A Pilgrimage to Italy
with Washington Catholic Schools

Pilgrims gather at Indianapolis (IND), Louisville (SDF), or Evansville (EVV) and check in for the overnight transatlantic flight to Rome, on the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. Group airfare is arranged by ProRome and quoted separately; the final routing and gateway airport will be posted in the Group Flight Information section below as soon as schedules are released.

The ProRome Tour Manager meets the group at Rome Fiumicino, and the private coach drives directly to Tre Fontane, where St. Paul was martyred and, by tradition, three springs rose where his head struck the ground, in quiet grounds kept by the Trappist monks. The Welcome Mass and a guided tour follow at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, raised over the Apostle’s tomb. Check-in at the guesthouse near St. Peter’s and a welcome dinner close the day. The flow of this day depends on the final flight arrival time. Benvenuti a Roma!

An early start for the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, where the Holy Father greets pilgrims, gives his catechesis, and imparts the Apostolic Blessing; ProRome reserves the tickets in advance. After lunch near the Vatican, a Catholic guide leads the group through the Vatican Museums, the Raphael Rooms, and the Sistine Chapel, then directly into St. Peter’s Basilica for the Pietà, the Baldacchino, and the papal tombs. The climb to the Cupola is optional. Group dinner.

A morning at St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome and mother of all churches, then the Scala Santa, the stairs of Pilate’s palace, climbed on the knees with an Our Father on each of the 28 steps. At Santa Croce in Gerusalemme the pilgrims venerate the relics of the Passion brought from the Holy Land by St. Helena. The afternoon reaches St. Mary Major, with the Salus Populi Romani icon and the relic of the Holy Crib, completing the four Major Basilicas. Group dinner.

On the feast of St. John Paul II, the private coach climbs into the Alban Hills to Castel Gandolfo, summer residence of the popes, for a guided visit of the Apostolic Palace: the papal apartments, the throne room, the gallery of papal portraits, and the gardens above Lake Albano. A group lunch follows in the town. On the way back along the Appian Way the group descends into the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, where the relics of Sts. Peter and Paul were once kept in safety. Free time before dinner.

A walking pilgrimage through the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Arch of Constantine leads to the Mamertine Prison, where Sts. Peter and Paul were held before their martyrdom. After lunch on one’s own, the group descends through the three layers of San Clemente, from the twelfth-century basilica to a first-century Roman house. A short walk brings the pilgrims to Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the frescoed Roman houses beneath it, home of the two martyrs it honors. Group dinner.

Sunday Mass at Sant’Agnese in Agone on Piazza Navona, at the place of St. Agnes’ martyrdom. A walk through Baroque Rome follows: Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, the Pantheon, the Caravaggio canvases of San Luigi dei Francesi and Sant’Agostino with the tomb of St. Monica, the Gesù with the tomb of St. Ignatius, and Pozzo’s ceiling at Sant’Ignazio. In the late afternoon, an optional walk with the Tour Manager reaches Trastevere, Santa Cecilia, and Tiber Island. Group dinner.

The coach heads north into Umbria to Orvieto, where Mass is celebrated in the Duomo that keeps the Corporal of the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, the miracle that led to the Feast of Corpus Christi, beside Signorelli’s Last Judgment frescoes. After lunch in the medieval town, the group prays at Santa Maria degli Angeli before the Portiuncula, the chapel St. Francis rebuilt with his own hands, and the cell where he died. The day ends within the walls of Assisi, with dinner together.

Morning Mass at the Basilica of San Francesco, a visit to the Saint’s tomb in the crypt, and the Cimabue and Giotto frescoes of the Lower and Upper Churches. At Santa Chiara the pilgrims venerate the tomb of St. Clare and the San Damiano Crucifix that spoke to Francis. In the afternoon the group hikes up Mount Subasio to the Eremo delle Carceri, the forest hermitage where Francis withdrew to pray, then returns by way of San Damiano. A farewell dinner closes the evening.

After an early breakfast and a final Mass in Assisi, timed to the flights, the private coach makes the two and a half hour transfer to Rome Fiumicino for the return flights to Indianapolis, Louisville, or Evansville, carrying home the graces of a pilgrimage through the heart of the Church. The Tour Manager sees the group through check-in, and the Welcome Packet and final trip information will carry the exact departure times.