Christmas Medjugorje and Rome Holy Year Pilgrimage Tour

Board your overnight transatlantic flights from your local airport to begin your pilgrimage to
Medjugorje. Meals are served on board.

Arrive in Dubrovnik or Split or Sarajevo where you will be greeted by your tour guide who will
then escort you to the private motorcoach which will then take you on the 2 1/2-hour drive to the
village of Medjugorje. Once there you will meet your fellow pilgrims and your priest-spiritual
director. Dinner and overnight in Medjugorje.

During your stay, you will experience the beauty and peace of this simple village, and have the
opportunity to share your faith with pilgrims from all over the world. Here are some of the
activities planned for the week:

Daily Mass: Each morning, at 10:00 am (noon on Sunday), the group will gather at St. James
Church for Mass and the blessing of religious articles immediately following.

Climb Apparition Hill: Recite the Rosary while climbing the hill to the place where the
visionaries first encountered Our Lady.

Climb Mt. Krizevac – Cross Mountain: In 1933, the villagers built a 30′ high cross atop a
mountain to commemorate Jesus’ passion and death on the cross. Climb to the top, stopping 14
times along the way to rest and Pray the Stations of the Cross.

Apparitions: Join the villagers and fellow pilgrims in praying the Rosary in St. James Church at
5:00 pm (6:00 pm Daylight Savings Time), and stay for the apparition of Our Lady to the
visionaries at 5:40 pm (6:40 pm Daylight Savings Time). Stay for the Croatian Mass with the
Blessing of the Sick immediately following.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Our Lady has always called us to be close to Her Son.
Join fellow pilgrims for Adoration on Tuesday and Saturday at the outside altar of St. James
Church, and for Veneration of the Cross on Friday inside the church. Adoration is also available
in the Chapel every afternoon.

Meetings with the Visionaries: Pending their availability, the guide will arrange meetings with
the Visionaries.

Visit to the Community of Cenacolo: Founded by the Sisters of Charity, Cenacolo is a
community for young men and women who have lost their way in life and are on the road to
recovery. We will hear their inspirational words about their journeys back to Jesus Christ.

Prayer at the Statue of the Risen Christ: Pray at the bronze statue located on the grounds of
St. James Church, and witness the droplets of water that miraculously seep out of Christ’s right
knee.

After breakfast and English Mass at St James Church, you will say goodbye to Medjugorje and
travel to the historic Croatian town of Tragir. There will be time to explore this charming coastal
town before dinner and overnight in Tragir.

After an early breakfast, you will leave by motorcoach for Split Airport for your return flights
home.

After breakfast and English Mass at St James Church, you will say goodbye to Medjugorje and
travel to Split Airport for your short flight to Rome. Upon arrival at Rome Airport, you will find
your luggage and exit the baggage claim into the Arrivals Hall where you will be greeted by your
tour escort and/or driver. After a warm welcome to Italy, you will be escorted to your
transportation to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Today is a day that will live in our hearts for many years to come. Begin this morning with Mass
at the crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica. Afterwards you will visit the Basilica, built on the site where
St. Peter was martyred. St. Peter’s is unsurpassed in beauty; a monument to the long history of
the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims from around the world flock. You will have time to marvel
at Michelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s amazing bronze canopy. You will visit and have time to
pray at the tomb of Pope John Paul II. Continue out to St. Peter’s Square where you will pray
the Angelus with Pope Leo XIV, the first Pope born in the USA, and receive his blessing. In the
afternoon you will travel along the Appian Way, the oldest road from Roman times, where you will see the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel, the ancient Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of
Drusus, and the Tomb of Cecilia Metella. You will explore St. Paul Outside the Walls, which
houses the remains of St. Paul under its main altar, and visit the catacombs of St. Callixtus,
where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution for their devout faith. Dinner
and overnight in Rome.

After breakfast depart on your sightseeing tour which begins with a visit to the Vatican
Museums, an astonishing series of galleries that contain the most impressive spiritual and art
treasures. You will see awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as
tributes of faith. You will visit the Tapestry Gallery, the Raphael Rooms, and the breathtaking
Sistine Chapel where we will see Michelangelo’s masterpiece the Last Judgement. Afterwards
you will visit St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, which
contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. Here you will also see and have time to
pray at the tomb of the late Pope Francis. You will visit and have the opportunity to climb the
Holy Stairs and visit the Cathedral of Rome, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, which was the
residence of the popes prior to returning to Rome in 1377. There will be time to walk through the
historical center of Rome to see the Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain to participate in the
tradition of throwing 3 coins into the fountain in hopes of returning to Rome. Dinner and
overnight in Rome.

This morning you will celebrate Mass on the Feast of the Epiphany, and be in St. Peter’s Square
for the closing ceremony of the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica. There will be free time for
shopping before Farewell Dinner and overnight in Rome.

Early morning departure for Rome airport and return flights to the USA.