while
being martyred. "I may be a child, but faith dwells not in years
but in the heart". At the Church of St. Peter in Chaine, we see the
chains that bound Saint Peter that demonstrate to us whoever believes the
word of the Lord and
obeys it will experience miracles. We arrive at the famed Trevi
Fountain, the only one in Rome that has remained in use from the time of
its construction to the present day bringing water underground from 20
miles away, a stone’s throw away from the Spanish Steps.
Day
9 The Glory of the Church Christian Rome
Highlights of this morning's visit includes the
majestic Basilica of St. Mary Major, the oldest in the world dedicated to
the Mother of Christ where St. Jerome’s body reposes along with other
precious relics; St. John Lateran, the Mother Church of Rome, containing
many holy relics sanctified by the faith and devotion of centuries. Part
of a wooden table is enshrined which is believed to have been used by St.
Peter to celebrate the holy Eucharist during one of his visits on the
Esquiline hill. Visit the Scala Santa (Holy Steps), which according to
tradition, are the 28 steps Christ ascended on his way to meet Pilate. In
the sanctuary we venerate the original image of Our Mother of Perpetual
Help where silence and reverence pervades. At the Basilica of Santa Croce,
originally the palace of Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor
Constantine, the precious relics of Our Lord’s Passion were recovered
from the Mount of Calvary: the wood of the Cross, thorns of the Crown,
nail from the crucifixion and the authentic Titulus Crucis - a wooden
panel with part of the inscription, "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum".
The authenticity of the Passion Relics has been a subject of study through
the centuries and confirmed by historical and scientific research.
Day
10 Return Home Transfer
to the airport this morning for your flight home.
*Scavi visit
requested.
Accommodations: Venice 2
nights, Assisi 2 nights, San Giovanni Rotondo 1 night
, Rome
3 nights,
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Nov
6 - 15, 2008 March 6 - 15, 2009
