Francia SacraA journey of faith
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Via Immaculatae The Way of the Immaculate

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to theeMiraculous Medal

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Length
Ten days
Walking
Moderate
Season
May to early October
Status
First departures in 2027

The grace we ask on this way

To receive Mary as a mother.

  1. Paris
  2. L’Île-Bouchard
  3. Pellevoisin
  4. Nevers
  5. La Salette
  6. Le Laus
  7. Cotignac
  8. Prouilhe
  9. Lourdes

France has several places where the Virgin appeared, according to the testimony of seers who were almost always young and poor: children, shepherds, a novice, a sick woman. The Church has recognized some of these apparitions and authorizes devotion at the others. Your priest explains their messages, which all call to prayer and conversion. The pilgrimage centers on the Immaculate Conception, invoked in Paris in 1830 and named at Lourdes in 1858.

You begin on the rue du Bac, where Saint Catherine Labouré, a novice of the Daughters of Charity, received the Miraculous Medal in 1830 with its prayer: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Her body rests in the chapel, in a glass reliquary. In Touraine, in the church of Saint-Gilles at L’Île-Bouchard, in December 1947, four little girls saw a Lady who asked them to pray for France; the Church authorizes devotion and pilgrimage there. At Pellevoisin, Mass is celebrated in the room where Estelle Faguette, dying, was healed in 1876 by the one who called herself “all merciful”; in 2024, with Rome’s approval, the archbishop of Bourges granted this devotion its nihil obstat.

At Nevers, you will pray before the body of Saint Bernadette, which has rested since 1925 in the chapel of the convent of Saint-Gildard. Then the road climbs into the Alps. At La Salette, about 5,900 feet up, the Virgin appeared in tears to two young shepherds, Mélanie and Maximin, on September 19, 1846, and called them to conversion; you will spend the night in the shrine’s guest house, for evening prayer and a night on the mountain. At Le Laus, the shepherdess Benoîte Rencurel saw the Virgin over fifty-four years, and the bishop of Gap recognized these apparitions in 2008. Our Lady of Le Laus is invoked there as Refuge of Sinners, and pilgrims take home oil from the sanctuary lamp, to which many healings are attributed.

In Provence, Cotignac keeps, according to tradition, the memory of an apparition to a woodcutter in 1519, and of the visit of Louis XIV and Anne of Austria in 1660. On the road west, you will stop at Prouilhe, where, according to tradition, Our Lady gave the rosary to Saint Dominic in 1208. The last stop is Lourdes, where Bernadette saw the Lady eighteen times in 1858 and, on March 25, heard her give her name as the Immaculate Conception. After Mass, at the grotto of Massabielle when the Sanctuary allows, you will join the torchlight procession in the evening; the last morning takes you through Bernadette’s town, from the Cachot to the Boly mill, before the closing Mass.

Daily prayer

Wherever she appeared, Mary asked for prayer and conversion, and pointed to her Son. The ten days follow her from the medal of 1830 at the rue du Bac to the name she gave at Lourdes in 1858.

This landIn the nineteenth century alone, the Virgin was seen in France at the rue du Bac, at La Salette, at Lourdes and at Pontmain, and the Church recognized each of these apparitions.

Each day

The rosary is prayed a mystery at a time on the road, Mass is said at the shrine, and at night the priest reads from the messages.

The rites of this way

  • Each pilgrim receives the Miraculous Medal
  • A night at La Salette, with evening prayer at the shrine
  • Confession at Le Laus
  • The rosary at Prouilhe, where tradition places its gift to Saint Dominic
  • The torchlight procession at Lourdes
  • The consecration to Mary at the closing Mass

Before you leave

Read the first chapter of Saint Luke and the twelfth of the Book of Revelation, and bring a rosary.

The fruit of the way

Mary as your mother, and the habit of the daily rosary.

Who it is forThose who love Our Lady, and those who wish to learn to pray the rosary well.

Day by day

Ten days from the rue du Bac to the grotto of Massabielle.

  1. Day I

    Ecce Mater tuaBehold your mother

    Paris

    The chapel of the rue du Bac, where the body of Saint Catherine Labouré rests

    Mass in the chapel of the rue du Bac; each pilgrim receives the Miraculous Medal

    Night in Paris
  2. Day II

    Pro GalliaA prayer for France

    L’Île-Bouchard and Pellevoisin

    The train to Tours; the church of Saint-Gilles at L’Île-Bouchard, then the room of the apparitions at Pellevoisin

    The rosary in the church of Saint-Gilles, then Mass in the room of the apparitions at Pellevoisin

    Night in Berry
  3. Day III

    HumilitasThe hidden life

    Nevers

    The convent of Saint-Gildard, where Bernadette spent nearly thirteen years, until her death

    Mass before the body of Saint Bernadette

    Night in Nevers
  4. Day IV

    LacrimaeThe tears of the Mother

    Nevers to La Salette

    The long road to the Alps, about five and a half hours, then the climb to the shrine, at about 5,900 feet

    Evening prayer at the shrine of La Salette

    Night at the shrine of La Salette
  5. Day V

    ReconciliatioThe refuge of sinners

    La Salette and Le Laus

    The mountain at dawn; in the afternoon, Notre-Dame du Laus and the oil of its lamp

    Morning Mass on the mountain, then confession at Le Laus

    Night at Le Laus
  6. Day VI

    FamiliaThe Holy Family

    Cotignac

    Down into Provence: Notre-Dame-de-Grâces, where Louis XIV and Anne of Austria came in 1660

    Prayer for families at Notre-Dame-de-Grâces

    Night in Provence
  7. Day VII

    RosariumThe rosary

    Cotignac to Prouilhe

    The road west, about four hours, to Prouilhe, where, according to tradition, Our Lady gave the rosary to Saint Dominic in 1208

    The rosary on the road west, then its mysteries prayed at Prouilhe

    Night near Prouilhe
  8. Day VIII

    FiatLet it be done to me

    Prouilhe to Lourdes

    The road to the Pyrenees, under three hours; the grotto of Massabielle in the afternoon, then the torchlight procession

    A first prayer at the grotto, then the torchlight procession

    Night in Lourdes
  9. Day IX

    ImmaculataI am the Immaculate Conception

    Lourdes

    The grotto of Massabielle, the basilicas and the baths

    Mass, at the grotto if the Sanctuary allows, and the Way of the Cross on the hill of the Espélugues

    Night in Lourdes
  10. Day X

    MagnificatMy soul magnifies the Lord

    Lourdes

    The Cachot and the Boly mill in Bernadette’s town, then the direct high-speed train to Paris or, as an option, the flight to Paris-Orly

    The consecration to Mary at the closing 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: Paris, L’Île-Bouchard, Pellevoisin, Nevers, La Salette, Le Laus, Cotignac, Prouilhe, Lourdes.

Further reading: Nevers: Saint Bernadette at the Convent of Saint-Gildard; La Salette: The Apparition of 1846 and the Alpine Shrine; Lourdes: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Grotto of Massabielle; Marian Apparitions of France: A Pilgrim’s Guide.

The saints of this way: Saint Louise de Marillac, Saint Catherine Labouré, Saint Bernadette Soubirous.

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

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