Francia SacraA journey of faith
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VI

Via Rosarum The Way of Roses

Ma vocation, c’est l’AmourSaint Thérèse of Lisieux

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Length
Five days
Walking
Gentle
Season
All year
Status
First departures in 2027

The grace we ask on this way

Thérèse’s little way of trust, for ordinary days.

  1. Paris
  2. Montligeon
  3. Alençon
  4. Bayeux
  5. Lisieux

Thérèse of Lisieux led a hidden life in a Carmel, and the Church has named her a Doctor. Her “little way” is one of trust and love, in which the most ordinary acts are offered to God.

Each day begins with a text by Thérèse, read where she lived it, and ends with a time of silent prayer. Your priest will lead you into Story of a Soul: the image of the elevator that lifts the little ones up to God, and the offering to Merciful Love she made in June 1895. He will also speak of the night of faith she passed through in her last months, without ceasing to love.

In Paris, the first stop is Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, a shrine dear to her family. On the road to Alençon, the group stops at the basilica of Montligeon to pray for the dead. In Alençon, you will enter the house where she was born and ask for the intercession of her parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, the first couple canonized together, in 2015. In Bayeux, you will see where, at fourteen, she came to ask the bishop’s leave to enter the Carmel.

In Lisieux you will visit Les Buissonnets, her childhood home, then the chapel of the Carmel, where her relics rest beneath the Virgin of the Smile. The group stays there a long time in silent prayer. The farewell Mass is celebrated in the basilica of Saint Thérèse.

Daily prayer

Thérèse taught a way for little souls, made of trust and small things done with love. The five days follow her from the Paris shrine where her family prayed to the Carmel of Lisieux.

This landTwo small Norman towns, Alençon and Lisieux, gave the Church Saint Thérèse, its youngest Doctor and patroness of the missions, and her parents were the first married couple canonized together.

Each day

A page of Thérèse is read each morning where she lived it, and the day ends with silent prayer and a short review.

The rites of this way

  • Prayer for families in the house of Louis and Zélie Martin
  • The offering to Merciful Love, for those who wish
  • A rose laid before the relics of Thérèse

Before you leave

Read Story of a Soul, or at least its last manuscript, written in her final months.

The fruit of the way

Trust for ordinary days, and the little way practiced at home.

Who it is forFamilies, married couples and anyone who thinks holiness is not for them.

Day by day

Five days at the school of Saint Thérèse.

  1. Day I

    SpesHope entrusted to Our Lady

    Paris

    Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, the shrine dear to the Martin family

    The opening Mass at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires

    Night in Paris
  2. Day II

    FamiliaA holy family

    Paris to Alençon

    By minibus to the basilica of Montligeon, to pray for the dead; then the house where Thérèse was born in Alençon, and the church of Notre-Dame where she was baptized

    Prayer for families in the house of Louis and Zélie Martin

    Night in Alençon
  3. Day III

    AudaciaThe boldness of the little ones

    Alençon to Lisieux, by Bayeux

    The cathedral of Bayeux and the bishop’s house beside it, where at fourteen she asked Bishop Hugonin’s leave to enter the Carmel

    Mass in the cathedral of Bayeux

    Night in Lisieux
  4. Day IV

    ParvulusThe little way

    Lisieux

    Les Buissonnets, the cathedral where the family prayed, and the chapel of the Carmel

    A long silence in the chapel of the Carmel; the offering to Merciful Love, for those who wish

    Night in Lisieux
  5. Day V

    RosaeA shower of roses

    Lisieux to Paris

    The basilica of Lisieux, then the train to Paris

    The farewell Mass in the basilica

    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, Montligeon, Alençon, Bayeux, Lisieux.

Further reading: Lisieux: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Town of Saint Thérèse; Catholic Pilgrimage to France: A Practical Planning Guide.

The saints of this way: Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

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

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