ITALY ITINERARY
Day 1 -Sunday, June 5
Pilgrims depart Chicago for Rome in the late evening.
Day 2 - Monday, June 6
Upon arrival, pilgrims take the train into the city, check into their lodgings, buy groceries for the week, and make a communal meal.
In the evening, pilgrims enjoy a traditional passeggiate (evening stroll) through the neighborhoods of the Campus Martius, home to some of Rome’s most famous sites like the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the Campo de’ Fiori. Opportunities for gelato abound.
Evening programming follows.
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| The Trevi Fountain at night |
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| Enjoying gelato by the Pantheon |
Day 3 – Tuesday, June 7
Pre-Christian Rome
This morning, pilgrims visit the Coliseum, Forum, Capitoline Museum, and Palatine Hill palace complex, site of many early Christian martyrdoms. This visit includes a stop at the Mamertine Prison, which likely once held Sts. Peter and Paul, along with other early Christian martyrs.
After a packed lunch, pilgrims will form small groups for prayer and reflection in one of four of Rome’s ancient churches and a park nearby. The intent is to give students down time to soak in the history around them, quietly contemplating how they are adding their own story to the long history of Christian pilgrims who have come before them.
Evening meal and programming follow at the residence.
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| The Roman Forum |
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| St. Peter's seen through a keyhole near the Orange Garden on the Aventine Hill |
Day 4 – Wednesday, June 8
Pre-Constantinian Christian Rome
Today begins early with a Metro ride to suburban Rome, to the massive remains of the great aqueduct of the Emperor Claudius. Walking several shaded miles back toward the city on the ancient cobblestone Appian Way, pilgrims pass the very tombs and monuments that Peter and Paul passed when they entered Rome. The first stop is the Basilica of St. Sebastian--one of Rome’s seven ancient “pilgrimage” basilicas (we will see them all), and then on to a guided tour of the catacombs of St. Callistus, where many early Christians, including a number of popes, were interred. A pack lunch follows the tour.
Entering the old city through the San Sebastian Gate, the pilgrimage continues with a visit to the Basilica of St. Clement, under which lies a well-preserved 1st-Century Christian house church. The afternoon concludes with visits to the churches of St. Praxedes, a small, ancient basilica built over a first century house church featuring sumptuous 8th Century mosaics, and St. Pudenziana, probably the oldest church in Rome, which may have served as the headquarters for St. Peter’s nascent mission in the city.
Dinner and evening programming follows at the residence.
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| The Appian Way |
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| Burial chamber in the catacombs |
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| Ancient mosaics in St. Pudenziana |
Day 5 – Thursday, June 9
The Papal Basilicas
Today, pilgrims explore three of the four papal basilicas.
The day begins with an early Metro ride to St. Paul’s-Outside-the-Walls to venerate the tomb of St. Paul, and visit the chapel where Ignatius and his companions took formal vows to institute the Jesuits. Though the original 4th-Century St. Paul’s was destroyed by a fire in 1823, the basilica was quickly rebuilt to the detail, and today affords visitors the best chance to experience what it was like to step into a church in the time of Constantine. A slow-paced visit will allow pilgrims a prayerful experience at the tomb and nearby cloisters.
While walking back into the old city on the ancient Via Ostiensis, pilgrims will pass several sites of note, including the cemetery where Keats and Shelly are buried, the 1st-Century BC Pyramid of Guius Cestius, the Circus Maximus, and the Forum Boarium, home to some of Rome’s oldest pagan temples. Each is worthy of a short visit, time permitting.
Next, pilgrims visit St. John Lateran, the oldest dedicated church in Europe and the mother church of all of Roman Catholicism. After exploring the church and its famous cloisters and baptistry at leisure, pilgrims will climb the “Holy Stairs” Jesus took to meet with Pontius Pilate, transported from Jerusalem by St. Helen, the mother of Constantine.
In the early evening, pilgrims visit the 5th-Century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, built in the wake of the proclamation of the Council of Ephesus that is Mother of God (Theotokos). Here, St. Ignatius said his first mass.
Dinner is at the residence, with the evening free. Late evening programming follows at the residence.
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| The imposing façade of St. Paul's-Outside-the-Walls |
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| Pilgrims ascending the Santa Scala (Holy Stairs) |
Day 6 - Friday, June 10
Ostia Antica
Ostia Antica was Ancient Rome’s seaport. It was here that St. Monica died. St. Augustine recounts the touching story of their final farewell in Book IX of his Confessions. After exploring Ostia Antica’s Roman ruins, pilgrims can take a break from touring by visiting the nearby public beach for an afternoon of sunbathing.
Evening free with late evening programming at the residence.
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| Explore the ruins of Ancient Rome's seaport, Ostia Antica |
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| Then hit the beach! |
Day 7 - Saturday, June 11
Vatican City
Pilgrims spend the entire day exploring the Vatican, including visits to the interior, dome, and crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Pilgrims will also have the opportunity to take the Scavii Tour of the on-going subterranean excavations around St. Peter’s first century tomb itself (those wishing it will have the alternative option to take a tour of the Vatican Gardens).
Evening meal and programming follows at the residence follows.
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| Michelangelo's Pieta |
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| The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel |
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| Looking down from the climb to the top of St. Peter's dome |
Day 8 – Sunday, June 12
Ignatian Rome
Today begins with a walk to the massive Church of Sant’Ignazio, before visiting the Church of the Gesu, the mother church of the Jesuit order and the burial place of St. Ignatius. Afterwards, pilgrims take a tour of the rooms of St. Ignatius from which he ran the worldwide Jesuit order. The afternoon and evening are free, with evening programming following.
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| Gaulli's 3-D ceiling in the Church of the Gesu |
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| The Rooms of St. Ignatius |
Day 9 - Monday, June 13
Castel Gandolfo
Today pilgrims take a short train ride to Castel Gandolfo, the Pope’s summer home. After a tour of the 17th Century castle, its gardens, and the nearby Vatican Observatory, the group will take several long hikes in the Alban Hills outside of Rome.
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| Picturesque view of the Alban Hills |
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| View from Castel Gandolfo |
Day 10 - Tuesday, June 14
Friendly Competition
Today, a special competitive challenge awaits!
After returning to the residence, pilgrims will partake together in an agape Meal, modeled after the communal meal shared by early Christians in Rome.
Day 11 - Wednesday, June 15
Assisi
Today, pilgrims hop an early train to the Umbrian hill town of Assisi to visit the cradle of Franciscanism, a movement which exercised a decisive influence on the development of St. Ignatius’ personal spirituality.
Arriving late morning, pilgrims first visit the massive Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, which entirely encompasses the tiny Franciscan mother church of the Portiuncula where the movement began. After this tour, a short bus ride takes them to Francis’ tomb at the Basilica of St. Francis, home of famous cycles by master Italian painters Cimabue and Giotto. Other major sites in town include the Basilica of Saint Clare (burial place of Sts. Clare and Agnes), and the Church of San Damiano (site of Francis’ initial conversion).
Dinner is on the town. Evening programming follows at the convent.
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| The massive Basilica of St. Francis |
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| View of Assisi's medieval core |
Day 12 - Thursday, June 16
Assisi
Pilgrims begin the day by hiking above Assisi to the Hermitage of the Carceri (caves), a mountaintop retreat used by Francis, which today serves as a rustic Catholic retreat center. After praying at the Carceri, pilgrims spend the day hiking up Mt. Subasio and exploring the trails above Assisi, which feature expansive views of the Perugia valley.
Dinner and evening programming follow at the convent.
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| The mountainside Hermitage of the Carceri |
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| Hiker on the summit ridge of Mt. Subasio |
Day 13 - Friday, June 17
Pilgrims return to Rome and fly home to Chicago.
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