The Confraternity
of St. Peter
welcomes you
on an unforgettable pilgrimage to
ITALY
visiting Norcia, Cascia, Assisi, Montecassino and Rome to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
October 11-20, 2008
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Pilgrimage Highlights:
- Norcia, birthplace of Sts. Benedict & Scholastica
- Cascia - Sanctuary of St. Rita
- Assisi, the beautiful hillside town of Sts. Francis & Clare
- A special celebration of the FSSP's 20th anniversary to include a Pontifical Mass, a conference and banquet, vespers and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
- An audience with Pope Benedict XVI on St. Peter's Square at Vatican City
- the unforgettably beautiful four Major Churches of Rome
- Michelangelo's Pieta
- Coliseum (site of early Christian martyrdoms)
- Catacombs (secret under-ground burial places of early Christians)
- Holy Staircase (Scala Santa) on which Christ ascended to meet Pilate brought to Rome by St. Helen
- Abbey of Monte Casino
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Travel Itinerary
Day 1 - Morning departure from your originating city onboard a flight to Rome, Italy.
Day 2 - Morning arrival in Rome, situated in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula. Set out northwards into the wild hills of eastern Umbria, a land of unspoiled natural beauty, towards the medieval walled mountain town of Norcia, birthplace of the twin saints, Benedict (Father of Western Monasticism and founder of the Benedictine Order) and Scholastica (founder of the first community of Benedictine nuns) in 480. Late afternoon arrival in Norcia, check-in at our hotel and rest. Evening Vespers at the Monastery of San Benedetto in Norcia.
Day 3 - Morning in Norcia to visit the 14th century church of San Benedetto, built over the remains of the house in which the twin saints were born. Afternoon excursion to nearby Cascia, home of St. Rita, the 14th century wife, mother, widow and Augustinian nun, known as the “Peacemaker” and “Saint of forgiveness, and desperate and impossible situations”. In response to her prayer to atone for the sufferings of Our Lord on the Cross, she received the stigmata; a thorn in her forehead from the crown that covered Jesus’s own head, which she bore until her death fifteen years later. Visit the Basilica of St. Rita in Cascia where her mortal remains repose. Return to Norcia for Vespers and overnight.
Day 4 - Morning departure for the hilltown of Assisi; birthplace of Sts. Francis & Clare. Step back in time and imagine life as it was for Francis and Clare eight hundred years ago, as we walk the same narrow cobblestone streets that they walked. Visit the Basilica of St. Clare (wherein is the Cross from his which Christ said to Francis: “repair my house which is falling into ruins”), the Cathedral of San Rufino (where both saints were baptized), the Basilica of St. Francis (where his mortal remains repose) and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels (built over the chapel that Francis repaired in 1207). Late afternoon departure for Rome, the “Eternal City”, arriving in the early evening at our hotel, situated on the approach to the ancient Appian Way.
Day 5 - Join with pilgrims from all over the world on St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who meets here almost every Wednesday morning with the faithful visiting Rome, offering words of thankfulness, encouragement and inspiration on their pilgrim journey. Then visit St. Peter’s Basilica; one of the four major basilicas of Rome and the principal church of the Pope. Among the most sacred sites in all of Christendom as it is built over the burial site of its namesake; Saint Peter the Apostle, first Bishop of Rome. Afternoon tour to the historical heart of Rome. See the grand Trevi Fountain (remember “Three coins in a fountain”?) and then walk along ancient narrow byways to St. Ignatius of Loyola Church wherein is buried the only Jesuit Pope and two Jesuit saints; Aloysius Gonzaga and John Berchmans. Visit the Pantheon (a former temple to pagan gods and now a Catholic Church dedicated to Mary); one of the most ancient and best preserved buildings in the world. Stop in Rome’s ancient area of Trastevere to visit Casa Francesca Romana; home of the 15th Cnt. noblewoman, St. Francis of Rome, “Patron of widows”, who loved to care for the poor and infirm and after her husbands death, founded a community of Benedictine Oblates. From when she was eight years old she was privileged with seeing her Guardian Angel accompany her wherever she went, which is why she is also the patron of motorists. Evening in Rome.
Day 6 - Morning free giving time to visit the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums at leisure (optional). Afternoon tour of Christian Rome. First visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran (original home of the popes); the oldest of the major basilica’s of Rome. Within the main altar of this basilica is the wooden altar on which St. Peter offered Mass while in Rome. Next, visit the Church of Scalla Santa, built to enclose the staircase that Christ walked up to meet Pontius Pilate. Pass by the ruins of the Roman Forum and the Coliseum to visit another major basilica of Rome; St. Mary Major, one of the first shrines dedicatedto Our Lady. Among it’s highlights are the Crypt of the Nativity (containing relics of the cradle of Our Lord) and the tomb of St. Pius V, the “Holy Pope of Lepanto”, who issued Quo Primum (1570), the apostolic constitution that memorialized the Breviary and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the universal language of Latin; a decree that brought much unity to the Church in the years following the Protestant Reformation. Evening in Rome.
Day 7 - Excursion to the famous Abbey of Montecassino, founded by St. Benedict in 529, magnificently situated atop a hill overlooking the village of Cassino. Here St. Benedict organized a group of monks into a single monastic community and wrote his beautiful Rule which was to affect monasticism in the West for centuries to come. He is the “Patron of the Dying” because of his own glorious death here at the abbey, in 547, just forty days after his sister Scholastica, standing in prayer before the Most Blessed Sacrament. Evening return to Rome.
Day 8 - Today we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in 1988. Join with many Fraternity priests and laymen for a day of special events including a Pontifical Mass, a conference and banquet, vespers and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Evening in Rome.
Day 9 - Morning Holy Mass followed by the midday Angelus with the Pope at St. Peter’s Square (pending). Afternoon excursion to the major Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls (built in the 4th century over the burialplace of its namesake, Paul the Apostle) and the Catacombs (underground tunnels where Christians worshiped and buried their dead during the persecutions of the early Church). Evening Farewell Dinner.
Day 10 - Morning departure from Rome onboard a flight to the United States and on to your originating city.
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Tour Details
All-inclusive tour cost with departures from the cities below plus $295.00 in airport taxes and fuel surcharges
Sacramento, CA with Fr. Robert Novokowsky, FSSP: $3480.00
Newark, NJ with Fr. Gregory Pendergraft, FSSP: $3140.00
Poenix, AZ with Fr. Kenneth Fryar, FSSP: $3425.00
Omaha, NE with Fr. John Brancich, FSSP: $3400
Tampa, FL with Fr. James Fryar, FSSP: $3390
Includes:
- R/T air on Delta, American or Continental Airlines
- Land travel by luxury coach
- 3 and 4* hotel accomodations w/ private bath <2 nights in Norcia at the 3*Hotel Grotto Azzura and 6 nights in Rome at the 4*Domina Roma Cappannelle>
- Breakfast & dinner daily
- All guided touring (as on itinerary)
- All entrance fees
- Daily Traditional Holy Mass
- Fully hosted
Cost is based on dbl. room occupancy
<for single room occupancy add $585.00>
For more information, phone Tish Gallagher at 1-916-223-3112
To download a flyer for your confraternity region, in pdf form, click here: Sacramento / Phoenix / Omaha / Newark / Tampa
For a Pilgrimage Brochure, call 1-800-334-5425 to have one sent to you by mail or click on the city nearest you to download one in pdf form: Sacramento / Phoenix / Omaha / Newark / Tampa
Please note that if you are not located near any of the above cities, download the Newark brochure and call us for the airfare from your closest airport to Newark.
To reserve a space, please fill out the application within the bochure and send it with a $500 deposit to:
SYVERSEN TOURING
The Village Centre / P.O. Box 509
Bangall, NY 12506 / Ph: 1-800-334-5425