DAY 1 — Departure for Italy

Departure from the United States on our overnight international flight to Rome.

As our journey begins, we prepare not simply for a visit to Italy, but for a pilgrimage that will eventually take us on foot through the landscapes associated with one of Christianity’s most beloved saints.

Meals and overnight in flight.

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DAY 2 — Rome

Welcome to Italy

Arrival at Rome Fiumicino Airport.

After collecting our luggage, we will be welcomed by our local team and transferred by private motorcoach to our hotel.

Depending on flight schedules, time to rest, explore the surroundings and celebrate an opening Holy Mass when possible.

Tonight we gather for our welcome dinner and prepare for the journey ahead.

Dinner and overnight in Rome.

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DAY 3 — Rome • La Verna

Where Francis Received the Stigmata

After breakfast, we leave Rome and travel north into the mountains toward one of the most sacred places in the Franciscan world:

La Verna.

Francis came repeatedly to this remote mountain seeking silence, prayer and solitude.

In 1224, approximately two years before his death, he withdrew here for an extended period of prayer and fasting. Franciscan tradition holds that it was at La Verna that he received the Stigmata — the wounds of the crucified Christ upon his own body.

Our pilgrimage begins, therefore, with Francis contemplating the Cross.

We will discover the sanctuary complex, including the Chapel of the Stigmata, Basilica and Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, with time for prayer and contemplation.

Whenever arrangements permit, we will celebrate Holy Mass.

Tonight we sleep in the area of La Verna, surrounded by the mountains where Francis himself sought God in silence.

Tomorrow, we begin walking.

Dinner and overnight in La Verna.

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DAY 4 — La Verna • Pieve Santo Stefano

Walking Stage: Approx. 9.3 miles / 15 km

Elevation gain: +257 m | Elevation loss: -959 m

Today our Camino di Francesco officially begins.

After breakfast, we lace our boots and leave La Verna on foot.

Our first stage takes us through the beautiful mountain landscapes of Tuscany toward Pieve Santo Stefano.

The physical journey now becomes part of the spiritual one. The rhythm of walking gives us opportunities for conversation, silence, prayer and contemplation of the natural world that Francis loved so profoundly.

Upon reaching Pieve Santo Stefano, we discover a community with ancient Christian roots.

The area is associated with the Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Lumi — Our Lady of the Lights, whose origins are connected with a late-16th-century tradition of mysterious lights and processions witnessed around a sacred image of the Virgin.

Time for prayer and rest after our first walking stage.

Dinner and overnight in the La Verna / Sansepolcro area.

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DAY 5 — Pieve Santo Stefano • Sansepolcro

Walking Stage: Approx. 11.2 miles / 18 km

Elevation gain: +230 m | Elevation loss: -93 m

Today we continue alongside landscapes shaped by the Tiber River, the same river that eventually flows through Rome.

Our destination is Sansepolcro — literally “Holy Sepulcher.”

According to local tradition, the town’s origins are connected with two medieval pilgrims returning from Jerusalem who carried relics from the Holy Land and established a place of devotion here.

We visit the Cathedral and encounter the celebrated Volto Santo, an ancient representation of the crucified Christ dressed in priestly and royal garments.

After a day on the road, the image of Christ crucified invites us to understand Francis more deeply.

His radical simplicity cannot be separated from his love for the Crucified Lord.

Dinner and overnight in the Sansepolcro / Città di Castello area.

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DAY 6 — Sansepolcro • Citerna

From Tuscany into Umbria

Walking Stage: Approx. 12.4 miles / 20 km

Elevation gain: +230 m | Elevation loss: -93 m

Our Camino continues through the Tiber Valley, and today we cross from Tuscany into Umbria, the land most closely associated with Francis.

Walking through fields and countryside, we gradually approach the medieval hill town of Citerna.

Tradition remembers a visit by St. Francis and associates him with blessing the hill on which the settlement stands.

Within this beautifully preserved town we can visit the Church of St. Francis and discover its medieval streets, walls and extraordinary views across the surrounding countryside.

Time for prayer before transferring to our accommodations.

Dinner and overnight in Città di Castello.

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DAY 7 — Citerna • Città di Castello

Walking Stage: Approx. 12.4 miles / 20 km

Elevation gain: +667 m | Elevation loss: -845 m

Today we continue across the hills overlooking the Tiber Valley toward Città di Castello.

The route alternates climbs and descents through the Umbrian countryside before bringing us into this historic city on the banks of the Tiber.

Città di Castello preserves layers of Umbrian, Roman, medieval and Renaissance history.

Depending on timing and final arrangements, our visit may include its churches, historic center and municipal art collection, with works connected to some of the great masters of central Italy.

As always, time will be reserved for prayer and, when possible, the celebration of Holy Mass.

Dinner and overnight in Città di Castello.

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DAY 8 — Città di Castello • Pietralunga

Into the Hills of Umbria

Walking Stage: Approx. 17.4 miles / 28 km

Elevation gain: +1,120 m | Elevation loss: -859 m

Today is one of the most demanding — and potentially most rewarding — stages of our Camino.

Leaving Città di Castello behind, we climb into the quieter hills of Umbria.

The landscape becomes our sanctuary.

Long stretches of countryside provide opportunities for periods of silence and personal prayer as we make our way toward Pietralunga.

The medieval town retains traces of its ancient and Lombard past and is associated with devotion to St. Crescentinus, an early Christian figure traditionally connected with the evangelization of this region.

After approximately 28 kilometers on foot, we transfer to Gubbio for a well-earned evening of rest.

Dinner and overnight in Gubbio.

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DAY 9 — Pietralunga • Monteleto • Gubbio

St. Francis and the Wolf

Walking Stage: Approx. 9.3 miles / 15 km

Elevation gain: +704 m | Elevation loss: -758 m

Our pilgrimage resumes from the Pietralunga area.

Along today’s route we encounter places preserving traditions of Francis’s journeys through Umbria, including a historic Benedictine abbey associated by local tradition with a stop made by the saint.

At the end of our walking stage, we continue to one of the most important Franciscan towns outside Assisi:

Gubbio.

Here we remember one of the most famous stories from the life of Francis — his encounter with the Wolf of Gubbio.

According to Franciscan tradition, a wolf had terrorized the people of the town. Rather than destroying the animal, Francis approached it peacefully and brought about reconciliation between the wolf and the inhabitants.

Whether contemplated as history, tradition or spiritual teaching, the story captures something essential about Francis:

peace instead of fear, reconciliation instead of violence, and fraternity extending to all creation.

We explore this beautifully preserved medieval town before returning to our hotel.

Dinner and overnight in Gubbio.

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DAY 10 — Gubbio • Biscina

The Franciscan Path of Peace

Walking Stage: Approx. 17.4 miles / 28 km

Elevation gain: +396 m | Elevation loss: -436 m

We are approaching Assisi.

Today’s long walking stage follows the landscapes between Gubbio and Biscina, forming part of the route traditionally connecting Gubbio with the homeland of Francis.

We cross the Gubbio Valley before climbing again through the Umbrian hills.

Eventually we reach the area of Biscina Castle, an ancient fortress overlooking the valley of the River Chiascio.

By now, walking has developed its own rhythm.

Morning departure.
The sound of footsteps.
Conversation.
Silence.
Prayer.
Fatigue.
And the expectation of Assisi.

After completing today’s stage, we return by transfer to our accommodations.

Dinner and overnight in Gubbio.

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DAY 11 — Valfabbrica • Assisi

The Final Walk

Walking Stage: Approx. 8 miles / 13 km

Elevation gain: +490 m | Elevation loss: -403 m

Today we walk to Assisi.

Our final stage begins near Valfabbrica, historically associated with its Benedictine monastery.

From here we climb through woodland toward the ridge.

And then comes one of the defining moments of the pilgrimage.

In the distance, Mount Subasio and Assisi finally appear.

After days of walking, the city is no longer simply another destination on an itinerary.

We have earned our approach to it one step at a time.

As we draw closer, the great Basilica of St. Francis gradually becomes visible.

We descend toward Assisi and enter the city on foot, making our way through its medieval streets until we reach the great square before the Basilica.

Our Camino ends here.

Beneath the basilica lies the tomb of the man whose footsteps have accompanied us across Tuscany and Umbria:

St. Francis of Assisi.

Time for thanksgiving, prayer and, according to sanctuary arrangements, Holy Mass.

Tonight we rest in Assisi — not simply as visitors who arrived by bus, but as pilgrims who walked here.

Dinner and overnight in Assisi.

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DAY 12 — Assisi

Francis & Clare

Today we put away our walking boots and devote a full day to the spiritual heart of the Franciscan world.

We begin at the magnificent Basilica of St. Francis, whose churches preserve extraordinary medieval art telling the story of Francis and the Gospel he sought to live so radically.

We descend into the quiet crypt containing the Tomb of St. Francis.

After walking through the landscapes associated with his life, arriving at his tomb takes on an entirely different significance.

Our Franciscan journey continues with the Basilica of St. Clare, where we remember the woman who embraced Francis’s ideal of radical poverty and founded the community that became the Poor Clares.

We then visit the great Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, built around the tiny Porziuncola.

This small chapel is one of the most important places in Franciscan history. Here the early Franciscan community took shape.

Nearby we visit the Chapel of the Transitus, associated with the death of Francis in 1226.

We will celebrate our final Holy Mass when possible and have time for personal prayer, shopping or simply walking through Assisi at our own pace.

Tonight we gather for our farewell dinner.

Our Camino is complete.

Dinner and overnight in Assisi.

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DAY 13 — Assisi • Rome • Return Home

After breakfast, departure by private motorcoach toward Rome Fiumicino Airport for our return flight home.

We leave Italy having visited extraordinary places.

But a walking pilgrimage leaves us with something that cannot be photographed or packed into a suitcase:

the road itself.

The mountains climbed.
The miles walked.
The prayers offered.
The people who walked beside us.
And the silence in which God sometimes speaks most clearly.

We return home carrying something of the prayer attributed to the Franciscan spirit:

to become instruments of peace.

End of our services.