Pilgrimage Itinerary

DAY 1 - Arrive San Giovanni Rotondo

We will depart in the morning from Dublin to Naples and on arrival, be greeted by our Marian Pilgrimages guide and driver who will remain with us for the duration of our pilgrimage. As we drive towards San Giovanni Rotondo our guide will recount to us episodes in the early life of Padre Pio, the obstacles he overcame to fulfil his dream of becoming a monk with a beard and of his arrival in San Giovanni Rotondo. Upon arrival at our hotel, we will check into our rooms and have time to relax before dinner. DAY 2 - English Office, Capuchin friary

Founded by Fr. Alessio Parente to welcome English-speaking pilgrims arriving in San Gio-vanni Rotondo, after morning Mass, we will visit the English office during which time we will receive a blessing with the glove and crucifix used by Padre Pio.

This afternoon we will begin to walk in the footsteps of Padre Pio during his time in San Giovanni Rotondo . After hearing of Padre Pio's early years in Pietrelcina, how he realised his dream of becoming a monk with a beard and the series of events that brought him to the remote town of San Giovanni Rotondo, we will visit the Capuchin friary and learn more about the poor friar who prays as we see the cell where the humble friar lived and died and the crucifix before which he received the gift of the stigmata.

DAY 3 - Shrine of St. Michael the Archangel, Casa Sollievo dell Sofferenza

Padre Pio had a great devotion to St. Michael the Archangel and travelled on pilgrimage to the shrine in Monte Sant Angelo. This morning as we travel to the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael, we will hear of the apparitions of St. Michael the Archangel and afterwards celebrate Mass in the sacred cave. We will have time for private prayer and personal sightseeing in the City of Two Sites before returning to San Giovanni Rotondo.

In 1956 Padre Pio presented to the world Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, the hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo which today is regarded as one of the most important hospitals in Italy. Our day will conclude with a visit to the hospital where we will hear of the history behind what is Padre Pio's greatest creation. The remainder of the afternoon at leisure will give us for confessions.


DAY 4 - Italy - Medjugorje

After breakfast, we will drive have the opportunity to return to the crypt of St. Pio for private prayer before driving to Naples airport for our flight to Split. Our guide will meet us in Split and on the transfer will inform us of what we can expect during our time in Medjugorje. We will arrive at our accommodation and after an introduction to our host family, we can then rest in our rooms before being called for a light snack, or dinner, which will be served depending on the time of arrival. Each evening, we will attend the parish evening programme which begins with the Rosary followed by Holy Mass and depending on the day, we finish with adoration.


DAY 5 - Opening Meeting

We start our day with breakfast before attending 10:00am mass, which is intended for English-speaking pilgrims, in the Church of St. James. The Church of St. James is placed under patronage of St. James the Apostle, who is patron saint of pilgrims. We do not move far and usually meet at the shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace for our opening meeting where the guides will share with us the history of the place, introduce us to the shrine and through their words and experiences enlighten us to the messages and intentions of Our Lady. We break for lunch where restaurants are in abundance and boast some of the best steaks and pizza. The afternoon takes us to Blue Cross, a place of many apparitions of Our Lady. It is situated at the base of Apparition Hill where Our Lady appeared to the children and where they were hiding from the communist police at the beginning of the apparitions. Many pilgrims venture here to bask in the peace that emanates from this special area. From Blue Cross, we walk to Vicka�s old house. Vicka is one of the six Medjugorje visionaries and we visit her old family house to see and to pray in the room where she had apparitions over a long period. After dinner, we can attend the evening prayer programme.


DAY 6 - Hill of Apparitions

This morning after breakfast, we gather at the statue of Our Lady to walk through the vineyards, to the Hill of Apparitions (Podbrdo). This has been the traditional route taken by millions of pilgrims. The guides regale us with accounts of the first days of the apparitions, especially the first seven days, and tell us of the great spiritual journey the visionaries undertook. We simply climb, in prayer, to the site of the first apparition, the place where Our Lady first appeared to six frightened children in June of 1981.The Joyful Mysteries greet us at several points of our climb where we pray for a short time. This afternoon there is an optional tour to Cenacolo, which is a community for recovering drug addicts. There is a special lesson to be learned from the residents here, by their hard work, perseverance, and prayer. After dinner, we attend the evening programme.


DAY 7 - Cross Mountain

Our day begins with breakfast, and we then meet at the base of Cross Mountain (Krizevac) to start our ascent. We pray the Stations of the Cross as we make our way to the summit. Our journey is rewarded by taking time for reflection and prayer by the cross located at the top of the mountain. In 1933, the parish of St. James erected a large concrete cross to commemorate the 1900th Anniversary of Jesus' passion and death on the Cross. We make our descent in time for holy Mass. For all those who cannot climb Cross mountain we organise the Stations of the Way of the Cross to be said at the Risen Lord Statue at the same time. In the afternoon, following our climb, we will have some free time. This evening we have a special treat as our programme director, David Parkes, performs for us in concert with an Evening of prayer through song. David is an internationally acclaimed singer and often travels worldwide singing the word of Our Lord.


DAY 8 - Return home This morning our guide will collect us at our house for our transfer to the airport for our return flight.


Please note as San Giovanni Rotondo is a hill-top town with a number of inclines which need to be negotiated to arrive at the sanctuary, it is not suitable for wheelchair users. As a result, there is no official local facility for hire of wheelchairs or mobile aids.