The pilgrimage
Every way follows the same four stages. Here is how each one runs.
Setting out
Preparation begins at home. A month before departure, your priest writes to you with the readings of the way, a short rule of prayer for the weeks before, and an invitation to name the intention you will carry. Many pilgrims also carry the intentions of family and friends, and the pilgrim’s book keeps a page for them.
On the first evening, before the first Mass, the group receives the Church’s blessing for pilgrims.
On the road
Each day opens with morning prayer and a page of the pilgrim’s book, read before the first visit. Mass is celebrated every day, most often in the shrine itself, and the day closes with night prayer or a short examen led by the priest.
Wherever the place allows, the last stretch to a great shrine is made on foot and in prayer: the hill of Vézelay, the steps of Le Puy, the great stairway of Rocamadour, the procession at Lourdes.
At the shrine
The historian explains each place. Afterward you have an hour of quiet to pray, light a candle and leave your intentions at the shrine.
The priest hears confessions every day, at the shrine or along the road, and will speak privately with any pilgrim who asks.
Coming home
The last Mass ends with the sending of the pilgrims, before the journey home. You leave with your pilgrim’s book, filled with the readings and with what you wrote along the way.
A month after your return, the group meets online with its priest to give thanks and talk over the pilgrimage, and prays again for the intentions carried to France.
The grace we ask
On each way the group asks for one particular grace, named on the first day and prayed for every day. The custom is borrowed from the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, where each exercise begins by asking God for “what I want and desire.”
- Via Cathedralis
To learn to read the story of salvation in stone and stained glass.
- Via Benedicti
To listen, the first word of the Rule, and to find peace in a life of prayer and work.
- Via Romanica
Simplicity of heart, before churches built to teach the faith to all.
- Via Gratiae
To visit the great shrines of France on one road, and to entrust to Our Lady the intentions carried from home.
- Via Immaculatae
To receive Mary as a mother.
- Via Rosarum
Thérèse’s little way of trust, for ordinary days.
- Via Ioannae
Courage to answer the call one has received.
- Via Archangeli
Strength in the spiritual combat, under the protection of Saint Michael.
- Via Sanctorum
The desire for holiness, after the example of the saints of France.
- Via Incarnationis
Adoration of the Word made flesh, and a renewed interior life.
- Via Caritatis
To recognize Christ in the poor, and to serve him there.
- Via Conchae
Perseverance, and prayer on foot.
- Via Magdalenae
The grace of conversion, and the joy of being sent as a witness.
- Via Gregoriana
To pray with the voice of the Church, and to keep singing at home.
- Via Nativitatis
Wonder before the Child of Bethlehem, and the joy of carrying him home.
- Via Dominici
Love of the truth, and the zeal to share it.
What we offer
Mass is celebrated every day, and time is kept free each day for prayer.
The group
A small group fits one minibus and the small hotels close to the shrines, and sits at a single table for dinner. On Via Conchae, the walking way to Compostela, at most twelve pilgrims walk with a certified hiking guide while the minibus carries the luggage. Groups already formed may travel in larger numbers; we then adapt the coach and the hotels.
Your companions
The priest travels with the group for the whole journey, celebrates Mass each day and hears confessions. The historian explains the art and the history of each place. The tour manager sees to luggage, tables and schedules.
Everything is in English. When a rector, a sister or a curator speaks to the group in French, their words are translated live.
Where you stay
Comfortable hotels close to the shrines. On some ways, a night in a monastic guest house or at the shrine itself, at La Salette in the Alps or on Mont-Saint-Michel, where rooms allow.
Practical matters
Passports, flights, rooms, luggage, weather and booking: the practical details are gathered on one page.
Private openings
We ask rectors, curators and communities to open certain places to the group alone, at hours when the crowds have gone. Each opening remains subject to their consent.
Questions
How large are the groups?
Small. Our own departures need at least ten pilgrims to run, and a group already formed travels at the size it chooses.
Is everything in English?
Yes. The priest, the historian and the tour manager lead the group in English. When a rector, a sister or a curator speaks in French, their words are translated live.
How long are the journeys?
From five days on Via Rosarum to thirteen days on Via Gratiae, the tour of the great shrines of France. Most ways last seven or eight days.
How much walking is there?
Most ways walk only through towns, shrines and abbeys, with the last stretch to a great shrine made on foot. Three ask more: Via Conchae walks a stage of the Le Puy route on six of its eight days, Via Archangeli crosses the last miles of the bay barefoot with a guide, and Via Magdalenae climbs through the forest to the grotto of the Sainte-Baume.
Is confession available?
Yes. The priest who travels with the group hears confessions every day, at the shrines or along the road.
Are flights included?
No. Each journey covers your time in France. On Via Cathedralis, it runs from the first day in Paris to the transfer to Paris-Charles de Gaulle on the last day.
How much does a journey cost?
We send prices on request, with the booking conditions. Write to us.
How do I reserve?
Reservations open once our registration with Atout France, now in progress, is granted. A deposit of 30% will then secure your place, with the balance due ninety days before departure. Write to us now and we will send the program and the conditions.
Can our parish travel on its own dates?
Yes. Every way can be adapted for a group already formed, with its own dates and places and as many pilgrims as you bring, and we prepare other pilgrimages on request. For group leaders.
Is there a gentler pace for older pilgrims?
Yes. Each way can be lengthened by two to four days, with fewer changes of hotel and shorter days on the road. At a gentle pace.
Can we bring our children?
Yes. The best way to travel with children is a family pilgrimage, planned for your family alone, on your dates and at a pace that suits them. Family pilgrimages.
When can I book?
As soon as our registration with Atout France, now in progress, is granted. Via Cathedralis has its first departures in spring 2027, and twelve other ways will have theirs in 2027, on dates we propose to you. Via Gregoriana, Via Caritatis and Via Conchae are still in preparation: register your interest and we will write when they open.