Franciscan Pilgrimage to Italy

 Franciscan Pilgrimage to Italy

Rome  Assisi  Laverna  Rieti  Spoleto  Florence

April 11-22, 2024

$2,990 per person (ground only)*

 

*Included in Price:

·        Accommodations including 2 nights in Rome, 2 in Rieti, 1 in Spoleto, 3 in

·        Assisi, 1 in Laverna, and 1 in Florence (2 participants per room)

·         Continental breakfast and dinner daily (lunch on your own)

·        Ground transportation (as per itinerary)

·        Local guides with reflections and prayer

·         

NOT Included: Airfare, lunches, gratuity for guides/drivers, trip insurance. (Note that the price is based on a minimum of ten participants.)

 

Itinerary inside. For more information, contact Bret Thoman, St. Francis Pilgrimages:

voicemail: 404-418-6683 ⬧ bret@stfrancispilgrimages.com ⬧ www.stfrancispilgrimages.com

 

Thursday, April 11

The pilgrimage will begin with a departure from Boston on overnight flight to Rome Fiumicino airport (FCO, aka Leonardo da Vinci).

 

Friday, April 12

Upon arrival, you will have a chartered taxi to Rome. Gathering meeting in the afternoon. Dinner/overnight in Rome

 

Saturday, April 13

In the morning, we will offer a guided visit of St. Peter’s Basilica and Square and surrounding area. Take the rest of the day to enjoy Rome at your leisure. Dinner/overnight in Rome

 

Sunday, April 14

This morning we will depart to Rieti to explore the storied city’s history with a guided tour of Rieti Underground. In the afternoon, we will visit two Franciscan hermitages in the Rieti Valley: Fonte Colombo and Greccio.

Dinner/overnight in Rieti

 

Monday April 15

Today we will head out to the third hermitage in the valley: Poggio Bustone. For those who wish, there will be time for a walk up to the grotto known as Sacro Speco. Then we will drive to Cantalice and walk to the fourth hermitage, known as La Foresta (4 miles/1.5 hours). Return to Rieti for din-

ner and overnight.

 

Tuesday, April 16

This morning we say goodbye to Rieti and head into Umbria. First, we’ll stop in Rivodutri to visit a famed beech tree that sheltered St. Francis during a storm. Our first stop will be a hermitage known as Monteluco. Over the centuries, saints like Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Bernardine

of Siena prayed here. Then we continue to Spoleto for a visit including the city and cathedral. Dinner/Overnight in Spoleto

 

Wednesday, April 17

This morning we will continue to Foligno for a brief visit followed by a visit in nearby Spello. Here we will take out our walking poles and walk three miles (1.5 hours) toward Assisi. Overnight in Assisi. (Dinner on your own.)

 

Thursday, April 18

This morning we will have a guided tour of Assisi, including all the main Franciscan sites related to St. Francis and Clare in the city walls of town: Chiesa Nuova, San Francesco Piccolino, Saint Mary Major, Bernard of Quin-

tavalle, Basilica St. Francis. In the afternoon, we will retrace Clare’s “fleeing” from Clare’s childhood home next to San Rufino to the Basilica of St. Clare, to Saint Mary of the Angels. Overnight in Assisi (dinner on your own.)

 

Friday, April 19

This morning we will offer a guided tour of the small church of San Damiano and the mountain hermitage of the Carceri hermitage. Take the afternoon free to explore Assisi how you wish. Overnight in Assisi (dinner on your

own.)

 

Saturday, April 20

Today, we will depart Assisi as we make our way up into Tuscany. On the way, we will stop in Gubbio to visit the Franciscan church containing a wall of the house of the family that housed St. Francis, as well as a statue of

wolf, commemorating the taming of the wild beast. Next, we will continue to the mountain hermitage of Laverna, where St. Francis received the stigmata. For those who wish to walk up the mountain, there is a 2-mile hike to the peak. Dinner/Overnight in Laverna

 

Sunday, April 21

After some final Franciscan reflections, we will head up to Florence. On the way, we will stop in Pontassieve, famed for its pottery.

Dinner/Overnight in Florence

 

Monday, April 22

Departure from Florence airport to Boston 

 

*The itinerary is subject to change due to factors beyond our control. However, the focus on the spiritual nature of the trip will always be the overall objective.

Pope Francis, The Synod, and the New Style of Church

 Sept. 27^th – Pope Francis, The Synod, and the New Style of Church

Time: 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

 

In Rome, participants across the world are gathering to speak collegially about their unique regional needs. The church intends to listen, as it focuses upon its goals of communion, participation, and mission. Fr. Predmore will give a presentation that begins with the efforts of Pope Francis to be the representative of Catholics across the world. We will see how globalization has affected and influences a worldwide communion, and we will examine how Pope Francis addresses the contemporary issues within the church. We are a church in motion, and the new way of walking and journeying together represents a transformative shift in the Church’s style as it attempts to be relevant to humanity dispersed across the globe. 

 

Zoom Meeting: https://bchigh.zoom.us/j/85948192450?pwd=YWFLSFo1WU1HNlFrK2l5SXNXanNldz09

 

Meeting ID: 859 4819 2450

Passcode: 755679

The Botolphian

 I am posting this because it says a lot about the community of faith gathered at BC High. The school runs a literary journal called the Botolphian, reminiscent of Boston's beginnings in England. Students right short stories and prose for publication, and this year they surprisingly dedicated the issue to me. A student who just completed his tenth grade wrote these words. The one who writes the dedication is certainly more worthy than the recipient, but I just want to show you the quality of education and the thoughtfulness of he student body.