Scheduled flight to Pisa from a London airport. On arrival transfer by coach to our accommodation in

Siena for a two-night stay.

After breakfast we meet our local guide for a tour to include St Catherine’s House and the Church of San Domenico (where St Catherine’s head is kept), where we hope to celebrate Mass. After time for lunch is at choice we visit the Cathedral and the crypt. The rest of the day will be at leisure.

Today we travel to Assisi via the town of Bagno Vignoni, known for its thermal baths, which became popular as a stopover point for Christian pilgrims travelling this route on their way to Rome during the

Middle Ages. Saint Catherine of Siena lived here for a while. We have a stop here and visit the loggia that has been given St Catherine’s name. We continue past Lake Trasimeno to the suburb of Santa Maria degli Angeli where we will visit the Baroque Basilica, which envelops St Francis’ original tiny chapel, the Porziuncola, where he realised his mission and where he died. We drive up to the old town of Assisi where we check into our hotel for an overnight stay.

This morning we will spend in the Old Town of Assisi, with a guided tour of the town as St Francis and St Clare would have known it. We visit the Basilica of St Clare and see the Crucifix, originally in San Damiano, that told Francis ‘Rebuild my church, which stands in ruins.’ Our final visit is to the twin basilica of St Francis. We see the frescoes attributed to Giotto in the Upper Basilica and those by Cimabue and Simone de Martine in the Lower Basilica. Mass will be celebrated during the course of the morning. After time for lunch at choice we meet our coach and transfer to Rome where we check into our accommodation for a two-night stay.

This morning we visit St Peter’s for a tour of the Basilica, including Michelangelo’s Pieta, and the crypt, which contains the tombs of several Popes. There will be an opportunity to ascend the dome (there will be a small charge for this). Lunch is at choice, followed by some time to relax, before we transfer in the late afternoon to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, the titular church in Rome of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor. It is here that St Catherine of Siena’s body is kept. Mass will be celebrated here. Afterwards, we walk to Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. Dinner is included this evening at L’Eau Vive Restaurant, near to the Pantheon, run by an order of Belgian Missionary Nuns. After dinner the Sisters will serenade us with hymns. Afterwards we transfer back to our accommodation by coach.

This morning we drive to the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, built over the burial place of the Saint. We celebrate Mass here before we continue to the catacombs of St Sebastian on the Appian Way, where we will be guided through the labyrinth of tunnels where the early Christians were buried. The rest of the day is at leisure. Dinner will be in a local restaurant.

We check out of our hotel after breakfast and drive to the Basilica of St Mary Major where the final Mass of our pilgrimage will be celebrated. Afterwards we drive to St Peter’s for the Angelus and Papal Blessing at 12 noon. We transfer to Rome Airport for our return flight to London.