Francia SacraA journey of faith
Inquire

Catholic pilgrimages in FranceCome and see.

Venite et videte · John 1:39

Pray in the cathedrals and shrines of France.

Each group travels with a priest and a historian. Everything is in English, or translated live.

  • XIIIPilgrims
    at most
  • XVIWays
    across France
  • MMXXVIIFirst departures,
    in spring
I CATHEDRALIS II BENEDICTI III ROMANICA IV GRATIAE V IMMACULATAE VI ROSARUM VII IOANNAE VIII ARCHANGELI IX SANCTORUM X INCARNATIONIS XI CARITATIS XII CONCHAE XIII MAGDALENAE XIV GREGORIANA XV NATIVITATIS XVI DOMINICI I CATHEDRALIS II BENEDICTI III ROMANICA IV GRATIAE V IMMACULATAE VI ROSARUM VII IOANNAE VIII ARCHANGELI IX SANCTORUM X INCARNATIONIS XI CARITATIS XII CONCHAE XIII MAGDALENAE XIV GREGORIANA XV NATIVITATIS XVI DOMINICI
  1. IVia Cathedralis
  2. IIVia Benedicti
  3. IIIVia Romanica
  4. IVVia Gratiae
  5. VVia Immaculatae
  6. VIVia Rosarum
  7. VIIVia Ioannae
  8. VIIIVia Archangeli
  9. IXVia Sanctorum
  10. XVia Incarnationis
  11. XIVia Caritatis
  12. XIIVia Conchae
  13. XIIIVia Magdalenae
  14. XIVVia Gregoriana
  15. XVVia Nativitatis
  16. XVIVia Dominici
Way I of 16Via CathedralisThe Cathedral WaySeven days from Paris to Reims, by Chartres, Rouen and Amiens.
  • A Mass for the group in Notre-Dame
  • The Sainte-Chapelle at opening time
  • An organ recital in Reims for the group
Paris to Reims, seven days. First departures in spring 2027.Open the way
See the waysFind your pilgrimageVia Cathedralis, spring 2027

On our ways

Twelve of the eighty-one holy places that our sixteen ways visit. All the holy places

Find your pilgrimage

What grace do you ask?

Choose one or several, then answer six more questions to see the ways that match. If none fits, we design a pilgrimage on request.

Find your pilgrimage

Why our groups are small

We take thirteen pilgrims at most, and much of what we offer depends on that limit. Some places open only to a small group, outside visiting hours. Your priest comes to know each pilgrim by name, and the historian and the tour manager see to the rest.

How a pilgrimage runs

Four stages

Every way follows the same four stages, with time kept free each day for prayer.

The four stages in detail
  1. I

    Setting out

    A month before departure, your priest writes to you with the readings of the way and asks you to name the intention you will carry. On the first evening, the group receives the Church’s blessing for pilgrims.

  2. II

    On the road

    Each day opens with morning prayer and a page of the pilgrim’s book. Mass is celebrated every day, most often in the shrine itself, and the last stretch to a great shrine is made on foot.

  3. III

    At the shrine

    After the historian’s talk, you have an hour of quiet at the shrine to pray and to light a candle for your intentions. The priest hears confessions every day.

  4. IV

    Coming home

    The last Mass ends with the sending of the pilgrims. A month after your return, the group meets online with its priest to give thanks for the pilgrimage.

Saint-Denis, Stade de France · September 25, 2026

The saints of France, at the vigil with Pope Leo XIV

Before eighty thousand young people, the Litany of the Saints was sung while more than 150 banners of the saints of France were carried through the stadium.

Watch the Litany of the SaintsKTO TV on YouTube, from 3:22:40 The saints of France, and the calendar of our ways

The video opens on YouTube, in the live broadcast of KTO TV.

The land

France, eldest daughter of the Church

France received baptism with Clovis at Reims, at the end of the fifth century, and she has long been called the eldest daughter of the Church. The country has a great number of shrines and saints, and many devotions now kept by the whole Church began here, at shrines a few hours’ drive from one another.

« France, fille aînée de l’Église, es-tu fidèle aux promesses de ton baptême ? »

France, eldest daughter of the Church, are you faithful to the promises of your baptism?

Saint John Paul II, Le Bourget, June 1, 1980

A timeline of the faith in France

  1. 1st c.Saintes-Maries-de-la-MerMary Magdalene comes ashore in Provence, according to traditionVia Magdalenae
  2. 397ToursSaint Martin is buried at Tours, and his tomb becomes the great pilgrimage of GaulVia Sanctorum
  3. 496–499ReimsSaint Remi baptizes Clovis, king of the Franks, on Christmas DayVia Cathedralis
  4. 708Mont-Saint-MichelThe archangel’s sanctuary on its rock in the seaVia Archangeli
  5. 910ClunyThe abbey of the Cluniac reformVia Romanica
  6. c. 950Le Puy-en-VelayThe first pilgrim from beyond the Pyrenees on record to set out for CompostelaVia Conchae
  7. 1118FontenaySaint Bernard founds the abbey of Fontenay, in the bare stone of the CisterciansVia Benedicti
  8. 1144Saint-DenisAbbot Suger consecrates the new choir of Saint-Denis, the first Gothic churchVia Cathedralis
  9. 1215ToulouseThe Order of PreachersVia Dominici
  10. 1248Sainte-ChapelleSaint Louis builds the Sainte-Chapelle to keep the Crown of ThornsVia Cathedralis
  11. 1429ReimsJoan of Arc beside the king at his coronationVia Ioannae
  12. 1521SélestatOne of the oldest written records of the Christmas treeVia Nativitatis
  13. 1633ParisSaint Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac found the Daughters of CharityVia Caritatis
  14. 1673Paray-le-MonialThe Sacred Heart, shown to Margaret MaryVia Sanctorum
  15. 1818ArsJohn Vianney arrives in Ars, where pilgrims will soon wait for hours at his confessionalVia Gratiae
  16. 1830Rue du BacThe Miraculous MedalVia Immaculatae
  17. 1833ParisThe Society of Saint Vincent de PaulVia Caritatis
  18. 1833SolesmesThe abbey where Gregorian chant was restoredVia Gregoriana
  19. 1842Saint-Laurent-sur-SèvreMontfort’s True Devotion to Mary, rediscovered; John Paul II took from it his motto, Totus tuusVia Incarnationis
  20. 1858Lourdes“I am the Immaculate Conception”Via Gratiae
  21. 1897LisieuxThe little way of Thérèse, written down in her last monthsVia Rosarum
  22. 2024Notre-Dame de ParisRestored after the fire of 2019, Notre-Dame reopens to worship on December 7Via Cathedralis
The abbey of Sénanque above its fields of lavender, in the valley of the Luberon

Lætatus sum in his quæ dicta sunt mihi: in domum Domini ibimus.

I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord.

Psalm 121 (122), 1

The abbey of Sénanque, on Via Magdalenae

The sixteen ways

Each way bears a Latin name. See the ways on the map, or the eighty-one holy places they visit

  1. IVia CathedralisThe Cathedral WayThe Gothic cathedrals, from Paris to Reims7 daysFirst departures spring 2027
  2. IIVia BenedictiThe Way of Saint BenedictThe abbeys of the Rule, from Berry to Burgundy7 daysFirst departures in 2027
  3. IIIVia RomanicaThe Romanesque WayRomanesque churches of Burgundy and the Auvergne7 daysFirst departures in 2027
  4. IVVia GratiaeThe Great Shrines of FranceFrom Notre-Dame de Paris to Lourdes13 daysFirst departures in 2027
  5. VVia ImmaculataeThe Way of the ImmaculateThe places of the apparitions, from the rue du Bac to Lourdes10 daysFirst departures in 2027
  6. VIVia RosarumThe Way of RosesAlençon and Lisieux, learning Thérèse’s little way5 daysFirst departures in 2027
  7. VIIVia IoannaeJoan’s WayThe road of Joan of Arc, from Domrémy to Rouen8 daysFirst departures in 2027
  8. VIIIVia ArchangeliThe Archangel’s WayThe pilgrims’ roads to Mont-Saint-Michel, across the bay6 daysFirst departures in 2027
  9. IXVia SanctorumThe Way of the SaintsThe saints of France, from Tours and Ars to Annecy9 daysFirst departures in 2027
  10. XVia IncarnationisThe Way of the IncarnationThe French School of spirituality, from Paris to the Vendée7 daysFirst departures in 2027
  11. XIVia CaritatisThe Way of CharityThe witnesses of charity, from Paris to Lyon7 daysIn preparation
  12. XIIVia ConchaeThe Way of the ShellSix stages on foot on the Le Puy route to Compostela8 daysIn preparation
  13. XIIIVia MagdalenaeThe Magdalene WayProvence with Mary Magdalene, apostle of the apostles7 daysFirst departures in 2027
  14. XIVVia GregorianaThe Gregorian WayGregorian chant at Solesmes, with the Office of the monks6 daysIn preparation
  15. XVVia NativitatisThe Christmas WayAdvent and Christmas in Alsace, with Midnight Mass in Strasbourg6 daysFirst departures in 2027
  16. XVIVia DominiciThe Way of Saint DominicSaint Dominic and Saint Thomas Aquinas, from Toulouse to Carcassonne7 daysFirst departures in 2027

Via Cathedralis

The Cathedral Way

Seven days from Paris to Reims, by Chartres, Rouen and Amiens. The first evening is spent at Notre-Dame, and the last day in Reims, in the cathedral of the coronations.

Seven days, Paris to Reims. First departures in spring 2027.

See the itineraryRegister your interest
  1. INotre-Dame de Paris
  2. IISaint-Denis, the tombs of the kings
  3. IIIChartres, the labyrinth
  4. IVRouen
  5. VAmiens
  6. VIReims, the coronations
  7. VIIReims, the Smiling Angel

Via Gratiae

The Great Shrines of France

This way visits the great shrines of France in thirteen days, from Notre-Dame de Paris to the grotto of Lourdes. It suits a first pilgrimage in France, or pilgrims who want to see in one trip what the other ways cover one at a time.

Thirteen days, Notre-Dame to Lourdes. First departures in 2027.

See the itineraryRegister your interest
  1. Day IParis
  2. Day IIParis
  3. Day IIIParis to Lisieux
  4. Day IVLisieux to Mont-Saint-Michel
  5. Day VMont-Saint-Michel to Chartres
  6. Day VIChartres to Nevers
  7. Day VIINevers to Paray-le-Monial
  8. Day VIIIParay-le-Monial to Ars
  9. Day IXArs to Le Puy-en-Velay
  10. Day XLe Puy-en-Velay to Conques
  11. Day XIConques to Rocamadour
  12. Day XIIRocamadour to Lourdes
  13. Day XIIILourdes

Via Gregoriana

The Gregorian Way

Six days at Solesmes, where Gregorian chant was revived, with lessons from a chant master and the Office of the monks.

Six days at Solesmes. In preparation.

See the itineraryRegister your interest
  1. Day IParis to Solesmes
  2. Day IISolesmes
  3. Day IIISolesmes
  4. Day IVLe Mans
  5. Day VSolesmes
  6. Day VISolesmes to Paris

How to begin

  1. 1

    Choose your way

    Sixteen ways, from five to thirteen days, with the same rule on each.

  2. 2

    Write to us

    We reply with the program, the price and the booking conditions.

  3. 3

    Reserve your place

    Once our registration with Atout France is granted: a deposit of 30%, the balance ninety days before departure.

Write to us

For priests and group leaders

Every way can be adapted for a group already formed, such as a parish, a school or a prayer group, and we prepare other pilgrimages on request. The dates, the places and the size of the group are set with you, and your own priest may serve as chaplain.

Private pilgrimages

For families

A pilgrimage planned for your family alone, with everything arranged in France.

Private pilgrimages

For couples

For an anniversary or the renewal of your promises, with Louis and Zélie Martin, the first married couple canonized together.

Private pilgrimages

At a gentle pace

The same ways, a few days longer, with fewer changes of hotel, and two or three days in Paris before or after.

Private pilgrimagesParis, before or after

Sources

  1. Aleteia, Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer sur la route de Saint-Jacques (June 27, 2017)
  2. Marie de Nazareth, France, eldest daughter of Mary and of the Church
  3. CNRS News, Mont-Saint-Michel reveals new secrets
  4. Wikipedia, History of the Catholic Church in France
  5. Medievalists.net, A precious ancient souvenir given to the first pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela
  6. The Christian Century, Last Judgment by Gislebertus, ca. 1130
  7. Diocèse de Toulouse, Leaflet on the Dominican sites of Toulouse (PDF)
  8. The Holy See, Benedict XVI, General Audience on Saint Joan of Arc (January 26, 2011)
  9. Office de tourisme Sélestat Haut-Koenigsbourg, L’histoire de l’arbre de Noël (PDF)
  10. Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Catherine Labouré
  11. New Catholic Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia.com), Solesmes, Abbey of
  12. Wikipedia, True Devotion to Mary
  13. Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Celebrating the apparitions to Bernadette
  14. The Holy See, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, biography
  15. The Holy See, John Paul II, Homily at Le Bourget, Paris, June 1, 1980 (Portuguese text)
  16. Aleteia, Highlights from Pope Leo’s vigil with French young people (September 26, 2026)

Facts checked against these sources on .