An Invitation to Travel with My Family to Italy This December

Registration for our Christmas Jubilee Pilgrimage is now open to all

This Christmas, from December 26 to January 4, my family will spend the last days of the Jubilee Year at the very heart of the Church, in Rome. And I would love for you to join us.

Let me tell you why.

Twenty-five years ago, on November 1, 2000, I laughed at a Catholic co-worker’s decision to leave an event so that he could attend Mass for All Saints Day. At that point, I had been away from the Catholic Church for six years, and as far as I was concerned, Holy Days of Obligation were just a man-made rule invented by an outdated, unbiblical religion. I thought my co-worker was a fool to miss a good dinner for that.

Just five weeks later, by December 8, 2000, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I was not only at Mass myself, but I was back in the Church, a Catholic once more, receiving the Eucharist daily.

What happened during those five weeks? Many conversations with my Catholic co-worker, much reading, and something I couldn’t quite explain. It was like I had been picked up and carried swiftly and safely over a raging river. So many of the difficulties and struggles that converts and reverts typically face on their journey home, simply didn’t touch me. My reversion was swift and almost effortless.

Only later, did I look back and realize that I had come home in the last month of the Great Jubilee Year of 2000. Saint John Paul II had spent almost his entire papacy preparing for it. He was sure the Jubilee would be a turning point for the Church—a time of renewal, conversion, and abundant grace, not just for the pilgrims who traveled to Rome that year, but for all the world.

Those graces, I believe, are what carried me so swiftly across the Tiber and home to the Catholic Church that December. And for almost 25 years now, I have dreamed of going back for the next Jubilee year, on both a pilgrimage of thanksgiving for all the graces I received during the last Jubilee year and a pilgrimage of prayer, for all those who need the graces of Jubilee now as badly as I needed them in 2000.

As I experienced first-hand, the graces of the Jubilee are real. They are powerful. And they are what this broken world so desperately needs.

Which is why I hope you can join my family and me, during the last days of this Jubilee Year and pray with me for our Church, this world, your family, and all those intentions closest to your heart.

Like the pilgrimage my family led last summer, this pilgrimage will be open to people of all ages and all states in life and has been designed to be family friendly and human friendly. This means children of all ages are welcome. It also means we are not going to race from city to city and photo op to photo op. We are not going to do Instagram tourism. We are going to be pilgrims, with time to linger, explore, and soak up all the graces Rome has to offer, in both the Jubilee year and at Christmas time.

To that end, we’ll stay in the same hotel for the entire pilgrimage. We’ll take two full day excursions outside the city, but most of our time will be spent in Rome, not just visiting the major basilicas, but also journeying into the neighborhoods, churches, and holy sites that most tourists never have time to see.

The pace of this trip will also be a bit slower and gentler than your typical pilgrimage. We’ll still visit all my favorite spots, and there will be a lot of walling (expect 12-15,000 steps daily), but we’ve built ample free time into the schedule, so you’ll have the time you need to pray and rest, wander and nap, sit with Christ in the Eucharist and linger over a glass of wine with new friends.

As you pray about coming with us, remember it will be a pilgrimage, not a luxury vacation. There will be hardships along the way. There always are when we embark on such a journey. And with children along, this will be even more true. Every little one on the trip will break down at some point. Sleep might be hard the first few nights. Meals won’t always happen on an exact schedule. There will be lots of “joyful noise making” at Mass.

But there will also be the constant laughter of little ones. There will be songs and smiles, impromptu sword fights and games, and a sense of family like you won’t experience on a pilgrimage with only adults.

I was so scared to lead our first family pilgrimage. But it ended up being one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was such a joy to travel with so many families, couples, single people, and priests. It truly felt like the Church going on pilgrimage. Or a family. And I can’t wait to do it again.

You can see the full itinerary with all the trip details here.

Highlights of the pilgrimage include visits to every one of the major Basilicas, with their Holy Doors; a day exploring the gorgeous neighborhood of Trastevere, where Saint Peter lived while in Rome; a tour of the Capuchin Bone Church, which I wrote about in These Beautiful Bones; the chance to see the relics of Christ’s Passion at Santa Croce and climb the Holy Stairs which Jesus ascended on His way to meet Pilate; and an underground tour of one of Rome’s oldest basilicas, San Clemente, which is built atop a Roman nobleman’s home that served as a house church in the first century AD. We’ll also travel outside the city to the ancient medieval town of Orvieto, home of a great Eucharistic miracle, tour a country estate to witness the making of olive oil and wine, and explore the gardens and farm at Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer home.

Because it’s Christmas, we’ll also be able to see Rome at its finest, and enjoy Christmas markets, light shows, and exquisite nativity scenes throughout the city. Best of all, we’ll have the chance to welcome the New Year at Saint Peter’s Basilica.

This trip has limited registration and is filling up quickly, with 25 percent of the spots already taken. So pray about coming with us, talk to your spouse, and crunch the numbers, but don’t wait too long to sign up if you discern this trip is for you.

Deposits to reserve a space are due upon registration, but you can then spread out the remainder of payments over the next six months, paying in however many installments fits your budget and on a schedule that works best for you. Final payments are due by October 27, 2025.

You can register for the trip here.

I know trips like this are costly and not possible for everyone. But I also know that the people who stay at home are always blessed by the prayers of those who can go. When we go on pilgrimage, it’s never just for ourselves. It’s also for all those we love and for the whole world.

I’m praying for your discernment about joining us. In the meantime, as you discern, if you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments below or email me at emilystimpsonchapman@gmail.com. I’ll also be doing a Q&A about the trip on Instagram today, so you can also send me questions in the question box I’m posting there. I’m here to help as much as I can, not just now, but every step of the way.

Blessings,

Emily

P.S. After we returned from our last trip, I answered many questions about traveling with small children in Europe. You can find those answers here.