n 193 AD, Bishop Albercius of Hieropolis erected what is known as the “Queen of early Christian inscriptions”. On this marble slab, now in the Vatican Museums, the 70-year-old prelate attests to his pilgrimage to Rome and describes how Christ “sent me to Rome to contemplate majesty, and to see a queen – golden-robed and golden-sandalled; there, also I saw a people bearing a shining mark.” The golden robe and sandals represent the tombs of the martyrs Peter and Paul, while the people with the shining mark were the Christian community of Rome under the Pope, Christ’s vicar on earth

 

Almost two millennia later, people still come in millions as pilgrims to contemplate the majesty of this city and walk the paths of the great saints. Rome herself has undergone many changes: from the fall of the Empire to the sacks and devastation, to the rise of the papacy and the Vatican, and her modern rebirth as the capital of Italy. Each period has left its own fascinating trail for pilgrims to follow.

 

The glories and defeats of Rome mirror the history of the salvation of man. A progression of setbacks and suffering followed by regeneration and renewal have forged this Eternal City and rendered it the center for pilgrimage par excellence. Here, among the hundreds of churches, tombs, and relics, one can trace the history of the plan for man’s redemption.

Starting with the Angels, the divine messengers who reveal God’s plan; progressing to the Incarnation, the historical reality of God-made-Man; and on to the glorious triumph of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection; this extraordinary pilgrimage tour proposes a route that takes us not only through the monuments and churches of Rome, but also traces the history of salvation.

As we visit the physical sites and enjoy the fruit of human genius as expressed in art and architecture, we will also be moving through the great historical appointments of God’s covenant with man. Space and time meet in the great sites of this city where we can learn to exclaim along with St Augustine, “Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!”

Our journey begins in Rome where we explore the long-standing fascination with eternity from the days of the pagan Empire to its gradual conversion to Christianity. The thin veil the Romans perceived between the supernatural and the natural allowed the Romans to comprehend the presence of divinity in the everyday world

On our travels, we will stand before the relics of Christs birth and passion, objects that transformed Rome into the new Jerusalem and Bethlehem during the age when these holy sites were not accessible to Christian pilgrims. We will admire the breathtaking church that marks the birth of Marian devotion in the West, as well as where the ultimate witness was offered by St Peter and St Paul the twin cofounders of Rome as a Christian city. We will also visit Assisi, the home St Francis, where the life and deeds of this extraordinary saint provided people with a living example of an altera Christi, the closest a man came to living a Christ-like life since the years of the Apostles

Experience a rekindling of your spirit – perhaps even a renewal of faith –as you travel with us through the times and spaces of this historic region.