Pilgrimage Itinerary

DAY 1 - Wednesday, 11th September We will depart in the afternoon from Dublin to Naples. Upon arrival, we will meet our tour escort and transfer to the four-star Bel Sito Hotel le Due Torri where we will spend the first night of our pilgrimage. After checking into our rooms, we will enjoy our evening meal.


/bDAY 2 - Thursday, 12th September After breakfast we will depart Avellino and drive to the hill-top town of Pietrelcina, birthplace of St. Pio. After the celebration of Mass, we will have a walking tour of the quaint town visiting the home of the Forgione family where Padre Pio was born, the Church of Sant'Anna where he was baptised and the church where he celebrated his first Mass.

After free time for lunch we will travel to nearby Piana Romana where we will see the humble farmhouse of the Forgione family and have time for prayer before the tree beneath which Padre Pio received the invisible stigmata.

We will enjoy a scenic drive through the countryside, enjoying the contrasting landscapes before arriving at our destination of San Giovanni Rotondo. We will check into the Hotel Colonne, located within walking distance of the sanctuary, where we will stay for the following four nights (3 nights full board / 1-night half board).


Day 3- Friday, 13th September After breakfast we will celebrate Mass in the ancient church of Our Lady of Grace where St. Pio celebrated Mass, heard confessions and received the gift of the stigmata. Afterwards we will meet with one of the capuchin friars where we will hear more of the life of St. Pio and receive a blessing with the glove and crucifix of the humble friar.

In the afternoon we will follow in the footsteps of the humble friar during his time in San Giovanni Rotondo. Despite experiencing great suffering in his own life, through his ministries and great work which saw the realisation of the hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, he helped relieve the sick and troubled from their own individual sufferings. After visiting the capuchin friary and seeing the cell occupied by the capuchin friar, we will visit the Church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina and have time for private prayer before the mortal remains of this great saint of our time.


DAY 4 - Saturday, 14th September After breakfast we will travel to the town of Monte Sant'Angelo and celebrate Mass at the Shrine of St. Michael the Archangel, the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael. We will have time at leisure for personal sightseeing in this quaint town decorated with unique whitewashed houses. We will have the afternoon at leisure with the opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation.

This evening, after dinner, we will participate in the Marian Torchlight procession as we honour the Madonna, for whom St. Pio had a great devotion.


DAY 5 - Sunday, 15th September This morning we will celebrate Mass at the hospital, �Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza' considered Padre Pio's greatest creation. Afterwards we will walk the Way of the Cross, which allow us, as Christians, to pause and enter reflectively into those last moments of Jesus's journey of love.

We will have the afternoon at leisure with the opportunity to return to the crypt of St. Pio for private prayer. We will have the opportunity in the afternoon to return to the crypt in the Church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina with time for private prayer and reflection.


DAY 6 - Monday, 16th September This morning we will depart San Giovanni Rotondo and travel to the town of Lanciano, site of the first Eucharistic Miracle of the Catholic Church. We will celebrate Mass and afterwards have time for prayer.


After lunch we will enjoy our drive along the Adriatic coast before arriving in Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis and St. Clare. We will check into the Hotel Frate Sole where we will stay for two nights on a half board basis.


DAY 7 - Tuesday, 17th September This morning we will celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and afterwards have time for prayer in the Chapel of the Porziuncola where the Franciscan Order was born and see the Chapel of the Transito where St. Francis died.

In the afternoon we will enjoy a tour of the medieval town of Assisi where we will visit the Basilica of St. Francis and Basilica of St. Clare and have time for prayer at the tombs of both saints.


DAY 8 - Wednesday, 18th September This morning we will celebrate the closing Mass of our pilgrimage at the Church and convent of San Damiano. Located in a beautiful setting just outside the walls of Assisi, it is the place where St. Francis received his miraculous calling in 1205 and where St. Clare died in 1253 - an important stop on a pilgrimage to the Franciscan Holy City.

After free time for lunch in Assisi we will drive to Rome for our return flight to Dublin returning to our homes, filled with a sense of tranquillity, rejuvenation and peace in our hearts.