THE P RTAL
June 2015
Day One – SaturDay 21St May
Page 7
LOnDOn Gatwick - rOMe
Morning flights from Gatwick to Rome. Transfer to our accommodation within walking distance of the Vatican, the
Domus Romana Sacerdotalis. Mass will be celebrated in the chapel of the house before dinner, which will be in our
accommodation on each evening of our stay in Rome.
Day twO – SunDay 22nD May
St PauL anD the earLy chriStianS
We start today outside the city with a visit to the Basilica of St Paul. This impressive Church built in the form of a
Roman Basilica contains Paul’s tomb and all along the nave portraits of all the Popes. We then continue by coach to
one of the Catacombs, burial place of the early Christians, for a guided tour. Mass will be celebrated during the course
of the morning. Today lunch is at choice. This afternoon, time at leisure or join a walk to visit the medieval quarter of
central Rome to discover the sites such as Piazza Navona, and the Pantheon, and view the Caravaggio masterpieces
in the Churches of San Luigi dei Francesi and Sant’ Agostino. Return to Domus Romana for dinner.
Day three – MOnDay 23rD May
St Peter anD St PauL
Day FOur – tueSDay 24th May
MajOr BaSiLicaS OF rOMe
Day Five – weDneSDay 25th May
PaPaL auDience - LOretO
Rome became the centre of the Christian Church because of its connection with the Apostles Peter and Paul. Today
we visit the great Basilica dedicated to St Peter, where the Emperor Constantine constructed his Cathedral on the site
where it was held St Peter offered his life for his faith, and is buried. We have a guided visit to discover the glories
of the present Basilica built in the 16th century. After time for lunch we join our coach and transfer to the Cistercian
Abbey of Tre Fontane (Three Fountains) which was founded on the site where traditionally St Paul was beheaded
on the orders of Nero. Mass will be celebrated during the course of the day. We return to Domus Romana for dinner.
This morning we drive to the Basilica of St Mary Major where we will celebrate Mass and have a guided visit. From
here we visit the nearby Church of S. Pressede (St. Praxedes) which is an Early Christian Foundation with some of the
finest apse mosaics in Rome. After, there will be a break for lunch (at choice). This afternoon we visit the cathedral of
Rome, St John Lateran, and afterwards cross the road to see the Scala Santa - the steps brought back from Jerusalem
by Empress Helena in the 4th century and said to be those ascended by Christ on his way to Calvary. We continue to
the Basilica of Santa Croce, which contains a fragment of the True Cross, again brought back by Empress Helena.
After breakfast we take our seats in St Peter’s Square for the weekly general audience (if the Holy Father is in Rome
at this time). After lunch (included) in our accommodation, we depart by coach for the journey to Loreto (about three
and a half hours). We check into our hotel in the main square of the small town for a three-night stay. Dinner will be
in our hotel on each night of our stay.
Day Six – thurSDay 26th May
LOretO
The small town of Loreto is situated a few miles south of Ancona and near the sea. Here, at least since the 15th
century, the “Holy House” has been numbered among the most famous shrines of Italy. The great basilica, built and
decorated by some of the great artists is merely the setting for a small house standing within the church itself. As
the inscription “Hic Verbum Caro Factum Est” reminds us, this building is honoured by Christians as the home at
Nazareth in which the Holy Family lived, and where the word was made flesh. However the building came to be
there, the archaeological evidence is compelling that this is truly the home of the Holy Family. Here we will have a
guided tour to include the Basilica and Mass will be celebrated. The rest of the day is at leisure.
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