PHOTO: St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. (Courtesy of Thinktock)
The influence of Pope Francis, the most dynamic leader of the Catholic church in living memory, has spread far and wide. The first pope from the Americas, he was instrumental in arranging the meetings between President Obama and Raul Castro of Cuba that have led toward normalization of relations between the two countries.
Pope Francis has been outspoken about the political and economic affairs that affect the lives of billions of people, but are so deeply entrenched that few politicians are willing to take them on. Only in office two years, his influence has spread dramatically throughout the world. It should not be surprising that he is also affecting the travel industry.
Perillo Tours, a leader in creating tours to Italy for half a century, introduced a new tour designed to celebrate Pope Francis' declaration of 2016 as Holy Year of Mercy.
In celebration of the Pope's declaration, Perillo Tours is offering an eight-day tour of Rome and Vatican City based on the Pope and the theme of his declaration.
The tour will visit a series of basilicas, chapels, gardens and papal residences in Rome and within the Vatican City. It will include a semi-private visit to the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum. The itinerary will include a tour of the old Roman Jewish ghetto and Castelli Romani, the summer residence of the Pope.
It will all lead to the climactic moment of the tour when the Perillo group will experience a Roman Papal Audience at the Vatican, including the Pope's weekly address.
The trip will be offered March through October of 2016. The price starts at $1,995 per person, not including air. Perillo is offering an early booking discount of $125 per person on trips booked with deposit by Sept. 4.
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