- Length
- Six days
- Walking
- Gentle
- Season
- End of Advent, through December 26
- Status
- First departures in 2027
The grace we ask on this way
Wonder before the Child of Bethlehem, and the joy of carrying him home.
- Strasbourg
- Mont Sainte-Odile
- Sélestat
- Colmar
- Marienthal
Strasbourg has held its Christmas market since 1570, at the foot of a cathedral whose spire was for more than two centuries the tallest building in the world. For six days at the end of Advent you will prepare for the feast there, and keep it in the cathedral at midnight.
On the way you will climb Mont Sainte-Odile, where the patron saint of Alsace founded her abbey and where adoration has continued day and night since 1931. In Sélestat, the town accounts of 1521 mention Christmas trees, among the oldest records of the custom. In Colmar, you will stand before the Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by Matthias Grünewald for the sick of a hospital: the Crucifixion, and on its inner panels the Nativity and the Resurrection.
On Christmas Eve the group goes to Midnight Mass in Strasbourg Cathedral, and keeps Christmas Day together, at Mass and around the table. On the last morning, Mass at the Marian basilica of Marienthal, then the train to Paris.
Daily prayer
The six days keep the end of Advent in Alsace, in Strasbourg and on Mont Sainte-Odile, up to Midnight Mass in the cathedral.
This landAlsace keeps one of the oldest written records of the Christmas tree, at Sélestat in 1521, and Strasbourg the oldest Christmas market in France.
Each day
Each day a reading from the prophets of Advent, Mass, and in the evening a carol learned together.
The rites of this way
- An hour of adoration on Mont Sainte-Odile
- Midnight Mass in Strasbourg Cathedral
- A figure for your Nativity scene at home, blessed at the last Mass
Before you leave
Read the ninth and eleventh chapters of Isaiah, and the second chapter of Saint Luke.
The fruit of the way
A Christmas kept with the Church, and a blessed figure for the Nativity scene at home.
Who it is forFamilies, couples and those who would otherwise spend Christmas alone.
Day by day
Six days in Alsace, ending the day after Christmas.
- Day INight in Strasbourg
RorateDrop down dew, you heavens
Paris to Strasbourg
The high-speed train from Paris, the cathedral, then the Christmas market at its foot
Vespers in the cathedral of Strasbourg
- Day IINight in Strasbourg
ExspectatioThe waiting
Strasbourg
The cathedral and its astronomical clock, then the old town lit for Advent
A Rorate Mass at dawn by candlelight, where one is celebrated
- Day IIINight in Colmar
AdoratioAdoration
Mont Sainte-Odile, then Sélestat
The mountain of Saint Odile; in Sélestat, the oldest records of the Christmas tree
An hour with the perpetual adorers of Mont Sainte-Odile
- Day IVNight in Strasbourg
Nox sanctaThe holy night
Colmar, then Strasbourg
The Isenheim Altarpiece in Colmar in the morning, then the return to Strasbourg for the holy night
Midnight Mass in the cathedral of Strasbourg
- Day VNight in Strasbourg
NataleThe Word made flesh
Strasbourg
Christmas Day, and a festive lunch together
The Mass of Christmas Day
- Day VILast day
MagnificatThe joy of Mary
Marienthal, then Paris
The basilica of Marienthal, then the high-speed train to Paris
Mass at the basilica of Marienthal
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: Strasbourg, Mont Sainte-Odile, Sélestat, Colmar, Marienthal.
Further reading: Reading a Gothic Cathedral: A Guide for Pilgrims.
The saints of this way: Saint Odile.
This way can also be made at a gentle pace, with two or three days in Paris before or after.