A Pilgrimage to
Rome & Assisi

The pilgrimage begins as the families of Agnus Dei Academy set out for Italy, crossing the Atlantic overnight and arriving in the Eternal City on Friday morning, ready to begin. Each family books its own flights; please see Airfare & Meeting the Group below for the arrival and departure windows that connect with the group coach.

The group lands at Rome Fiumicino in the morning and is met by the ProRome Tour Manager. By motorcoach we visit the Abbey of Tre Fontane, site of the martyrdom of St. Paul, then the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, raised over the Apostle’s tomb, for Holy Mass and a guided visit. Lunch on your own near the basilica, then hotel check-in and time to rest before the welcome dinner at 7pm. Benvenuti in Italia!

The morning is given to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome, and the Scala Santa, climbed on the knees by those who wish, then Santa Croce in Gerusalemme with its relics of the Passion, brought to Rome by St. Helena. After a group lunch, the afternoon turns to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, home of the Salus Populi Romani icon and the relic of the Holy Crib. Holy Mass is offered at one of the day’s basilicas; the evening is free.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The day opens with the group’s Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by a walking pilgrimage through Baroque Rome: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, San Luigi dei Francesi with Caravaggio’s St. Matthew canvases, Sant’Agostino, the Gesù, and Sant’Ignazio, with lunch on your own along the way. In the evening all who wish may join the Holy Father for the papal Corpus Christi Mass at St. John Lateran and the Eucharistic procession to St. Mary Major, included for the whole group and entirely optional, subject to the papal schedule. A group dinner follows.

A morning walking pilgrimage through ancient Rome: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Arch of Constantine, and the Mamertine Prison, where Sts. Peter and Paul were held. Holy Mass at the Basilica of San Clemente, three churches stacked one atop another. After a group lunch the coach drives out the Appian Way to the Catacombs of San Callisto, where the early Christians buried their martyrs and popes. The late afternoon is at leisure, with an optional walk through Trastevere. Dinner on your own.

A morning with our Catholic guide in the Vatican Museums: the Raphael Rooms, the Gallery of Maps, and the Sistine Chapel beneath Michelangelo’s ceiling. We continue into St. Peter’s Basilica for the Pietà, Bernini’s Baldacchino, and the papal tombs in the Vatican Grottoes. After lunch on your own, an optional ascent of the cupola and time for Confessions, then an optional visit to San Lorenzo fuori le Mura to venerate St. Justin, Martyr, on his feast day. A group dinner closes the last evening in Rome; pack for Umbria.

An early breakfast brings the group to St. Peter’s Square for the Papal Wednesday General Audience, with advance tickets arranged by ProRome. After a quick lunch on your own we board the motorcoach for Umbria and stop at the hilltop town of Orvieto to venerate the corporal of the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena. We continue to Assisi, check in, and visit San Damiano, where the crucifix spoke to St. Francis and St. Clare lived her enclosure. Vespers, then a group dinner in Assisi.

An optional morning hike up Mount Subasio to the Eremo delle Carceri, the hermitage where St. Francis withdrew to pray; others may rest or explore the town. We descend to Santa Maria degli Angeli for the Portiuncula, the small chapel Francis rebuilt with his own hands, where he founded his Order and died in 1226. After a group lunch, an afternoon excursion to Norcia, birthplace of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, with Vespers alongside the Benedictine monks at 5:30 and time for the town’s famous fare before returning to Assisi. Dinner on your own.

The morning is given to the Basilica of San Francesco, mother church of the Franciscan world: the crypt with the tomb of St. Francis, the Lower Church with frescoes by Cimabue, and the Upper Church with Giotto’s twenty-eight panel cycle. At the Basilica of Santa Chiara we venerate the tomb of St. Clare and the San Damiano Crucifix. After lunch on your own the afternoon is free to walk the lanes or climb to the Rocca Maggiore. Holy Mass together, then the farewell dinner in Assisi.

The private motorcoach departs Assisi at 4:30 AM for Rome Fiumicino Airport, roughly two and a half hours, for the journey home, carrying home the graces of a pilgrimage kept in the heart of the Church, from the tombs of the Apostles to the hill towns of Umbria.