Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:

Day 1, Mon, Jun 18: Depart USA for Paris
Make your way to your local airport, where you will board your overnight flight(s). Your meals will be served on board.

Day 2, Tue, Jun 19: Paris Airport – Paris
Upon arriving at Paris Airport, make your way to the baggage claim area and collect your luggage. Proceed to the arrival's hall, where you will be greeted by your tour guide and/or driver. This afternoon we will enjoy a sightseeing tour of Paris. We will visit and celebrate Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, where we will view the incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure. The Saint's guardian angel led her to the chapel where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her. During apparitions, Our Lady repeatedly instructed the making and purpose of the Miraculous Medal. According to the Blessed Virgin Mary, those who wear the Miraculous Medal will receive special protection and abundant graces. After Mass we will walk to Saint Vincent de Paul Church where we will find Saint Paul’s incorrupt body. Continuing our day with a visit of the Notre Dame Cathedral, a perfect example of Gothic art. Our sightseeing tour via motor coach continues on to the most recognizable symbol of the city of Paris: the Eiffel Tower, L'Arch de Triomphe, the Champ-Elysees, Louvre Museum. Dinner and overnight in Paris.

Day 3, Wed, Jun 20: Paris
Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning we will visit the most significant places related to Saint Ignatius of Loyola and his companions. We will start the day with a visit to Montmartre Hill. From the dawn of time Montmartre has been a place of worship: from the Druids of ancient Gaul, through the Romans with their temples dedicated to Mars and Mercury, to the Church of Saint Peter, the oldest in Paris, rebuilt in the 12th century next to the Royal Abbey of Montmartre by Louis VI and his wife Adelaide of Savoy. Finally, the Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur, erected at the end of the 19th century, built as a reaction to the exactions committed during the Paris Commune. We will celebrate Mass at the Crypt of the Basilica that contains the tombs of many notable Cardinals. After Mass celebration and spending some time in adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we will visit the church of Saint Peter where on August 15, 1534, Saint Ignatius and six other young men, including Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Peter Faber, gathered and professed vows of poverty, chastity, and later obedience, including a special vow of obedience to the Pope in matters of mission direction and assignment, founding the Company of Jesus. Later we will visit the College Sainte-Barbe where Saint Ignatius and his companions studied phi-losophy and theology. Free time in the afternoon where you will be able to visit the Lou-vre Museum (optional visit) or to take a ride on a Bateaux Mouches (river cruise) along the Seine River (optional activity). Dinner and overnight in Paris.

Day 4, Thu, Jun 21: Paris – Rouen – Paris
Breakfast in the hotel. Today we will do an excursion to the amazing city of Rouen. Locat-ed less than two hours from Paris, Rouen and the Seine Valley are a haven of peace for locals and foreigners. With its many monuments, the tallest cathedral in France, its cultural heritage, its gastronomy and local products, its events and its central location, only Rouen could be the capital of Normandy! We can’t talk about Rouen without mentioning its symbolic figure Joan of Arc, who is given the place of honor in the city of a hundred Spires. The Duke of Bedford, John of Lancaster, bought Joan of Arc her liberty from the Duke of Burgundy who had been keeping her in jail since May 1430, she was sent to be tried in the city during Christmas 1430. After a long trial by a church court, she was sentenced to be burned at the stake. The sentence was carried out on May 30 1431 in the city, and most residents supported the Duke of Burgundy, Joan of Arc's royal enemy. Today we will follow the steps of Saint Isaac Jogues, one of the North American Martyrs, who in 1624, at the age of seventeen, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Rouen. Here, his Master of Novices was Saint Louis Lallemant who already had two brothers and a nephew serving as missionaries in the colony of New France (Canada). Isaac professed simple vows in 1626, and went to study philosophy at the royal college of La Fleche and becoming a teacher of humanities to young boys in Rouen. On our way back to Paris we would have the opportunity to visit Giverny, famous for being the location of Claude Monet's garden and home (optional visit). Dinner and overnight in Paris.

Day 5, Fri, Jun 22: Paris – Paray Le Monial
Breakfast in the hotel and departure towards Paray Le Monial, the place where St Margaret Mary Alacoque experienced visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 17th century. In revealing His Heart to her, Jesus said: "Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing but has been poured out totally and consumed as proof of its love”. In the afternoon and after celebrating Mass in the Shrine of Paray-le-Monial we will start a guided visit featuring the Chapel of Apparitions, the place where St Margaret Mary Alacoque experienced visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 17th century, the room of the relics of St Margaret Mary, the Diorama of St Margaret and the Eucharist Museum. Other highlights include the Basilica of Sacre Coeur and the Chapel of St Claude in honor of St Margaret Mary’s Spiritual Director. Dinner and overnight in Paray Le Monial.

Day 6, Sat, Jun 23: Paray Le Monial – Ars - Lyon
Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning we will depart towards Ars where we will visit the Shrine dedicated to Saint Jean Marie Vianney, the patron saint of the priesthood. In Ars we will be able to visit the presbytery and the Basilica where we will find the incorrupt body of the Cure of Ars, and to enjoy a short documentary about his life. Departing Ars we continue our trip travelling on to Lyon. On the way to Lyon we will stop in a winery where we will enjoy lunch and wine tasting. Dinner and overnight in Lyon.

Day 7, Sun, Jun 24: Lyon
Breakfast in the hotel. Lyon stands on the site of the ancient Roman city called Lugdunum, founded in 43 BC, which was the capital of Gaul, and later, became a major Christian center. This city is filled with renowned history, culture, and architecture. This morning we will enjoy a tour of Lyon, including a visit to the Basilique Notre-Dame of Fourviere, that was built after the Franco-Prussian War when the people of Lyon had vowed to create a Marian sanctuary if their city was spared. The Basilica is a blend of Gothic and Byzantine styles with a richly decorated interior. Fourviere Hill provides a sensational panoramic outlook onto the city of Lyon. The views extend to the Croix-Rousse and the Terreaux districts, the Quartier Saint-Jean further and the Place Bellecour. Today we will follow the steps of Henri de Lubac, who became cardinal without being a bishop and is considered one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His writings and doctrinal research played a key role in shaping the Second Vatican Council. He also was the teacher of theology of Jean Danielou at Fourviere, introducing him to patristics and the Fathers of the Church. Dinner and overnight in Lyon.

Day 8, Mon, Jun 25: Lyon – La Louvesc – Le Puy en Velay – Toulouse
Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning we will depart towards Toulouse. On our way to Toulouse, we will stop in La Lovesc and Le Puy en Velay, places related to the life of Saint John Regis. He entered the Jesuit novitiate at Toulouse, spending his priesthood between Montpellier, Toulouse, and the Diocese of Viviers. Saint Regis's labors reaped a harvest of conversions. However, his boldness led to a conflict with certain other priests, a period of tension with the local bishop, and even threats of violence from those whose vices he condemned. His preaching style was said to have been simple and direct. He appealed to the uneducated peasantry and numerous conversions resulted. Although he longed to devote himself to the conversion of the indigenous inhabitants of New France (Canada), he remained in France all his life. He succumbed to pneumonia at age forty-three on December 31 1640 at Lalouvesc. Le Puy en Velay has been a religious center since the ancient times, thanks in part to its mystical landscape of volcanic pinnacles. A sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary was erected in the early Middle Ages. Its influence spread rapidly to the rest of France and Europe. It became a departure point on the route to Santiago de Compostela in the 10th century and this halt near the venerable and mysterious statue of the Black Virgin has become a special moment of gratitude to Christ the Savior who Mary accepted as the Son of God. On arrival we will climb the flight of sixty steps to the Cathedral of Notre Dame Du Puy, dedicated to the Annunciation, with its exotic façade, striped in courses of white sandstone and black volcanic breccia. Dinner and overnight in Toulouse.

Day 9, Tue, Jun 26: Toulouse – Lourdes
Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning we will visit the ‘pink city’ of Toulouse including the Saint Sernin Basilica, the largest Romanesque church in Europe, and the Church of the Jacobins which is also the burial site of St Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian and philosopher. Once an important Roman colony, Toulouse is full of religious and historical treasures. Central to the ministry of St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Religious Order, it was in the Languedoc of Southern France where he first encountered the Albigensian heresy of the Cathars. The dualism and gnostic beliefs of the Christian Cathars presented a major difficulty for the Church in the High Medieval period; Cathars rejected the authority and Monotheism of the Roman Church and became very popular throughout the Occitan region. Few centuries later, it was Saint John Regis who labored for the conversion of the Huguenots, visited hospitals, assisted the needy, withdrew from vice wayward women and girls, and preached Catholic doctrine with tireless zeal to children and the poor in Toulouse and Montpellier. We will continue our journey towards Lourdes with a spectacular view of the Pyrenees Mountains. Upon arrival in Lourdes, you will check-in to your hotel and enjoy a splendid dinner and peaceful overnight.

Day 10, Wed, Jun 27: Lourdes
Breakfast in the hotel. This morning we will celebrate a group Mass at the Grotto before meeting our guide for a walking tour of Lourdes including the Sanctuary area: Upper & Lower Basilicas, the Grotto, and the Baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place. Continue our visit of the main sites associated with St Bernadette including the Boly Mill where she was born in 1844, the original parish church and the Cachot (prison) where the family was forced to live due to misfortune during the time of the apparitions. Free time this afternoon for a visit and prayers for the sick at the miraculous Baths where the water has continued to flow since 1858. Pilgrims may choose to submerge themselves in the healing waters, or collect the Lourdes water at the taps. During her 9th apparition to Bernadette, Our Lady said “Go drink and wash yourself at the spring”. Optional afternoon Blessed Sacrament Procession and Blessing of the Sick before a final evening candlelight procession after dinner. Overnight in Lourdes.

Day 11, Thu, Jun 28: Return Home
After an early breakfast and wholehearted farewells, transfer to Pau or Toulouse airport for your return flight(s) home.

† Children Discount (under 12): available upon request

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What to Know Before You Go to France

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About Lourdes:
She came for you and for everyone of us! 6 million pilgrims come to Lourdes each year and 10,000 visit this site daily. At the foot of the Pyrenees mountains in southwestern France, nestled between the spectacular mountain river, Gave de Pau, is Lourdes, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the World. Lourdes is the birthplace of St Bernadette to whom Our Lady appeared in 1858 near the Grotto of Massabielle. Our pilgrimage and tour of Lourdes includes visits to the sanctuary and the Basilica of St Pius X, the world's largest underground church. Drink from the spring that the Virgin directed Bernadette to locate at the base of the grotto, which has flowed uninterrupted since 1858. Wash yourself in the baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place. Contemplate Christ's Passion as you pray the unique three-dimensional Stations of the Cross. Attend the blessing of the sick, and participate in nightly candlelight processions requested by Our Lady. Daily Mass, and Mass at the Grotto on Sunday will be followed by a video presentation telling the miraculous story of Lourdes. Visit Lourdes and experience a spiritual journey from which many have claimed healing and conversion.

Sacred Heart Basilica, Paris, France

Lyon, France

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France