December 20, 2023 – January 11, 2024
Three Weeks: One week in the Holy Land and two weeks in Rome
Arrival at the Domus on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. Departure by air from Rome to the Holy Land on Friday, December 22 and return to Rome on Friday, December 29 (that is, seven nights and eighth days) with a priest-guide from Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi. ORP organizes pilgrimages, not tourist trips. There will be Holy Mass every day and the reading of Scripture at various holy places. Visiting the Christian sites will be accomplished by bus or on foot!
During the week in the Holy Land, you will visit, to name a few places, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Ain Karem, Nazareth, the Mount of the Beatitudes, Capernaum, Tabgha, the Mount of Olives, the Via Dolorosa from the Church of the Flagellation to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, the Upper Room, the Herodian Fortress of Masada, the Lake of Tiberias, and many of the churches that memorialize the important places in the life of Christ. For a detailed schedule of the Holy Land trip please click here.
Then returning to the Eternal City by air, you will spend December 29, 2023 to January 11, 2024 in Rome with Sister M. Regina Pacis, FSGM. The theme of the program in Rome is: “In the Footsteps of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.” You will explore the beauty of Rome and the parts that the two saints played in the growth of the Church. You will see vestiges of the Roman Empire, for example, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, that remain alongside the places of the first Christian evangelization, together with the great basilicas, major and minor, and churches that make Rome the destination of all peoples and the heart of Christianity – the city that was once the caput mundi, now the Eternal City.
These days will also include the Vatican Museum, the Scavi Tour leading to the tomb of St. Peter, the Catacombs, the Pantheon, Tre Fontane where St. Paul was executed, and the churches of apostles, saints, and martyrs, and the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square where 100 manger scenes are on display for the Christmas season, and one day in Assisi, the home of the Poverello (St. Francis).
The cost for the program is $3,000 and includes lodging and meals; travel to and from the Holy Land; transportation in the Holy Land, Rome, and Assisi; and guided tour and admission costs. Travel to and from the program is not included. A $500 deposit will be due upon registration. The deadline for registration is September 29, 2023. Final payment will be due by November 1, 2023. All payments should be made payable to the CMSWR.
This program is open to all CMSWR communities. The program is supported in part by a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
