• Overnight flight to Rome, Italy (airfare not included)

• Arrive at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO)
• Transportation by private bus from the airport to your accommodation
• 6 nights in twin rooms with private bathrooms including breakfast at the accommodation Casa Per Ferie Ravasco Pio VIII
• Orientation session with your local coordinator at the hotel which is followed by an orientation walking tour of the neighborhood to show you the closest supermarket, post office, ATM, bank, pharmacy etc.
• Public transportation pass for the duration of your entire stay in Rome
• Welcome dinner at a restaurant in Rome to kick off the program

(Focus on St. Peter)

• Breakfast at the accommodation
• Public transportation during the day
• 9:00 – 11:00 am Classroom available at your accommodation for a class session with your faculty leader
• City walk in the footsteps of Saint Peter (approx. 2.5 hours; suggested to start around 4:00 pm to avoid the midday heat). You will start at the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, a historic church best known for housing Michelangelo’s famous statue of Moses, part of the unfinished tomb of Pope Julius II. Its name, meaning
  “St. Peter in Chains,” comes from the relic of the chains that, according to tradition, bound Saint Peter during his imprisonment in Jerusalem and Rome, which are displayed under the main altar. Continue to the Church of San Pietro in Montorio, a Renaissance gem located on the Janiculum Hill. It was built in the late 15^th century on the site traditionally believed to be where Saint Peter was crucified upside down. Afterwards, visit the Basilica of Santa Pudenziana is one of the city’s oldest Christian churches, built in the 4^th century on the site of what was likely a Roman senator’s house. It is especially renowned for its 5^th-century apse mosaic, one of the oldest Christian mosaics in Rome, which depicts Christ enthroned among the Apostles in a richly detailed and symbolic scene. Your last stop will be the Church of Santa Prisca, which is a small but historically rich basilica located on the Aventine Hill. It was built in the 4^th or 5^th century on the site of an ancient Roman house, traditionally believed to have belonged to Saint Prisca, a young Christian martyr, and it was where St. Peter was baptized.
• 7:00 pm Attend Mass at Chiesa Domini Quo Vadis (where Peter asked Jesus where he was going before
  being crucified)

• Breakfast at the accommodation
• Public transportation during the day
• 8:00 – 10:00 am Classroom available at your accommodation for a class session with your faculty leader
• Guided tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Peter’s Basilica. Housed in the richly decorated galleries and apartments of the Vatican Palace, the Vatican Museums boast the largest collection of classical sculpture in the world, plus extensive artworks from the Etruscan, Egyptian, Early Christian, Renaissance and modern periods.
• Guided tour of Saint Peter’s Necropolis, also called the Scavi of the Vatican, which lies beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and is one of the most fascinating archaeological sites in the city. The highlight of the site is the believed tomb of Saint Peter the Apostle, marked by an ancient shrine and later incorporated into the foundations of the basilica.

(Focus: Pope)

• Breakfast at the accommodation
• Public transportation during the day
• 8:00 – 10:00 am Classroom available at your accommodation for a class session with your faculty leader
• Visit the Papal Basilica S. Maria Maggiore, one of the seven major basilicas in Rome and the largest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the city, burial place of Pope Francis and San Clemente (4^th Pope). The basilica features a rich blend of architectural styles, with its early Christian structure adorned over time with Romanesque, Baroque, and Renaissance elements. Highlights include the stunning 5^th-century mosaic cycle in the nave and triumphal arch, a beautiful, coffered ceiling gilded with the first gold brought from the Americas, and the Borghese Chapel, which houses the revered icon Salus Populi Romani, believed to protect the city.
• Visit to the Centro Giovanile San Lorenzo, a Catholic community space dedicated to young pilgrims visiting the city. It was established in 1983, inspired by Pope John Paul II, as a place where youth could gather for prayer, reflection, and fellowship near the heart of the Vatican. During the visit you will meet with a representative of the center for a discussion on the Pope and to learn on the Center.
• Visit the Basilica San Clemente. This ancient church was transformed over the centuries from a private home that was the site of clandestine Christian worship in the 1^st century to a grand public basilica by the
  6^th century, reflecting the emerging Catholic Church’s growing legitimacy and power. The Basilica is in fact made up of two churches, one built over the other. (excl. admission to the Excavation / Mithraic temple).
• 7:30 pm Attend Vesper (evening prayer service) at Monastero Santi Quattro Coronati

(Focus: Present and Future)

• Breakfast at the accommodation
• Public transportation while in Rome
• 6:30 – 7:00 am Attend morning praise (Lodi) at the nearby church Suore Curia Generalizia Istituto Ravasco
• Transportation by private bus to and from Civitella San Paolo
• 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Visit to Bose Monastery in Civitella San Paolo, part of the ecumenical monastic community located in northern Italy in the Piedmont region, to experience new views of Catholicism where Benedictine nuns live and make community with Bose sisters. The community is known for its commitment to ecumenism, fostering dialogue and unity among Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians. (including a community lunch at the monastery).
• Visit Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, one of the city’s seven pilgrimage churches and an important site for Christian devotion. Learn about the story of Empress Helena who founded the church in the 4^th century and who is said to have brought back relics of the Passion of Christ from Jerusalem (pieces of the Cross and gardens). Today, the basilica preserves a remarkable collection of relics, including fragments of the True Cross, a nail from the Crucifixion, and thorns from the Crown of Thorns, displayed in a special chapel.

• Breakfast at the accommodation
• Public transportation during the day
• 10:30 am Attend Solemn Holy Mass in Latin at the Altar of the Chair in the Vatican
• Use your last day in Rome for final discussions and reflection. You might also consider visiting the famous Coliseum, an elliptical amphitheater, which was the first permanent amphitheater to be built in Rome. Its monumental size, as well as its practical and efficient organization to control large crowds, makes it one of the greatest architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans. The Pantheon might also be of interest. It is a former Roman temple, now a church, which was built on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). If you are interested in arts, opt to explore the Galleria Borghese, an art gallery in Rome, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana, at your own pace. The Galleria Borghese houses a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculptures and antiquities, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V.
• Farewell dinner at a restaurant in Rome to wrap up the program

• Breakfast at the accommodation
• Transportation on your own and at your own expense from your accommodation to the airport
• Departure from Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) to the USA (airfare not included)