Depart the USA

Upon arrival at Toulouse airport, proceed through Passport Control and meet your tour leader. You will board your private coach for a transfer to your hotel in Lourdes. Settle into your rooms and take time to rest after your international flight. Begin your pilgrimage at the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, doorway to the Pyrenees mountain chain. Known throughout the world, it is here that the Virgin Mary appeared to the uneducated shepherdess as the Immaculate Conception. Today, the grotto where the apparitions appeared is a place of prayer for all the pilgrims who flock here, many on pilgrimages for the sick. Each person can take some water from Lourdes for himself or for a friend. Possibility to participate in the candlelight procession. Dinner and overnight in your hotel in Lourdes. (D)

Day of pilgrimage in Lourdes. You will walk in the footsteps of Bernadette and visit the places where she lived. The sanctuary also offers the possibility to deepen one’s relationship with the Virgin Mary. The welcoming of the sick is particularly well organized, and physical healings continue to happen. The museum of the miraculously healed and the examining office, within the confines of the sanctuary, attest to the authenticity. Possibility to participate in a time of prayer at the grotto of the apparitions, walk the way of the cross, go to the baths, see a movie about the story of Saint Bernadette, go to confession, and participate in the candlelight procession. Lourdes is the third-most-visited pilgrimage site in the world and the second-most-visited town in France after Paris. Lunch on your own. (B, D)

Transfer to Toulouse. Visit to the Basilica of Saint-Sernin. A masterpiece of Romanesque art, this monumental basilica, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has welcomed pilgrims on the Way of St. James since the 11th century. Lunch on our own. Then, discover the Jacobins Convent. A landmark of southern Gothic architecture, this Dominican convent stands out for its slender forms and its iconic palm column supporting the nave’s vaults. Transfer to Rocamadour. (B, D)

Take the time in Rocamadour, an exceptional medieval town that has not lost any of its charm. The site is listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Built on the side of the valley wall, the chateau, the sanctuary, and the village form the three levels of the town. Discover the village and the amazing view over the valley. Discover also the sanctuary of Our Lady of Rocamadour: the basilica of Saint Sauveur, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, where she is called the “Black Virgin”, and the seven chapels. Possibility to pray in the chapel of Saint Sauveur to worship the statue of the Black Virgin, the emblem of this sanctuary. In the Middle Ages, Rocamadour was one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Europe, along with Rome, the Mont Saint Michel, and the way to Santiago de Compostela. Rocamadour is still today a place of high spirituality with several events organized all year long. “Hope as solid as the rock” is the motto of this sanctuary. Lunch on your own. Transfer to Paray-le-Monial. (B, D)

Pilgrimage at the sanctuary of Paray-leMonial, where one evokes the Sacred Heart of Jesus since the apparitions of Christ in the 17th century, which the church recognized. The sanctuary is administered by the community of Emmanuel, which spreads the message of Jesus’ infinite love throughout the world. Lunch on your own. Transfer to Ars-sur-Formans. In Ars, discover the life and influence of the saint Curé d’Ars (patron saint of priests). The village of Ars is to this day strongly influenced by this saint, who was proclaimed the universal patron saint of all priests by the Church in 2010. You can pray at his shrine, visit his house, pray in the company of the dynamic religious community, and deepen your understanding of the saint’s still very relevant message. Transfer back to the hotel. (B, D)

Transfer to Nevers. Pray in the sanctuary of Nevers, dedicated to Saint Bernadette of Lourdes. After her life in Lourdes, Bernadette wished to join the congregation of the Sisters of Charity, whose motherhouse was in Nevers. She entered the community on July 7, 1866, and lived here discreetly for 13 years. She held several positions: as an aide to the nurses, in charge of the infirmary, and as sacristine. Lunch on your own. Transfer to Chartres. Visit the majestic Chartres Cathedral, whose elegant architecture is a symbol of Christianity and French history. You can admire the high vaulted ceiling and the splendid rose window. It contains the veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sancta Camisia. (B, D)

Transfer to Lisieux. Day of pilgrimage at the sanctuary of Lisieux. Discover the basilica and learn more about the life of Saint Therese, Doctor of the Church, known as “the little Therese” by pilgrims who appreciate her for her gospel simplicity. Lunch on your own. Visit the “Buissonnets”, the family home where Saint Therese spent her childhood, then discover the Carmelite convent where she remained cloistered until her death. Have a time of prayer at her shrine with her relics. Then visit the Cathedral of Saint Peter, where the Martin family regularly attended mass. Today, pilgrims can come to pray for the intercession of this saint, who promised to spend her time in heaven doing good on earth. (B, D)

Transfer to the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. On June 6, 1944, tens of thousands of American, British, Canadian, Scottish, and French soldiers landed on the beaches of the Normandy coast to free France from the Nazi stronghold. Thousands of young soldiers died that first day in the name of liberty, the value that makes the greatness of mankind. Stop at Omaha Beach. Lunch on your own. Discover Pointe du Hoc, a 30-meter-high cliff overlooking the ocean. Its natural position facing Great Britain made it a highly strategic location for German forces during World War II, who built their fortifications here. On June 6, 1944, U.S. Rangers fought a fierce battle there to capture the position and protect the Allied forces landing on the nearby beaches. Transfer back to Lisieux. Along the way, stop in Bayeux Cathedral, a national monument, seat of the Bishops of Bayeux and Lisieux, and home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy, in 1066. (B, D)

Transfer to Paris. Lunch on your own. Discover the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre and the amazing view of Paris from up there. In 1870, war broke out between France and Germany, and France was invaded. The idea took hold that France’s ordeals were due to its spiritual faults rather than solely to political ones. This gave birth to the construction of a basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Possibility of an adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and of a meeting with one of the sisters who welcome the pilgrims. Montmartre is a hill overlooking Paris, north of the river Seine. It’s a lively neighborhood well known for its ideal location, the romantic charm of its small streets, and the many artists who chose to live here at the end of the 19th century. Its name comes from Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, who died as a martyr in the 3rd century. Tradition holds that he and his companions died here, giving it its name, that is, Montmartre, “the mount of martyrs”. (B, D)

Pilgrimage to the chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a high spiritual Parisian place where several apparitions of the Virgin Mary took place in 1830. The Church recognizes these apparitions. It is a place of peace and silence in the heart of Paris. One can there invoke the Virgin Mary with this prayer: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” It is also the occasion to discover the life of Saint Catherine Labouré, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared, and to leave with a medal that the daughters of Charity still share with those whom they meet. Each pilgrim can come to pray at the same spot where the apparitions occurred or in front of the Saint’s reliquary. Just a few blocks away, discover the chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul and the relics of this saint. Through this chapel, pilgrims may pray to Saint Vincent, who was a fervent apostle of Charity. Lunch on your own. Panoramic tour of Place de la Concorde, Champs Élysées Avenue, and Arc de Triomphe. External discovery of the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, with its silhouette immediately recognizable. With more than 6 million visitors each year, it is the most visited monument in France after the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. On the Ile de la Cité, in the historic heart of Paris, visit the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, a jewel of Gothic art. It became the symbol of Paris and of Christian France. (B, D)

Return to the USA (B)