Pilgrimage to Italy 2023

with Father Mark Mullaney.  

NOTE:  as of 1/20/23 this pilgrimage is full.     Check 2024 Italy 🙂

Join us 10-23 September 2023 as we return to some of our favorite places in Italy.  Here’s our proposed itinerary:

Sunday, 10 September 2023 – Depart from Washington Dulles Airport for Rome on evening flight.  Dinner and movie on board.

Monday, 11 September 2023 – We arrive in Italy!  After Passport Control and Customs, board our deluxe air-conditioned coach and head South towards Naples, stopping in Monte Cassino for a short visit.  Father will celebrate Mass before we continue to hotel in Naples for dinner and overnight.

Tuesday, 12 September 2023 – After breakfast, we’ll depart for Pompei with our Italian guide.  Father will celebrate Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel before we have a coffee break and then our  tour of Pompeii.   Return to Naples for a short city tour before dinner and overnight.

Wednesday, 13 September 2023 – After breakfast, Father will celebrate Mass before we depart for San Giovanni Rotundo.  A short introduction to the life of Saint Padre Pio before we check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Thursday, 14 September 2023 – After breakfast, we have a tour of Saint Pio’s Cell and Chapel and then time for private prayer.  In the afternoon, we travel to The Cave of the Archangel Michael where Father will celebrate Mass.  Some free time to enjoy the area before we return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Friday, 15 September 2023 – After breakfast, we depart for Lanciano.  Father will celebrate Mass in the Church of the Eucharistic Miracle and you’ll have time for veneration as well as time to explore the museum which details the many experiments done to put the authenticity of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.  Continue north to Loretto for dinner and overnight.

Saturday, 16 September 2023 – After breakfast, we enter the Sanctuary of the Holy House of Mary.  One tradition tells us With the imminent fall of the Holy Land to the Turks, the Holy House itself was in danger.  We are told that the angels transported the home from Nazareth to Dalmatia (modern-day Croatia) in 1291 and the Blessed Virgin Mary actually appeared there and many miracles were reported.  The house was again transported to the hilltop town of Loreto, Italy in December of 1294.  Another tradition tells of a wealthy family in the Holy Land, the Angeli Family, who paid to have the house dismantled and then reassembled in Italy, but whatever you believe, modern technology confirms that cuts found in the stones resemble those found in Nazareth and that the building materials and technique correspond to those used in the Holy Land.  There are inscriptions in syncopated Greek characters with contiguous Hebrew letters that read “O Jesus Christ, Son of God,” written in the same style inscribed in the Grotto in Nazareth. In addition, the house has no foundation, something you would expect it to have if were in its’ original location.  Father will celebrate Mass and you will have personal time before we continue towards Assisi.  Check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Sunday, 17 September 2023–  After breakfast,  Father will celebrate Mass and we’ll pray at the Tomb of Saint Francis. Afterwards, have a special tour of the Basilica and town of Francis and Clare, ending at the Basilica of Saint Clare where her incorrupt body lies in the crypt.  Enjoy a FREE AFTERNOON before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Monday, 18 September 2023 –  After breakfast, we go to Santa Maria dei Angeli where one of the Franciscans will give us a tour of the places that Saint Francis made special by his life among his brothers and Saint Clare here.   Pray in the Portunicola before Father celebrates Mass for us and then have personal time for meditation and prayer.  Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Tuesday, 19 September 2023 –  After breakfast, depart for Rome!  We arrive in time for an afternoon tour of the Catacombs of Saint Callistus where Father will celebrate Mass after our tour.  Check into our hotel.  Dinner is on your own.

Wednesday, 20 September 2023 –  a quick breakfast  before we go to Saint Peter’s Basilica to join pilgrims from around the world for the Wednesday Papal Audience!        After lunch, meet guide David Vaquez   and take the bus to the Colesseum where we begin a leisurely walk back through history seeing the Forum, Capitoline Hill, the Monument to Victor Emmanuel (the White Wedding Cake), Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navonne and Hadrian’s Tomb. Stop for gelato along the way!   Return to the hotel for the evening.  Dinner is on your own

Thursday, 21 September 2023 –  After coffee, we go to Saint Peter’s Basilica where Father will celebrate Mass in the Crypt.  You’ll have time in the basilica after Mass to wander  for meditation and prayer.  A special tour of The Scavi has been confirmed for our group!  After, meet our guide who will lead us through the history of three major basilicas:  Saint John Lateran,  Saint Mary Major and Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls.   Return to our hotel.  Dinner is on your own.

Friday, 22 September 2023 –  A FREE DAY IN ROME!

Saturday, 23 September 2023 – Time to say good-bye to Rome and head home with memories to Give Thanks and Remember!

PILGRIMAGE PRICE:  $4,530.00

will include:

INCLUDED:

• Airfare to and from  from Washington, DC
• Airline taxes and fuel surcharges**
• All transfers and assistance with arrival and departure
• Deluxe bus transportation as required
• Whisper Headsets
• Hotel accommodations in double rooms using first-class hotels with private baths
• Breakfast daily and 9 dinners as indicated on itinerary.
• Services of English speaking local guides
• Services of a  Certified Tour Manager from the U.S.A.
• All entrance fees as shown on  the itinerary
• Daily Mass and spiritual direction
• All service charges

NOT INCLUDED:

• A Tip fund of $18.00 per day, per person ($234) collected with balance.   Covers ALL tips including hotels, dining rooms, porters, drivers, and guides.
• Expenses of a personal nature
• Meals not mentioned.  Drinks with dinner.
• Single Supplement  ($850) when no roommate  (Note:  limited # singles)

Send $500.00 deposit by check made out to Give Thanks and Remember LLC

                                                                                1484 Morris Pond Dr, Ste B2

                                                                                Locust Grove, VA 22508

(sorry no credit cards accepted). FULL PAYMENT DUE BY 15 JUNE 2023

CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS for any pilgrimage is found on the website under REGISTRATION.