Italy’s Shrines and Wonders Volume II

Italy’s Shrines and Wonders Volume II: Discovering Sacred Spaces and Fascinating Places in the Life of St. Francis of Assisi

by Teresa Tomeo

Published by EWTN

It’s the year of St. Francis! 2026 marks 800 years since this remarkable saint’s death. The Catholic Church is celebrating with a special jubilee year and plenary indulgences available for the faithful. You can read all about it in this document.

While it is possible for me to make a local pilgrimage to obtain an indulgence, I won’t be able to make a pilgrimage to the saint’s home in Italy this year. Thankfully, Teresa Tomeo has written a book that makes me able to imagine and learn about going on pilgrimage to all of the incredible places where St. Francis prayed, preached, evangelized, and lived. I could *almost* taste the pasta and smell the fresh air of the Spoleto countryside while I read Italy’s Shrines and Wonders Volume II: Discovering Sacred Spaces and Fascinating places in the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

Planning Your Italian Pilgrimage

The book actually serves two purposes: 1. to help travelers plan an unforgettable and prayerful trip in the steps of St. Francis, and 2. to let those who are unable to travel live vicariously through the pages and images.

If I ever do plan a trip to Italy, I will definitely consult this book. Mrs. Tomeo is truly an expert on all of the important and powerful sights connected to St. Francis that one must visit.

How the Book is Organized

The book is organized and color-coded very nicely. I can tell that a lot of thought and attention went towards its layout.

When you look at the pages of the book from the outside (on the part opposite from the spine), you can see color-coding in red, green, purple, blue, and yellow. The red is for cities and towns in Italy, the green is for a special section called “A Pilgrim’s Perspective,” purple is for the Afterward (with some links to find more of the author’s travel content), blue is for more resources, and yellow is for the index.

The red section is the biggest, and it is split into 11 spots in Italy that are connected to St. Francis. The main takeaway that I learned from this part is that St. Francis is connected to way more holy places than Assisi!

Each chapter (or, location) also includes tidbits and sections such as:

• T’s Ultimate Must Sees and Must Do’s – Teresa Tomeo’s special list of the Italian sites and activities that cannot be missed
• Other beloved Italian Saints to visit and learn about
• Highlights
• Fascinating Places
• Maps
• Sacred Spaces
• Prayers and Scripture

A Guidebook and a Biography

While this is the ultimate guidebook for pilgrims traveling to Italy, this was a really fun and informative biography of St. Francis. Teresa Tomeo’s writing is conversational and entertaining, and she is a wonderful teacher. She made this great saint come alive on the pages with her words and the beautiful accompanying photos.

I learned numerous fascinating facts about St. Francis, and my favorite was learning the story behind the photo of the statue on the cover of the book.

A Great Book to Learn About St. Francis

This was a super enjoyable read about one of the greatest saints of all time. It’s perfect for reflecting on his life and meditating on how we can meditate on his holy ways in today’s world. This would be a great book to read if you are planning a trip to Italy, but it also extrememly enjoyable just for the sake of reading and learning about St. Francis.

You can find Italy’s Shrines and Wonders Volume II: Discovering Sacred Spaces and Fascinating places in the life of St. Francis of Assisi by Teresa Tomeo at Sophia Insitute Press.