Francia SacraA journey of faith
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XVI

Via Dominici The Way of Saint Dominic

Laudare, benedicere, praedicareMotto of the Order of Preachers

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Length
Seven days
Group
13 pilgrims at most
Walking
Gentle
Season
April to October
Status
First departures in 2027

The grace we ask on this way

Love of the truth, and the zeal to share it.

  1. Toulouse
  2. Albi
  3. Fanjeaux
  4. Prouilhe
  5. Carcassonne

In 1206 a Castilian canon, Dominic de Guzmán, came to the Lauragais, a country divided by the Cathar heresy, and chose to answer it by preaching in poverty. At Prouilhe he gathered his first community of nuns, and in Toulouse, in 1215, the first brothers of what became the Order of Preachers. For seven days you will follow him from Toulouse to Carcassonne.

In Toulouse you will pray in the basilica of Saint-Sernin, one of the great churches of the road to Compostela, and in the house of Pierre Seilhan, where the Order began. At the church of the Jacobins, beneath its palm-tree vault, you will venerate the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas, brought there in 1369 and returned in 1974 after nearly two centuries at Saint-Sernin. In Albi, the cathedral of Sainte-Cécile shows what the Church built in brick after the Albigensian Crusade.

At Fanjeaux you will see the house where Dominic lived and the Seignadou, where tradition says he saw a sign of fire come down on Prouilhe. Below, Dominican nuns keep the monastery rebuilt on the site of his first foundation. The week ends at Carcassonne, in the walled city and its basilica of Saint-Nazaire.

Daily prayer

Saint Dominic answered a divided country by preaching in poverty. The week follows him from Toulouse to Prouilhe.

This landThe Order of Preachers was born in Toulouse in 1215, and from this corner of the Languedoc its friars went out to preach across the world.

Each day

Each day a short sermon from the priest on the place of the day, the rosary on the road, and Compline closed with the Salve Regina, as the Dominicans have sung it since the thirteenth century.

The rites of this way

  • Prayer before the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas
  • The rosary on the Seignadou
  • Mass with the Dominican nuns of Prouilhe
  • The Salve Regina after Compline, each night

Before you leave

Read Blessed Jordan of Saxony’s short account of the first years of the Order, translated into English as On the Beginnings of the Order of Preachers.

The fruit of the way

A taste for the truth, and the zeal to speak of it.

Who it is forLay Dominicans, students and teachers.

Day by day

Seven days from Toulouse to Carcassonne.

  1. Day I

    VeritasThe truth

    Toulouse-Blagnac airport to Toulouse

    The welcome at Toulouse airport, then the basilica of Saint-Sernin, on the road to Compostela

    Vespers in the basilica of Saint-Sernin

    Night in Toulouse
  2. Day II

    PraedicatioPreaching

    Toulouse

    The house of Pierre Seilhan, then the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas at the Jacobins

    Prayer before the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas

    Night in Toulouse
  3. Day III

    GloriaThe glory of God, painted

    Albi

    The cathedral of Sainte-Cécile and its painted vaults

    Mass in the cathedral of Sainte-Cécile

    Night in Toulouse
  4. Day IV

    SignumThe sign of fire

    Fanjeaux

    Saint Dominic’s house and the Seignadou, above the plain of Prouilhe

    The rosary on the Seignadou, above Prouilhe

    Night in Carcassonne
  5. Day V

    Contemplata aliis tradereTo give to others what one has contemplated

    Prouilhe

    The monastery founded by Saint Dominic, where Dominican nuns still pray

    Mass with the Dominican nuns of Prouilhe

    Night in Carcassonne
  6. Day VI

    MisericordiaMercy

    Carcassonne

    The walled city and the basilica of Saint-Nazaire

    Prayer for the reconciliation of divided Christians, in Saint-Nazaire

    Night in Carcassonne
  7. Day VII

    LaudareTo praise, to bless, to preach

    Carcassonne, then Toulouse

    The transfer to Toulouse-Blagnac airport

    The farewell Mass

    Last day

Masses, private openings and some visits are requested for each group and remain subject to the consent of rectors, curators and communities.

First departures in 2027. Tell us the season you prefer, and we will propose departure dates once reservations open.

The holy places of this way: Toulouse, Albi, Fanjeaux, Prouilhe, Carcassonne.

The saints of this way: Saint Dominic, Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Sources

  1. Diocèse de Toulouse, Leaflet on the Dominican sites of Toulouse (PDF)
  2. Wikipedia, Church of the Jacobins
  3. Wikipedia, Monastery of Our Lady of Prouille
  4. Aleteia, Sur les traces de saint Dominique en pays cathare (October 10, 2016)
  5. Ministère de la Culture, DRAC Occitanie: Episcopal city of Albi
  6. Ministère de la Culture, Saint-Nazaire-et-Saint-Celse, ancienne cathédrale, Carcassonne (PDF)

This way can also be made at a gentle pace, with two or three days in Paris before or after.

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