Catholic Pilgrimage to France: A Practical Planning Guide

Choosing the shrines and the length of stay

Most pilgrims start from a short list. The best known are Lourdes, where Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858, Lisieux, the home of Saint Thérèse, Mont-Saint-Michel on the Normandy coast, and the cathedral of Chartres, southwest of Paris. Paris itself, with its churches and relics, needs two or three days.

A simple way to choose is to follow one saint. Saint Thérèse leads from Alençon, where she was born, to Lisieux. Saint Bernadette leads from Lourdes to the convent of Saint-Gildard at Nevers, where her body lies. The Sacred Heart leads to Paray-le-Monial, and Saint John Mary Vianney to Ars. The map of the holy places shows where each shrine lies and which ones sit close together.

Lourdes lies at the foot of the Pyrenees, and the direct high-speed train from Paris takes about four hours and forty-five minutes to five hours, while Lisieux and Mont-Saint-Michel are in Normandy, at the other end of the country. The site’s own itineraries run from five days for the shrines of Saint Thérèse to thirteen days for the great shrines of France. On any plan, count the first day as lost to the overnight flight, allow two nights at Lourdes so that you can attend the evening procession and a Mass at the Grotto, and avoid changing hotels every night.

Seasons, feasts and crowds

At Lourdes the Marian torchlight procession is held every evening from April to October, and in winter a torchlit rosary is prayed at the Grotto in its place at 8:30 p.m., at least on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. The International Mass is celebrated every Sunday and Wednesday from April to November in the underground Basilica of Saint Pius X. The sanctuary counted about 3.2 million visitors in 2024, about 410,000 of them in organized pilgrimages.

Feast days bring the fullest liturgies and the largest crowds. Lourdes keeps February 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 18, the feast of Saint Bernadette, August 15 and December 8. Lisieux celebrates Saint Thérèse on October 1, and in 2026 the shrine’s Fêtes de Sainte Thérèse ran from September 19 to October 4. On Pentecost weekend a large walking pilgrimage from Paris ends at Chartres. Book early for these dates.

Paris has an average high of about 78°F in July and about 46°F in January. Some shrines stand high: Le Puy-en-Velay is at about 2,070 feet, and the basilica of La Salette in the Alps is at about 5,900 feet. In winter the large shrines stay open with a reduced program, as Lourdes does, but smaller sites and guest houses may keep shorter hours, so check each shrine’s website before you fix the dates.

Flights, trains and coaches

Most flights from North America land at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, which has its own high-speed rail station; Paris-Orly is the city’s second airport. Some routes go to regional airports. In 2026 Delta added Boston to Nice, Air Canada flies from Montreal to Toulouse, and Air Transat flies in summer from Montreal to Bordeaux, Nantes and Toulouse and from Quebec City to Paris and Marseille. Toulouse is the nearest of these airports to Lourdes.

The French railway, SNCF, runs TGV high-speed trains between Paris and the large cities, Intercités trains on longer classic lines, and TER regional trains to smaller towns. A direct TGV from Paris-Montparnasse reaches Lourdes in about four hours and forty-five minutes to five hours. Le Puy-en-Velay has no high-speed service; its trains run to Saint-Étienne and Clermont-Ferrand. Conques and Mont-Saint-Michel have no station at all, so the last miles to them are made by coach or car.

SNCF offers free station assistance, called Assist’enGare, to wheelchair users and to travelers with reduced mobility; those with mobility difficulties need a medical certificate. Requests can be made until 24 hours before departure, and without one help is not guaranteed. Travelers meet the staff at the assistance point at least 30 minutes before the train leaves.

Mass and confession in English

In Paris, Saint Joseph’s Church at 50 avenue Hoche, near the Arc de Triomphe, is the English-speaking mission of the Diocese of Paris and hears confessions on Saturdays. The Irish Chaplaincy celebrates Sunday Mass in English at the Chapelle Saint-Patrick in the Irish College, near the Luxembourg Gardens.

Lourdes is the easiest shrine for English speakers. Masses are said every day in several languages, the rosary is prayed daily in English as well as in French, Spanish and Italian, and the resident chaplains, more than thirty priests, welcome pilgrims in all languages and hear confessions every day in the Chapel of Reconciliation. Elsewhere, expect Mass in French, and ask at the sacristy whether a priest who speaks English can hear your confession.

To find Mass times anywhere in France, use messes.info, the service of the French bishops’ conference, or its free app, Messes Info. It lists Sunday and weekday Masses in parishes and other Catholic places of worship, with each church’s address and contact details, and it searches by town, by church or by your current location. Times change with the seasons, so check again the day before.

A priest who travels with a group should carry his celebret, the document that shows he is authorized to exercise his ministry. Lourdes now verifies it for every priest and deacon who celebrates in the sanctuary: group organizers register their clergy online in advance, and a priest who comes alone presents his celebret at the sanctuary’s Information Center.

Dress and behavior in churches

Cathedrals and shrines expect modest clothing. Notre-Dame de Paris asks visitors to cover shoulders, torso, stomach and thighs and to avoid transparent or tight clothing, and it asks men to remove hats and caps. Entry to the cathedral is free every day of the year.

If you arrive during a Mass, join it or wait quietly at the back, and leave sightseeing and photographs for later. At Lourdes the sanctuary asks for discretion and respect for those at prayer. It forbids photographs and filming inside the baths, the confession chapel and the Accueil Notre-Dame, where sick pilgrims stay; other filming needs the sanctuary’s authorization, and drones need its permission.

Entry rules and insurance

Citizens of the United States and Canada need no visa for a stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, which includes France. The US State Department says a passport must be valid for at least three months beyond the date you leave the Schengen area, recommends six months, and asks for at least one blank page.

The European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully in force since April 10, 2026. On a first entry, border police record your passport details and take a facial image and fingerprints; after that each entry and exit is recorded electronically in place of a passport stamp. Children under 12 are not fingerprinted, and a traveler who refuses to give the data is refused entry. Nothing has to be done in advance, but allow extra time at passport control.

ETIAS, the online travel authorization planned for visitors who need no visa, was not in operation as of November 3, 2026, and no start date had been published. The European Commission removed its target of late 2026 from its website in July 2026 and has said it will announce the date several months before launch. As planned, the fee will be €20, with no fee under 18 or over 70, and an approval will be valid for three years or until the passport expires. No website issues ETIAS authorizations today, and any site that asks for payment is not official.

Original Medicare generally does not pay for care outside the United States, though Medigap policies may cover emergency care abroad. Canadian provincial and territorial plans rarely cover medical costs outside Canada, and then only a small part. Hospitals abroad may ask for payment in advance, so buy a travel health policy that includes medical repatriation.

Older pilgrims, children and groups

Many shrines involve stairs. The cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay is reached by a great stair of 134 steps, the great stairway at Rocamadour has 216 steps, and the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel stands at the top of a steep village street. The sanctuary at Lourdes gives first place to sick and disabled pilgrims, and volunteers called hospitaliers push them in the sanctuary’s blue wheelchairs. See also the site’s page on pilgrimages at a gentle pace.

Children manage best with short days and fixed bedtimes. The torchlight procession at Lourdes starts at 9:00 p.m., late for small children, and each child needs his or her own passport. The page on family pilgrimages gives more detail.

A pilgrim traveling alone can join the Masses and processions at the large shrines without booking. A group that travels with its own priest can have its own Mass, arranged with each shrine beforehand; at Lourdes the organizer also registers the clergy online. The page for parishes and group leaders explains how Francia Sacra arranges this, and the page on practical matters covers passports, flights and weather.

Our ways that go there

• Via GratiaeThe Great Shrines of France, thirteen days
• Via RosarumThe Way of Roses, five days
• Via ImmaculataeThe Way of the Immaculate, ten days

Holy places: Lourdes, Lisieux, Paris, Mont-Saint-Michel, Chartres. Saints: Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.