Pilgrim to the heart
of Christianity
Visit Rome with the CARF Foundation, and you will discover it from a different perspective.
We are launching the 2023 edition!
Memories of 2022:
This is what the 2022 pilgrimage was like
Discover Rome from another perspective
Very close to St. Peter's Square, you will live an unforgettable experience staying just a few meters from where the Holy Father Francis lives and works.
Rome: accommodation near the Vatican
Breakfasts, 4 lunches and 1 dinner
October 17 to 22, 2023
Do you want to live an unforgettable experience?
Audience with Pope Francis
Public audience with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, the traditional one every Wednesday.
The pope walks around the square to greet the pilgrims from an open vehicle. Then, during the meeting there are readings and songs, and the Holy Father imparts his blessing to the attendees at the end of the meeting.
Visit to the Vatican necropolis
(scavi vatican)
This impressive necropolis, located under the basilica, where the tomb of St. Peter is located, will be one of the highlights of the trip to Rome. It is extremely restricted for conservation reasons, but the CARF Foundation assures access to the participants. A 90-minute historical-detective tour with an English-speaking guide. We will also visit the Vatican Gardens and the oldest embassy in the world: the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See in the Spanish Steps (to be confirmed).Ā
Visit to the Vatican Museums
From the impressive Sistine Chapel, the place of the conclaves, enjoying the Bramante staircase or the rooms of Raphael, to the Gallery of Maps, the Picture Gallery, the Pio-Clementine Museum, the Gallery of Tapestries or the Gregorian-Egyptian Museum, the Etruscan Museum, the Pavilion of the Chariots, all explained by an expert guide and without having to queue to enter. Caravaggio, Leonardo, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Dali, Kandinsky, Picasso, Matisse, Chillida, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Bacon, Chagall are some of the great names of art contained there.
Dinner in Piazza Navona
Among the activities planned is an unforgettable dinner on the terrace of a legendary restaurant in Piazza Navona or Campo dei Fiori. To be determined.
Piazza Navona, in Italian, is one of the most prominent urban spaces in Rome, which brings together sculptures, fountains and buildings of great value, and is an epicenter of city life. This space has been an important site since ancient Rome, when a stadium was erected here for sports competitions and gladiatorial combats, up to the present day.
Visit to Villa Tevere
The central headquarters of Opus Dei, where St. Mary of Peace is found: the Marian invocation to which the prelatic church of Opus Dei in Rome is dedicated. In its main altar lie the sacred remains of St. JosemarĆa EscrivĆ”, its founder. In a small crypt beneath the church, Blessed Ćlvaro del Portillo and Don Javier EchevarrĆa, the first and second successors of St. JosemarĆa.
In addition to visiting this emblematic place, you will have a unique opportunity to participate in an intimate meeting with Bishop Fernando OcƔriz, current Prelate of Opus Dei and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
The formation of priests and the CARF foundation
Hundreds of priests and seminarians from all corners of the world, from every corner of the world, are priestly formation in Rome. We will have the opportunity to meet them and their stories in three activities:
- Pontifical University of the Holy Cross: on Friday we will attend two conferences and share lunch with students and professors.
- Sedes Sapientiae Seminary: on Saturday we will visit the almost 100 seminarians of this center, sharing with them the Holy Mass, lunch and social gatherings.
- Altomonte Priests' Residence: on Sunday morning, before the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, we will visit this residence and celebrate Holy Mass concelebrated by all the resident priests.
Itinerary
Make your next pilgrimage trip to Rome with careful planning. Time to pray, to walk, to enjoy.
Do you want to live an unforgettable experience?
Day 1: Flight to Rome
13:15 h. Arrival at Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suarez airport for check-in and boarding to Rome.
15:45 h. Departure of Iberia flight IB236 with destination Rome Fiumicino.
18:20 h. Arrival in Rome and transfer to the hotel.
Free time and dinner.
Day 2: St. Peter's Basilica - Audience with the Pope - Rome
6:30 h. Breakfast at the hotel.
7:00 h.Ā Departure on foot to St. Peter's Square to attend the public audience with Pope Francis. Visit to St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica.
11:30 h. Holy Mass at St. Lawrence in Pisicibus.
12:00 h. Lunch at a restaurant to be determined.
14:00 h. Access to the Vatican Scavi.
16:30 h. Visit of the Vatican Gardens.
Return to the hotel. Dinner at leisure.
Day 3: Rome - Vatican Museums
8:30 h. Breakfast at the hotel.
9:00 h. Visit to the Vatican Museums.
14:00 h. Lunch at a restaurant to be determined.
15:30 h. Central Rome: the churches of the Baroque, Ara Pacis, Pantheon; churches of St. Louis of the French, St. Ignatius, St. Andrea, the GesĆ¹... (Holy Mass).
Return to the hotel. Dinner at leisure.
Day 4: Villa Tevere - Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
7:45 h. Breakfast.
8:15 h. Pick up by bus and transfer to Villa Tevere, headquarters of Opus Dei.
9:30 h. Holy Mass in the Prelatic Church of St. Mary of Peace.
10:30 h. Tertulia with Msgr. Fernando OcƔriz, Prelate of Opus Dei and Chancellor of the University.
11:30 h. Transfer to the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
12:00 h. Views of Rome from the terrace of the University and family photo.
13:00 h. Lunch at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in the company of students and professors.
15:30 h. Beginning of the activities of the International Meeting.
- Presentation by Rev. Prof. Luis Navarro, Rector of the University.
- First presentation.
- Coffee Break.
- Second presentation.
- Luis Alberto Rosales, General Director of the CARF Foundation, closed the event.
18:00 h. Free time and dinner.
Day 5: International Ecclesiastical College Sedes Sapientiae - Trastevere
09:00 h. Breakfast at the hotel.
10:30 h.Ā Transfer by bus to the International Ecclesiastical College Sedes Sapientiae.
11:30 h.Ā Holy Mass.
12:30 h. Tour of the school with the seminarians and family photo.
13:00 h.Ā Lunch in the company of formators and seminarians from more than 20 countries.
14:00 h. Gathering with the rector and testimonies of seminarians.
17:00 h. Free walk in Trastevere, on the west bank of the Tiber and famous for its colorful and medieval houses.
20:00 h. Farewell dinner meeting at a restaurant to be determined.
Day 6: Altomonte Priestly College - Return
08:00 h. Breakfast and check out.
08:30 h.Ā Transfer by bus with luggage.
09:00 h. Holy Mass at the Altomonte Priestly College, visit to the facilities and get-together.
11:00 h.Ā Transfer by bus to St. Peter's Square to attend the Angelus prayer with Pope Francis.
12:15 h.Ā Free time and lunch.
13:00 h. Meet at the meeting point for the bus transfer to the airport.
14:00 h. Check-in and boarding, bound for Madrid.
Iberia return flight IB3237, Rome-Madrid, departure at 16:15 h. and arrival at 18:55 h.
Travel information
Departures from Madrid. Limited places.
October 17 to 22, 2023.
- Price/person, for 50 pax., 1.390 ā¬.
- Price/person, for 40 pax. 1.420 ā¬.
- Price/person, for 35 pax. 1.450 ā¬.
- Price/person, for 30 pax. 1.490 ā¬.
- Supplement per room for single use: 435 ā¬.
- Insurance: 38 ā¬ per person. Not mandatory, but highly recommended to cover possible incidents of trip cancellation. No cancellation fees until September 4.
- Reservation and deposit of 600 ā¬ mandatory with the registration form and receipt of the transfer. Rest of the payment, before September 30.
The price includes:
- Roundtrip flights with taxes included with baggage allowance 23 kg. and 1 carry-on item.
- Transfers to and from the airport and during the trip by private bus.
- Lodging and breakfast in a four-star hotel, four meals and a farewell dinner.
- Entrance fees for visits and monuments, with coordinator and Spanish guide with headphones.
- Basic travel insurance, with the possibility of extending coverage.
The price does not include:
- Second beverages at lunch/dinner (sparkling water, wine, soft drinks, etc.).
- Entrance fees to sites not mentioned in the program.
- Personal expenses.
- Local tourist taxes of the Municipality of Rome (30 ā¬).
- Nothing that does not appear in the section includes.
More information:
- Method of payment: Deposit in IBERCAJA account of the CARF Foundation - ES75 2085 9513 7103 3034 5348.
- The minimum validity of the documentation: valid ID card.
- Without the bank transfer, your registration has no value as a place reservation. As each pilgrim pays, his or her trip is assured until the maximum number of places is reached.
- For any questions regarding the trip: flights, accommodation, special circumstances, etc., please contact JosƩ Carlos de NicolƔs from Ideatur (uno@ideatur.es and telephone: +34 91 401 50 00).
Registration form
Fill in the registration data for this trip, including those of the accompanying person.
In the footsteps of St. John Paul II
Join us in Poland! We go on pilgrimage to the places where the young Karol Wojtyla grew up and lived, to get to know his country, his history and his deep-rooted faith in Jesus Christ.