Dean Mann leads pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi
The Dean of Belfast, the Very Revd John Mann, is inviting pilgrims to join him for an eight day visit to Rome and Assisi from April 20–27 2015.
This will be an opportunity to visit sites of great historical and religious significance including the Coliseum, Vatican City and the Basilica of St Francis, to walk in the footsteps of Peter and Paul and to enjoy culture, climate and cuisine unique to Italy.
Pilgrims will travel to Rome from Dublin. The pilgrimage will include a walking tour of classical Rome on day one, taking in the Church of San Clemente, the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and the Pantheon, with lunch at the Anglican Centre. On day two the pilgrims will follow the Appacian Way, the route taken by Peter and Paul, and the catacombs, the burial place of the early Christians.
The tour visits the Vatican on day three with a visit to St Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s masterpiece the Sistine Chapel.
There will be some free time to relax in Rome before journeying on day four to Assisi, stopping in the city of Orvieto perched high on a cliff edge in the Umbrian countryside and once a major centre of Etruscan civilisation.
The last two days of the pilgrimage are spent in stunning Assisi, with Communion in the Basilica of St Francis, a tour of the monastic complex St Damian and quiet time at St Francis Hermitage. After Sunday worship and lunch with the Anglican community of St Leonard’s on the second day in Assisi, pilgrims will be free to explore this beautiful city at their leisure.
Inviting pilgrims to join him, Dean Mann said: “Whether or not you have been to these very special places before, I am quite certain that the sense of travelling together, with an ecumenical and prayerful perspective, will enhance our unity and devotional life.
“We shall read the Scriptures and share together in Holy Communion, whilst engaging with people and places that resonate with the life of Western Christendom.”
The Dean said that while it would be an active trip, there would be plenty of sightseeing. “We will also feel that we are on holiday and have space for relaxation and to enjoy the experience of being in Italy with its unique ambience, wonderful food and beautiful countryside,” he said.
Cost
The cost of this eight–day tour is £1,395 per person sharing a twin–bedded room. In Rome pilgrims stay at the four star Park Hotel dei Massimi, a 20 minute drive from the city centre, and in Assisi they will be based at the Casa del Terziario Convent.
A detailed brochure and booking form can be downloaded from the Belfast Cathedral website www.belfastcathedral.org and will also be available from Belfast Cathedral Office, Donegall Street, from Monday September 29.