Journal

About the Pilgrimage

With one bus of likeminded Catholics, we will visit the most amazing churches soaring into the sky as a testimony of the faith of the French people in earlier generations. Saints and Doctors of the Church will instruct us along the way.

See the intense yet well-paced itinerary below. Our devout Catholic guide-tour leader has great knowledge of all the places we will visit and a deep knowledge of the history of France and the Catholic Church. We will learn the Catholic heritage of this country and the deep spirituality of the sanctuaries, shrines and monasteries.

In some of the UNESCO sites they have their own mandated guides.  They will all enhance your experience of this amazing country, referred to as the “Eldest Daughter of the Church”! 

Fr. James Conlon invites you to join us in the 1 minute video

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Itinerary for this Amazing Pilgrimage

Day 1  Tuesday, October 21  Depart USA

Depart on overnight flights to Paris, France.

Day 2  Wednesday, October 22  Arrival in France | Lisieux | Pont-Audemer

Arrive at the Paris Airport and meet Steve & Janet Ray and your local French tour manager in the Arrivals Hall. Board your private motor coach for transfer to Lisieux, home of St. Therese, the “Little Flower”. Tour of the Basilica. Time for lunch on your own. Visit the “Buissonnets”, the family home where St. Therese spent her childhood and see the Carmelite convent where she lived until her death. Have time for prayer by her relics at her shrine. Visit the Cathedral of St. Peter where the Saints Louis and Zeile went regularly for Mass with St. Therese. Celebrate Mass. Transfer to Pont-Audemer and check in to Belle-Isle sur Risle – Chateau Hotel. Enjoy two nights at an authentic French Chateau. Welcome dinner at the chateau and overnight in Pont-Audemer.

Note: Itinerary today pending actual flight arrival time.

Day 3  Thursday, October 23  Caen | Arromaches | Normandy Beaches

Breakfast at the French Chateau. Transfer to Caen and visit the memorial of the landing of the allied troops at Normandy Beach on D-Day. Celebrate Mass. After lunch on your own, visit Bénouville’s bridge, best known as Pegasus bridge, then go to Arromanches where you’ll see the maritime vestiges of the greatest artificial port ever created. All the armored vehicles, trucks, supplies and men came into France through this port. Discover Omaha beach, the most famous of the Normandy landing beaches. Visit the American cemetery at Colleville-surMer and pay your respects to the soldiers resting there. Return to your French Chateau for dinner and overnight.

Day 4   Friday, October 24   Le Mont-Saint-Michel | Le Tronchet

Breakfast at the French Chateau. Check out and depart for Le Mont-Saint-Michel. Stroll through the charming village with stone houses and narrow streets, built on a rock off the coast of Normandy surrounded by one of the world’s largest bays. The village and the bay are listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel (Please note, the Abbey is only accessible by climbing about 350 steps – there is no elevator. Travelers who are unable to make the climb can take free time in the village). Lunch on your own and afternoon in Le Mont-SaintMichel. Celebrate Mass. Depart for Le Tronchet and check in to your hotel for dinner as a group and overnight.

Day 5   Saturday, October 25   Saint-Malo | Pontmain Marian Apparition Site

Breakfast at your hotel. Visit the Cathedral of Saint Vincent, the beautiful Gothic church located in the heart of town. Lunch on your own. Transfer to Pontmain, at the border of Normandy and Brittany. Visit of the sanctuary of Pontmain where the Virgin Mary appeared to four children in 1871, amid a Prussian invasion. Today the magnificent basilica welcomes pilgrims coming from all over the world. Discover the parish church, the barn where the villagers came for the apparition, and the museum. Celebrate Mass. Return to your hotel in Le Tronchet for dinner and overnight.

Day 6  Sunday, October 26  Chartres Cathedral | Paris

Have breakfast at your hotel, then check out and depart for Chartres. Visit the majestic cathedral of Chartres, the elegant architecture is a symbol of Christianity and French history. Celebrate Mass. Lunch on your own. Continue to Paris and take a panoramic motor coach tour of the city for a first look at most of the capital city’s monuments. Check in to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Paris.

Day 7  Monday, October 27  Paris

After breakfast at your hotel, visit Sainte Chapelle, a treasure in the center of Paris, built as a reliquary for the holy relics of the Crown of Thorns, acquired by King Louis IX (now located in Notre-Dame). Discover the lower part with its openwork design and its bright colors and the upper part flooded with light with huge stained-glass windows. Visit the chapel of the Miraculous Medal, where the Blessed Mother appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré. Pray at the site of the apparitions or in front of St Catherine’s incorrupt body. Celebrate Mass. Just a few blocks away, visit the chapel of St. Vincent de Paul, and his incorrupt body. Time for lunch on your own. See the Basilica of SacreCouer in Montmartre, where perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted since 1885. Time to pray in adoration. Dinner on your own so you can explore the many restaurants in Paris and sample Parisian cuisine. Your French Tour Manager will make recommendations. Overnight in Paris.

Day 8  Tuesday, October 28   Paris

After breakfast at your hotel, Celebrate Mass. Board the famous Parisian “bateaux-mouches” for a scenic river cruise where you will view of all the most beautiful sites of Paris from the river Seine! Lunch on your own and afternoon at leisure to explore or shop in the City of Light or visit the famous Louvre Museum on your own. Dinner on own. Overnight in Paris.

Day 9  Wednesday, October 29   Tour and Celebrate Mass in the Restored Notre Dame*

After breakfast at the hotel, visit the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, to tour the restored Cathedral, which is a jewel of gothic art. Reconstruction took five years following the devastating fire, with grand re-opening scheduled for November/December 2024. Over $1 billion dollars was donated worldwide to bring Notre Dame back from the ashes. Our pilgrimage date is scheduled almost a year after the grand opening since large crowds are expected in the months immediately following the reopening. By waiting a while, crowds will be smaller and we will have an opportunity to celebrate Mass and enjoy the Cathedral “up close and personal” (pending final confirmation). Lunch and afternoon on own. Celebratory Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Paris.

Day 10  Thursday, October 30  Return to USA

Bid “au revoir” to France today. Mass at hotel if time and venue allow. Check out of your hotel and transfer to the Paris airport for return flights home.