FRIDAY: Depart Cork on your direct flight to Rome. On arrival at Rome airport, you will be met by a Joe Walsh Tours Pilgrimage Co-ordinator, and transferred to your hotel in Fiuggi for two nights on a half board basis.
SATURDAY: Half day orientation tour of Rome with local guide: St Peter’s Basilica & Square, panoramic tour of ancient Rome – Colosseum, Roman Forum, Circus Maximus, Victor Emmanuel Monument and more. Mass will be arranged.
SUNDAY: Depart Fiuggi for San Giovanni Rotondo, stopping en route to visit Pietrelcina, birthplace of Padre Pio. Mass will be arranged. Free time for lunch. Arrive in your hotel in San Giovanni for dinner, and stay for two nights on a full board basis.
MONDAY: Visit the Capuchin Friary; the cell where the Saint lived and died, the crucifix before which he received the stigmata, the old and new churches & the Way of the Cross. Visit Padre Pio’s tomb and see the exhumed body of the saint. Celebrate mass in the church of Our Lady of Grace. Visit Monte Sant’Angelo: the nearby shrine where the Archangel Michael appeared.
TUESDAY:
Early morning departure from San Giovanni for Assisi. Free time for lunch en route. Enjoy dinner & stay for three nights on a half board basis in Assisi.
WEDNESDAY – THURSDAY: Visit the impressive 13th Century Basilica of St. Francis, the Basilica of St Clare and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, which houses the Porziuncola - the chapel of St. Francis’ first community and cradle of the Franciscan order. Mass will be arranged. Dinner in hotel. Visit the town of Cascia, situated just a short journey from Assisi among the green Umbrian hills. Cascia owes its fame to St Rita, the Augustinian nun who spent her whole religious life in the convent there. Visit the shrine dedicated to the saint, then continue on to visit the nearby hamlet of Roccaporena, where St Rita was born.
FRIDAY: Afternoon departure for Rome Airport and return flight to Cork.
