Via Ioannae Joan’s Way
Messire Dieu premier serviMotto of Saint Joan of Arc
- Length
- Eight days
- Walking
- Moderate
- Season
- April to October
- Status
- First departures in 2027
The grace we ask on this way
Courage to answer the call one has received.
- Domrémy
- Vaucouleurs
- Auxerre
- Chinon
- Orléans
- Reims
- Compiègne
- Rouen
At seventeen, a peasant girl from Lorraine left her village to go to the king of France. She was nineteen when she died in Rouen.
In Domrémy you will see the house where she was born and the church of her baptism, then the hill of Bois-Chenu, where, tradition holds, she heard the voices of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. You will then follow the road she took in February 1429 with a handful of companions, from Vaucouleurs to Chinon, across a country held by the enemy. In the fortress of Chinon, tradition says, she picked out the Dauphin among his courtiers and restored his courage.
On May 8, 1429, she lifted the siege of Orléans, which still honors her every year. In July, at Reims, she stood with her banner beside Charles VII at the coronation she had promised. The following May, she was captured beneath the walls of Compiègne.
The way ends in Rouen. At the archbishop’s palace, the Historial Jeanne d’Arc presents her trial; on the Place du Vieux-Marché, she died on May 30, 1431, calling on the name of Jesus. Mass is celebrated there for the woman the Church rehabilitated in 1456 and canonized in 1920.
Daily prayer
Joan first heard the call at thirteen, in a garden, and kept faith with it through prison and death. The way follows her from Domrémy to Rouen.
This landJoan was a peasant girl of seventeen when she led the king to his coronation; the Church made her a saint in 1920 and, in 1922, a patroness of France.
Each day
A passage of her trial is read aloud, in her own words, at the place it tells of. The day ends with prayer for France.
The rites of this way
- Prayer in the church of her baptism
- The Te Deum in the cathedral of Reims
- Mass on the square of her death in Rouen
Before you leave
Read the record of her trial, available in English, or Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, the book he liked best of all his own.
The fruit of the way
The courage to answer your own call.
Who it is forYoung people and families with older children, and anyone discerning a vocation.
Day by day
Eight days from Lorraine to Normandy, in the order of Joan’s life.
- Day INight in Lorraine
VocatioThe call
Paris to Domrémy
The high-speed train to Nancy, then the road to Joan’s village
Prayer in the church where she was baptized
- Day IINight in Auxerre
VocesThe voices
Domrémy, Vaucouleurs, then Auxerre
Her house, the church of her baptism and the hill of Bois-Chenu; the castle gate of Vaucouleurs, then the road she took in February 1429, as far as Auxerre, about three hours
Mass in the basilica of Bois-Chenu, above the village
- Day IIINight in Chinon
IterSetting out
Auxerre to Chinon
The cathedral of Auxerre in the morning, then the road to Chinon, about three and a half hours
Mass in the cathedral of Auxerre, where Joan heard Mass on her way
- Day IVNight in Chinon
FidesFaith that restores courage
Chinon
The royal fortress above the Vienne, where she found the Dauphin
Prayer for France and for those who govern, in the fortress
- Day VNight in Orléans
FortitudoCourage
Orléans
The cathedral of Sainte-Croix and the rebuilt house of Jacques Boucher, where she stayed during the siege
Mass in the cathedral of Sainte-Croix
- Day VINight in Reims
PromissioThe promise kept
Orléans to Reims
The road to Reims, about three hours, and the cathedral of the coronation, where she stood with her banner in July 1429
The Te Deum sung in the cathedral of the coronation
- Day VIINight in Rouen
PassioAbandonment
Reims to Rouen, by Compiègne
Beneath the walls of Compiègne, where she was captured, then the road to Rouen
The rosary for prisoners, and for those who suffer for their faith
- Day VIIILast day
IesusHer last word
Rouen
The Historial Jeanne d’Arc and the Place du Vieux-Marché, then the train to Paris
Mass in the church of Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc, on the square where she died
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: Domrémy, Vaucouleurs, Auxerre, Chinon, Orléans, Reims, Compiègne, Rouen.
Further reading: Rouen: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the City of Saint Joan of Arc; Reims: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Cathedral of the Coronations; Joan of Arc in France: The Places of Her Life.
The saints of this way: Saint Germanus of Auxerre, Saint Joan of Arc, the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne.
In 2029, six hundred years of Joan of Arc · This way can also be made at a gentle pace, with two or three days in Paris before or after.