Pilgrimage Itinerary

Day 1 - Sunday, 28th January

We will depart in the morning from Dublin to Naples. Upon arrival in Naples we will be met by our Tour Escort and transfer to Avellino for lunch. After lunch we will travel to Pietrelcina, birthplace of St. Pio.

We will have a walking tour of the town which will include visits to the Forgione family home where Francesco Forgione was born and the Church of Sant’Anna where he was baptised.

We will celebrate the opening Mass of our pilgrimage in the Church of the Holy Family before transferring to nearby Piana Romana where the Forgione family had their farm. We will see the tree beneath which Padre Pio received the Invisible Stigmata and the farmhouse of the Forgione family.

Afterwards we will continue to San Giovanni Rotondo where we will stay for the following three nights in the Hotel Colonne.

Day 2 - Monday, 29th January

This morning we will celebrate Mass in the ancient Church of Our Lady of Grace. Afterwards we will visit the old tomb in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace and have the opportunity to venerate the precious relic of the body of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.

After time for private prayer we will visit the capuchin friary and see the cell where St. Pio lived and died. Our morning will end in the choir loft of the ancient Church of Our Lady of Grace where we will see the crucifix before which Padre Pio received the Visible Stigmata almost 100 years ago. We will return to our hotel for lunch.

In the afternoon we will have a tour of the Church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, designed by architect Renzo Piano. Inside we will see the breath-taking frescoes of Sr. Elisa Galardi in the Chapel of the Eucharist, the altar by Arnoldo Pomodoro and the wonderful mosaics of Jesuit priest Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik which depict the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Pio of Pietrelcina. We will have time for private prayer in the crypt. We will have a blessing with the glove and crucifix of St. Pio and afterwards return to our hotel for evening meal.

Day 3 - Tuesday, 30th January

This morning we will travel to Monte Sant’ Angelo, home to the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael. We will celebrate Mass at the sacred cave and afterwards have time at leisure for sightseeing.

We will travel to Borgo Celano and have lunch in Masseria Calderoso, donated to the Opera of Padre Pio in 1955. The old Masseria, dating back to 1700, has been beautifully restored. Nestled in an olive grove of over 71 hectares, its charming restaurant is now one of the finest in the Gargano.

After lunch we will visit the nearby Convent of St. Mary of Stignano, one of the first Marian sanctuaries in the province of Foggia. Built in the XVI century and completed in the XVII century. We will have time for private prayer and afterwards visit the breathtaking cloister with the wonderful paintings of the life of St. Francis. We will return to San Giovanni Rotondo and have the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.

Day 4 - Wednesday, 31st January

This morning we will depart San Giovanni Rotondo and travel to Lanciano, site of the first Eucharistic Miracle of the Catholic Church where we will celebrate Mass and have time for private prayer.

After lunch in Lanciano we will travel to the Sheraton Parco de’Medici Hotel, Rome where we will arrive for evening meal.

Day 5 -Thursday, 1st February

After breakfast we will check out of our hotel and travel to Fiumicino airport for our return flight to Dublin.