Depart USA for Rome, Italy via independent, overnight flights and prepare for an incredible experience!

Be sure to book your flight so that you arrive in Italy on September 8, 2023, and in sufficient time to rest and make our evening Welcome Dinner.

Arrive in Rome. Be sure to arrive in time to get to the hotel, freshen up, and meet the group for the opening dinner that evening (TBD ~6:30pm)

UPDATE: as a land-only tour, pilgrims manage their own transportation to/from the country, and to/from the airport. Corporate Travel is planning to offer a bus from Fumicino to the Hotel for those with a flight arrival early enough. Time TBD. More information to come.

Corporate Travel will be providing additional information and support for pilgrims to navigate their arrival and travel to the hotel. More information will be released closer to our departure date. Note: hotel rooms will not be available before 3:00PM.

• Fumicino Airport to Rome Train Option: there is a regular train from the Fumicino airport to Rome's Termini station. It departs every 10-15 minutes and costs about $10-$15 per person. Signs in the airport will guide you to the train and how to purchase a ticket.
  
• Termini Train Station to Hotel: from Rome's Termini station you can take a taxi to the hotel (Hotel Della Conciliazione
  Borgo Pio, 163/166 - 00193 Roma).
  

Closer to departure, more information will be released to help you make your transportation decisions.

Celebrate Mass. Balance of the day to freshen up.

Group welcome dinner at Ristorante Pancrazio at ~6:30pm.

Overnight in Rome.

After breakfast, begin your pilgrimage by visiting the beginning (1225) and end (1274) of St. Thomas Aquinas’ life.

First, depart for Roccasecca, where Aquinas was born in a small mountain-top castle owned by his wealthy family. Sweeping views and the castle’s ruins offer a beautiful backdrop from which to contemplate the Saint’s early life. Celebrate Mass.

Next, proceed to Fossanova, where Aquinas died in a Cistercian monastery in 1274 AD while on his way to the council of Lyon. Centering around a magnificent cloister featuring an array of masterful sculptures, the church itself is a soaring gothic affair complete with rib vaults and a beautiful mullioned rose window.

Return to Rome for dinner on your own and overnight in Rome.

[updated] After breakfast, head to St. Peter's for a special Mass and time at the Vatican. After lunch on your own, we'll head to the historic center of Rome and enjoy an optional private tour of the Rione Monti neighborhood around the Angelicum with Dominican friar, Fr. Benedict Croell, O.P.

You’ll visit St. John Paul II’s favorite café and learn about the Eternal City’s Christian history in the areas near the school. Celebrate Mass this morning. Next, we’ll enter the renowned Dominican university bearing Aquinas’ name: the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum) for a private tour and lectures on Aquinas and the history of the Order of Preachers.

The remains of Bl. Hyacinthe-Marie Cormier, O.P., who approved the formation of the Western Dominican Province, lay in rest at the Angelicum.

Following the tour, we’ll head to the beautiful private garden of the friars for aperitivo and then on to a group dinner in the Angelicum’s Sala Colonne Hall. Here we’ll be treated to a very special presentation and time with the Rector Magnificus, Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P.

Overnight in Rome.

After breakfast, depart for Monti Cassino, the famous Benedictine Abbey perched high atop a mountain where Aquinas began his studies at the age of 5. Celebrate Mass.

The monastery was founded and built by St. Benedict (patron saint of Europe) around 529 A.D. on the remains of a Roman fortification. Learn about the foundation of monastic life including the life of his sister, St. Scholastica.

After time for lunch on your own, continue to Monte San Giovanni Campano, to visit its castle. Dating back to the end of the tenth century, it belonged to Aquino counts. Because of its strategic position, it has played for centuries the function of defending the southern border of the Papal States. It was destroyed by the troops of Charles VIII in 1495 and suffered serious damage in the earthquakes of 1703 and 1915, which forced the demolition of the upper floors, some of which were later restored.

Between 1244 and 1245, St. Thomas Aquinas’ family imprisoned him here to prevent him from joining the Dominicans. His family even attempted to undermine his chastity, but he successfully resisted, and two Angels girded him with a white chord representing his perpetual virginity. It was in this moment that the Angelic Warfare Confraternity traces its beginnings.

Return to Rome for dinner on your own and overnight in Rome.

Begin your day with a visit to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. It is of great importance to the Church and Order, as it contains the tombs of 5 Popes, including two members of the Florence Medici family, the left arm of St. Thomas Aquinas, and the remains of St. Catherine of Siena and the famous Dominican artist, Fra Angelico.

It also served as one of the early homes of the Angelicum. During your visit, you will also appreciate marble works by Michelangelo and Bernini, as well as paintings by Pilipino Lippi. In addition, next to the church, you will walk through the house of the Dominicans where the scientist Galileo was tried in the 17th century.

Next, we’ll proceed to the Basilica of San Clemente, housing the tombs of St. Cyril, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Clement. San Clemente is built over a 4th century basilica, which rests over an incredible 1st century house church; the excavations (“scavi”) under San Clemente are second only to those of St. Peter’s Basilica. You’ll also tour the Church’s sanctuary with its stunning apse mosaic of the crucified Christ.

Celebrate Mass.

Group dinner at Cecilia Matella.

Overnight in Rome.

Today is a day of rest and optional excursions. A Mass will be offered but may conflict with those attending the audience. Time TBD.

Optional: attend the morning Papal Audience (pending the Holy Father’s final schedule) and visit the Vatican and surrounding area on your own.

The remainder of the day is yours at leisure to explore Rome on your own.

Following breakfast depart for the beautiful city of Orvieto, where Aquinas lived from 1261-1265.

Orvieto is in the area where the famous Eucharistic miracle of 1263 took place. The blood-stained corporal and host were brought to Pope Urban IV in Orvieto. It inspired him to institute the feast of Corpus Christi and commission Aquinas to compose the Propers for a Mass. Aquinas thus wrote his famous hymns (still used today) including O Solutaris Hostia, Panis Angelicus, and Pange Lingua, which includes the Tantum Ergo.

On arrival, enjoy a guided visit of this small Etruscan city perched on a rock cliff in Umbria, Italy. See the Duomo di Orvieto, dating from 1290, which has a mosaic facade and houses a marble Pietà sculpture.

Celebrate Mass and see the famous cycle of frescoes by Signorelli. Lunch on your own this day with some free time to enjoy Orvieto’s famous shops.

Return to Rome for dinner on your own.

Overnight in Rome.

[updated] After breakfast, we'll head to the famous Aventine Hill to visit the Order of Malta’s beautiful Magistral Villa. The villa is next to historic Santa Sabina, headquarters of the Dominican Order, which has beautiful grounds overlooking Trastevere and St. Peter’s in the distance. St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas both lived at Santa Sabina, and it’s a fitting end to the first portion of our pilgrimage. 

Visit the cell of St. Dominic, see the cypress door with the famous 5th century depiction of the Crucifixion, and tour the beautiful Church. Celebrate Mass.

After Mass, you'll have time for lunch on your own before meeting up in the evening for our closing group dinner with the Dominicans. Dinner location TBD.

Overnight in Rome.

This morning is check-out of the hotel and depart for the Rome Airport for your flights to the USA, unless you've chosen the optional Naples extension!

Naples Extension: those coming to Naples will board the luxury coach for travel to the Naples hotel.

Hint: you should come on the extension!

Option to travel on an extension to Naples. If chosen, you'll board a luxury coach for travel to the Naples hotel.

Naples was home to Aquinas twice in his life, once as a child, and later just before he died in 1274. It was here, around the year 1240, that he entered the Dominicans at the Convent in Naples. Later, he would return and experience frequent ecstasies as he wrote his famous Summa Theologiae.

During your stay, visit the Shrine of Madonna dell’ Arco and learn about its unique Dominican history, as well as the beautiful Chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore church and monastery, founded by the Dominicans and located in the square in the historic center. Celebrate Mass.

Enjoy the final night of the extended pilgrimage with a superb group dinner (pizza or pasta) at Antonio Antonio with generous outdoor space, located on the water with excellent ambiance and an opportunity to walk the promenade.

Overnight in Naples.

Depart Italy to return to the United States, spiritually rejuvenated and inspired by the life and faith of St. Thomas Aquinas.