Depart on your international overnight flight.

Arrive in Rome where your guide will greet you and escort you to your bus. Enjoy a visit to the Forum and the Colosseum, once the heart of ancient Rome and a place of martyrdom for the early saints. Check into your hotel for dinner and overnight. Mass Option - Welcome Mass near Hotel

After breakfast, enjoy the opportunity to join in prayer with Pope Francis and receive his greeting, blessing and prayers (When the Pope is in Rome). Then walk through St. Peter’s Basilica and celebrate Mass here. The present structure completed in 1590 was built over the Byzantine and Middle Ages structures that marked the tomb of Saint Peter. There are more than 100 tombs within the basilica. Enjoy a guided tour of the Vatican’s Museums and Sistine Chapel. The museum houses a world renowned collection of art and antiquities. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512, and later painted The Last Judgment between 1535 and 1541 for Popes Clement VII and Paul III. The primary function of the chapel is the Papal Conclave, providing the place where the College of Cardinals of the church gathers to select a new Pope. Return to Hotel for overnight. Mass Option – Papal Audience or St. Peter's Basilica

Begin your day with a visit to the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. Six Popes are entombed here. Next door is the Holy Staircase (Scala Santa), brought from Pilate’s Palace in Jerusalem by Saint Helena in the 4th Century. Climbing the stairs on your knees is a devotion that many pilgrims perform, and a plenary indulgence is granted for completing this feat. Next is the Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls (San Lorenzo). Saint Lawrence was one of the first seven deacons of Rome, martyred in 258. The Church is built next to catacombs that lead down to his grave. The relics of Saints Justin Martyr and Stephen are also enshrined here. Continue on your pilgrim journey to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Maria Maggiore). This is the largest Marian church in Rome. Its construction began after the Council of Ephesus in 431 proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God. Saint Jerome, translator of the Bible into the Latin Vulgate, is buried here. Mass Options - Celebrate Mass in one of the Churches here.

This morning, begin your final day of pilgrimage at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The present structure stands over the place where Constantine built the first church over Saint Paul’s grave. The church features a portrait of every Pope that has served the church, with the face of Pope Francis I illuminated as the present pontiff. Step beneath the surface into the Catacombs of Callixtus, built along the Appian Way. Here 16 Popes from the 2nd through 4th Centuries were interred, though they have been removed to various churches over the centuries. San Sebastian Outside the Walls is another of the seven Pilgrimage churches, built over the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. The remains of Peter and Paul were temporarily protected here during the Valerian Persecution of 258. Our seventh and final pilgrimage stop is the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Saint Helena brought Passion relics here, and the floor was covered with soil from Jerusalem. Relics here include the index finger of Thomas that touched the wounds of Christ after His resurrection, and a piece of the Good Thief’s Cross. Those who want to complete the seven church pilgrimages as declared by Saint John Paul II in 2000 can continue on to one more stop at Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love. Here a pilgrim pursued by dogs appealed to Our Lady and she intervened for his safety. Pilgrims began to frequent the site and a chapel was built here in 1745. Mass Options - Celebrate mass in one of the churches.

Early this morning we fly to the beautiful city of Dubrovnik where we will be met by our private motorcoach to proceed to the peaceful town of Medjugorje. During our stay in this blessed town we will climb The Apparition Hill where the visionaries first encountered our Lady in 1981. We will touch and pray before the Cross commemorating the spot where Mary first appeared to the visionaries. We will spend time in prayer and meditation at this holy site. Mass Options – Celebrate mass in one of the Chapels here.

Your guide will arrange a meeting with one of the visionaries (subject to their schedule) to experience first-hand their unique experiences with Our Lady. Later, we will see from a distance and then climb Krizevac Mountain where in 1933, the villagers built a 30 foot cross on the anniversary of Jesus’ Crucifixion. Lining the path up the hill are wooden crosses and bronze images representing the Stations of the Cross. Mass Options – Celebrate mass in one of the Chapels here.

After breakfast we depart Medjugorje to visit historical Dubrovnik, the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” We will visit the Basilica of St. Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik, the medieval walls, the historical buildings, and one of the world’s oldest pharmacies. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure in this fascinating city. Mass Options – In Medjugorje prior to departure, or in Dubrovnik.

This morning you will transfer to the airport for your flights home to the US.