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Location & Contact Details

Office Hours

Monday – Friday
7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Address:

West Catholic High School
1801 Bristol Ave NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Events Calendar

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Pilgrimage to the Holy Sites in Italy

The West Catholic Pilgrimage to the Holy Sites of Italy strives to immerse our students (juniors and seniors) in a lived experience of their education and faith, preparing them for the next stage of their lives. Over the course of nine days, students and chaperones visit the eternal city of Rome, walk the streets of Assisi and attend a Papal Audience with the Holy Father. Along the way, they tour holy sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Basilicas of St. Clare and St. Francis of Assisi, the catacombs, and the Vatican Museums while enjoying the best Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.

June 15-23, 2023
Cost: $3,800 (all inclusive)

Questions? Contact Jeanne Walch at [email protected] or Roots in Rome at [email protected].

Sample Itinerary

Day 1 & 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9

​​​​​​​Saturday

  • Depart Grand Rapids for Rome

Sunday

  • Land in Rome
  • Angelus with Pope Francis
  • Mass at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist of the Florentines
  • Explore Rome

Monday

  • Scala Coeli (where St. Paul was imprisoned in Rome)
  • Tre Fontane (where St. Paul was beheaded; in 2019, West Catholic pilgrims had the rare opportunity to touch the pillar on which he was beheaded as part of their veneration)
  • St. Paul Outside the Walls
  • Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (home to relics of the true cross, crown of thorns, nails of the crucifixion, the Holy Sepulcher and St. Thomas the Apostle)
  • Sancta Scala (steps from Pontius Pilate’s praetorium where Jesus walked and bled on his way to judgment)
  • St. John Lateran

Tuesday

  • Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica
  • The cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Tour and exploration of St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Vatican Museum
  • Sistine Chapel

​​​​​​​Wednesday

  • Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Papal Audience with Pope Francis
  • Sant’Andrea delle Fratte (Church of the Miraculous Medal)
  • Spanish Steps
  • Chiesa di Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola
  • Pantheon
  • Sancta Maria ad Martyres (St. Mary and the Martyrs)
  • Piazza Novona
  • Sant’Agnese in Agone

Thursday

  • Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica
  • Orvieto (including the magnificent Il’ Duomo)
  • The Dying City of Civita
  • Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi (including the Portiuncula of St. Francis of Assisi)

Friday

  • Mass on the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi
  • Tour of the Basilicas of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare (includes the Cross of St. Dominic)
  • St. Francis of Assisi’s home
  • Eremo (St. Francis’ mountain-top hermitage)

Saturday

  • Catacombs
  • San Sebastiano fuori le mura
  • Our Lady of the Plants (Quo Vadis Church)
  • Colosseum
  • Forum
  • Final visit to St. Peter’s Square

Sunday

  • Mass at Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri
  • Depart Rome for Grand Rapids