During this Jubilee year, many pilgrims will be traveling to Rome with the hopes of experiencing a spiritual transformation. One tour-guide organization, Roots in Rome, has been dedicated to facilitating this experience for the past 11 years.

Roots in Rome takes care of everything: lodging, meals, transportation, and excellent guides who can speak about the history of Rome and bring it into the context of the Catholic faith.

Located a short distance from St. Peter’s Basilica, Roots in Rome runs a collegiate program for students from Thomas More College of Liberal Arts and Ave Maria University. The program also accepts students from other universities.

“This program has impacted me so much. It has been so much more moving than I thought it would be,” said Jeanine Engler, a sophomore at Thomas More College, of her time in the Eternal City.

“We learn about our heritage as Catholics here. We go to different basilicas every day,” added Engler.

Roots in Rome also organizes pilgrimages for parishes, private groups and high-school students. All pilgrimages are custom-tailored.

“In 2014, after seeing the demand for pilgrimages and the difference we can make in people’s lives, I launched Roots in Rome, which became the umbrella organization for all our operations,” said Tony Assaf, director of the program.

Through Roots in Rome, customers can make pilgrimages in Rome and other parts of Italy.

“The name of the company was inspired by the Rome chapter of my dad’s book The Roots of American Order, as well as the idea of pilgrimage to Rome as a way of finding one’s spiritual roots and cultural inheritance,” said Andrea Kirk Assaf, Tony’s wife and co-founder of Roots in Rome. Her father, Russell Kirk, was a U.S. Catholic philosopher known for his influence on American conservativism.

“Our mission is to reveal the unique nature of this city and help people find their roots in Rome,” she said.

For the 2025 Jubilee, Roots in Rome is offering specialized tours — including easing the wait at St. Peter’s Basilica. Pilgrimages for Carlo Acutis’ canonization after Easter are being planned — one high-school group is looking forward to the blessed event.

Tour-Guide Origins

Tony Assaf moved to Rome from Lebanon in 1998 to study for the priesthood at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. After discerning out of the priesthood, in 2002, Tony decided to stay in Rome to finish a master’s degree in communications.

Andrea moved to Rome in 2002 to work as a freelance journalist covering the Vatican. The two met during a Mass at Trinità dei Monti, the iconic church at the top of the Spanish steps. They subsequently married there in 2004.

In 2007, Tony and Andrea were hired by Thomas More College and have been part of the Rome program ever since.

The Collegiate Program

Villa Magnolia is the main hub for Roots in Rome. Located on Via delle Fornaci, it is a 15-minute walk from St. Peter’s Basilica. The villa is a private green oasis with a view of the dome of St. Peter’s. At any one time, up to 40 students can stay there. Tony and Andrea live there as house parents along with their four children.

During the collegiate semester-abroad program, students can take four to five classes. All the classes are in English, though one Latin class is offered. Students study poetics, art and architecture, humanities texts, and the writing of St. Paul.

“The art and architecture classes are taught while we walk around the city,” said Andrea, one of the teachers of this class.

During the semester abroad, Roots in Rome tries to create a family-life community.

“We have outdoor grills and bonfires. Seminarians and priests from the North American College come down as chaplains. They lead us in prayers and Compline and hear confessions,” said Andrea.

During the year, different house parties are also organized.

“We all meet together. We play games and some students play guitar. We also take the students on trips outside of Rome, like to Assisi and Orvieto,” said Andrea.

Conversion While in Rome

Hannah O’Connor has been the residential director for Roots in Rome for the past six years. She went to Thomas More College as an undergraduate and experienced a deep conversion to the Catholic faith during her Rome semester.

“When they [the students] make their way back to their Rome home, the Villa Magnolia, they are full of stories — wonder — and they return with new vision and ardor. I love sitting at table with them and hearing of their discoveries: the saints, sites, sinners, beauty, adventure and friendship,” said O’Connor.

What the Assafs have seen, time and time again, is that the semester abroad in Rome can be life-changing.

“After people live in Rome for three months, we see that it is transformational. The program is designed for the humanities. At first, it is hard for the students. We do the seven major churches pilgrimage. For some students who have never traveled far from home, Rome becomes their home,” said Andrea. “Rome will change you.”

O’Connor experienced this herself.

“All of a sudden, I went from seeing photos, drawing and documentaries to being saturated and overwhelmed. It was like Plato’s cave: from a black-and-white photo to a full-color, surround-sound life! The art where it was made to be, the music I had listened to as a child, filling the churches in the context of the Mass: life in situ,” she said. “The beauty and truth of it all aligned.”

History-Focused

Everything about this program is designed so that students can learn about the roots of their Catholic faith, which student Engler appreciates.

“For example,” she told the Register, “we went to St. Bart’s on the Tiber River. There is a section of the church that is dedicated to the martyrs of the 20th and 21st century. I saw the relics of the martyrs, and it was so moving. It brought me to tears.”

Roots in Rome never wants students to feel like they are tourists, but that Rome is their spiritual and cultural home.

“Rome is part of their inheritance and their continued cultivation of nobility of soul. They are pilgrim students. They study the same subjects together in a set course of studies. There is a very intentional way of life while they are here geared towards the cultivation of mind, body and soul. We say semper incipe and carpe diem every day!” said O’Connor. “We do see a maturing of the students’ faith. They see the universality of the Church. They see the beauty. They see that they are part of something much bigger.”

Rome and Beyond

Besides the collegiate program, parish and high-school groups began to approach the Assafs in 2013 about providing guided pilgrimages, given their knowledge of Rome from a Catholic perspective.

In 2013, St. John Paul II Catholic High School from New Braunfels, Texas, organized a customized pilgrimage.

“We bring high-school students to Rome every two years. We connected with Tony, looking for locations to stay. It was great for students because the accommodations were wonderful. 2013 was our first year. We went back in 2015, 2017, 2019. Then COVID happened. Then we went back in 2023. Now, we are going back in May,” said Elaine Gillman, a volunteer parent chaperone.

“It has been great to work with Tony because he has allowed us to design the pilgrimage that we want for our students,” added Gillman. “He facilitates all the stuff on the ground. With his assistance, we have been able to pack a lot more in the time that we have. He has helped us avoid long lines. He also helps us schedule Masses at all the special places. It has been a blessing to have someone with that understanding.”

“We really could not provide a pilgrimage of this caliber without his assistance,” she said. “He brings a lot of joy to the experience.”

PLAN YOUR PILGRIMAGE

For more information: RootsinRomeorg.wordpress.com

VivaRomaTours.com (for in-depth tours of St. Peter’s Basilica)

Prices vary from between $3,000 and $4,000 for nine days. Everything is included except for airfare: lodging, meals, transportation, entrance fees and tours.