Itinerary
Day 1 Rome
Arrival at Fiumicino airport, Rome, where an ORP assistant will facilitate transfer to hotel and answer any questions about particulars of the trip. After check-in, we take a guided panoramic tour of Rome; in the afternoon, an audio-guided tour of the Carcer Tullianum (St. Peter’s Prison). Overnight at hotel.
Day 2 Rome
Guided tour of the splendid Vatican Museums with an English-speaking guide. ORP is able to provide pilgrims with the exclusive ability to bypass the long line into the Museum, usually an extended period of waiting time along the Vatican wall. Visit to St. Peter’s Basilica (scheduled mass permitting). Free time in the afternoon to rest, explore and meditate. Overnight at hotel.
Day 3 Lisbon/Fatima
Early morning departure from Rome to Lisbon, colorful jewel of Portugal. After arrival, sightseeing in the city: Cathedral, Christmas House, the Church of St. Antonio, Monastery dos Jeronimos, Belém Tower. In the afternoon we continue on to Fatima, and visit the Lady at the Chapel of the Apparitions. Overnight at hotel in Fatima.
Day 4 Fatima
Morning visit to the Via Crucis and Os Valinhos (place of the apparitions of the Angel and the Virgin) and visit to Aljustrel (the village where Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta were born). Afternoon visit to the Sanctuary and Mass. In the evening, recitation of the Rosary and candlelight vigil. Overnight at hotel.
Day 5 Fatima/Santiago de Compostela
Holy Mass, then departure for Coimbra (site of the oldest university in the country), stopping along the way at the Convent of the Carmel. In the afternoon we continue to Santiago de Compostela. Overnight at hotel in Santiago.
Day 6 Santiago de Compostela
We take a morning tour of the city, viewing it in the delicate rays of the early sun: Plaza del Obradoiro, Hospital Real, Plaza de la Quintana, Pilgrim’s Mass at the Cathedral. Afternoon excursion to Muxia, a coastal town at the edge of the Atlantic and an important center of tradition in Giacobea. Visit to the shrine of our Lady of the Boat, one of the oldest centers of Marian devotion in Galicia. Continue to Finisterre, which marks the end of the Camino de Santiago. Many pilgrims, after arriving at the tomb of the Apostle, make a final ritual here: burning an object used during the journey as a sign of purification and the beginning of a new existence. Return to Santiago for overnight at hotel.
Day 7 Braga/Oporto
Departure for Braga and pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Bom Jesus, a spectacular shrine dominating the hillside of Braga. We explore the local sites and attend Holy Mass. We make an afternoon visit to the shrine of our Lady Sameiro, the second-greatest center of Marian devotion in Portugal, after Fatima. Continue to Oporto, and overnight at hotel.
Day 8 Oporto/Rome
Holy Mass and sightseeing in Oporto, a Portuguese city surpassed only by Lisbon in magnitude: Cathedral, Piazza della Libertà, Ponte Dom Luis I, the Church of S. Francesco, Torre dos Clerigos. We travel to the airport and depart from Oporto to Rome (via Lisbon). Arrival late in the evening, overnight at hotel.
Day 9 Rome
Panoramic tour on the Open Bus Roma Cristiana and visit to the four Basilicas. In the afternoon we take a guided walking tour of the glittering fountains and richly historic squares of Rome. Overnight at hotel.
Day 10 Departure
Transfer to the airport for departure to your final destination. ORP assistance with check-in procedures and escort to the gate.
