You or your group will travel to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO.) 

Choosing your own flight will give you the flexibility to plan a path that is affordable for you and/or your group and provide its own adventure!

Pilgrims will arrive on their own to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO.) 

At some point midday, we will meet as a group and load up on a bus and travel to Assisi (an estimated 2 1/2 hour trip.)

Once we arrive in Assisi, we will drop our bags off, and go to lunch. Following lunch. we will explore Assisi on foot, getting used to life and customs in Italy.

At the end of the day, we will celebrate Mass together, followed by dinner on your own and a good night's rest!

Breakfast will be provided at our lodging.

In the late morning, we will visit the "Upper Town" of Assisi, hiking up to the hermit's cave, before walking into the "parte sopra" of this medieval town. After exploring some churches and religious sites, we will break for lunch on our own around the town.

In the afternoon, we will visit the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, and have Mass together there. Afterwards, we will, weather permitting, savor a beautiful sunset, followed by dinner and the evening on your own in town.

Following breakfast and leaving your bags at reception, we will walk down the slope of the hill on  a mini-pilgrimage to Santa Maria degli Angeli, where we will celebrate Mass and enjoy a guided tour.  Following Mass, pilgrims will have a coffee break and get the necessary food and drink (on your own) for our Via Francigena hike.

We will walk through the countryside for a few hours on the Via Francigena, a road traveled on by St. Francis himself and millions of pilgrims over the centuries that leads to Rome.  We won't walk all the way back, though! We will stop at a sanctuary rest stop and rejoin the bus that will drive us back to Rome.

All pilgrims on our Young Adult Pilgrimage - whether by bus from Assisi or arriving in Rome on the Rome Only package - will arrive at our hotel in the mid-afternoon and leave our bags.

We will get right to exploring "the Eternal City" on foot and by public transportation and see the sights that that St. Peter, St. Mark, St. Paul, and other significant members of the early Church would have seen when they arrived: must-see places like the Colosseum, the Forum, and Palatine Hill.

We will head back towards our hotel together using public transportation, where will have a Welcome Dinner as a full pilgrim group together, followed by the evening on your own...or likely to crash and recharge for the next day!

We will have the chance for breakfast at our hotel and a little extra time to get ready for our day. In the late morning, we will take the tram to the Cathedral of St. John Lateran.

For centuries, pilgrims on a pilgrimage to Rome have begun their journey at this site. We will visit the original Baptistry and then the cathedral, where we will have a renewal of baptismal vows and Mass.  After Mass, we will break for lunch on your own.

After lunch, we will visit and for those interested climb the Sanctuary of the Scala Sancta - the Holy Stairs - and the Basilica of the Santa Croce (Holy Cross.)

Afterwards, we will walk down to the Basilica of San Clemente to explore this early Christian house of worship. We will end our day by praying the Vespers in English at the Basilica.

Dinner will be on your own as well as returning to the hotel by taxi or tram.

In the early morning, we will go to visit the Christian catacombs and the tombs of the Apostles, celebrating a special pilgrim Mass at the second stop.  Lunch will be on your own afterwards.

After lunch, we will take public transit over to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, with a brief detour inside another ancient local Church for a few moments of prayer. An in-depth visit and tour of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major follows and praying either the Rosary or vespers.

Dinner and the remainder of the evening are on your own. 

Today, the focus is on churches and locations in Rome associated with some of the great saints - many of whom are the namesakes or founders of the religious orders associated with our local New Orleans high school and parishes.

Following breakfast, we will travel to Aventino for a visit to Santa Sabina (the mother church of the Dominicans,) including time for praying Lauds or the Rosary in the Basilica of Santa Sabina.

Our next stop after a good walk will be to the Centro Storico, where we will visit the sites associated with Saint Ignatius of Loyola: Palazzo Venezia, Sant'Ignacio, and the Church of the Gesu. We plan to have a special Mass in the Rooms of Saint Ignatius. 

Lunch and a much-needed break will follow.

In the afternoon, we will take a group walk to the Trastevere district: going from Isola Teverina to San Francesco d'Assisi. Along the way, we will visit other churches and shrines associated with Saint Benedict, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Cecilia, and more. We plan to have time for quiet reflection and prayer in the sacristy and the cell of Saint Francis of Assisi. The day's travels reaches its peak with a guided visit through the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere and Vespers with the Sant'Egidio community.

Dinner and the remainder of the evening are on your own.

On this last day of our young adult pilgrimage, everything we have seen, reflected on, and believe as members of this one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church reaches its pinnacle with a visit to Vatican City.

After breakfast, we depart for the obelisk in Saint Peter's Square, then proceed inside the Basilica for a private group Mass in the grottoes. After Mass, we will take a guided tour of Saint Peter's Basilica, followed by private time for prayer, rest, and lunch on your own.

The afternoon brings the grand finale of our pilgrimage with a beautiful extended visit to the Vatican Museums, with the crescendo of walking through the Sistine Chapel.

That evening, we will say "Arrivederci" to Rome and to our group with a closing dinner together.

We say "Ciao" to each other and return home.

While the tour company will assist us on the best way to get to the airport, you will be responsible for your own transportation to Rome Fiumicino Airport and your own flight.