I was blessed to recently lead 40 pilgrims to the churches and shrines of France, a country which is a veritable treasure house of Catholicism.
Organized around many of the prominent French saints, our journey took us all over the country.
For centuries, France was called the “Eldest Daughter of the Church,” because of her vibrant Catholicism, remarkable cathedrals, and influential leaders. Sadly, such glory is no longer the case.
The Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the World Wars, and the rise of atheism have eroded the vibrancy of French Catholicism, to the point where only four percent of French Catholics actually practice their faith.
Yet, they are surrounded by beautiful vestiges of their rich spiritual past.
Pilgrimage stops
Our pilgrimage took us to Nevers where St. Bernadette joined the convent after she experienced her famous visions of Our Lady at Lourdes.
Her body, resting in a glass case in the main chapel, is completely incorrupt, despite the fact that she was buried in a swampy cemetery for decades before being disinterred.
St. Bernadette’s life was marked by suffering and poverty: Her family lived in an abandoned jail, she knew gnawing hunger, many people mocked her for her visionary claims and she died of tuberculosis at the age of 36.
Yet, she remained joyfully surrendered in all things to God’s will.
Next, we stopped at Paray-le-Monial, where St. Margaret Mary had visions of the Sacred Heart.
We prayed for a long time in the chapel where Jesus appeared to her, His Body glowing with divine light, fire emanating from His wounds, and His Sacred Heart fully transparent, crowned with thorns and burning with love for humanity.
“Behold this Heart which has loved men so much, and often has received so little in return.”
In the Sacred Heart, we see the totality of Christ’s love for us, the abyss of mercy which awaits those who love Him completely and generously.
We went to Ars, the home of St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests, and we visited the church where he heard confessions for up to 16 hours a day for his entire priesthood.
Attacked nightly by the devil, beleaguered by penitents from all over Europe, resented by some jealous fellow priests, John Vianney radically spent himself for the salvation of souls, in such a startling fashion, that his life can only be understood in absolutely supernatural terms.
We had Mass in front of his incorrupt body and I used his chalice!
In Annecy, nestled in the foothills of the French Alps, we had Mass at the tombs of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, two towering figures of the Counter-Reformation, the sweeping movement of renewal which strengthened Catholicism in the wake of the Protestant Reformation.
Author of Introduction to the Devout Life, a treatise on how all the Baptized are called to holiness, Francis was the bishop of Geneva, serving as a model of fusing truth and love together in a gentle approach to the violent religious conflicts of his age.
With Jane Frances, he co-founded the Visitation Order, a cloistered women’s community which grew rapidly throughout the world.
In Lourdes, we had Mass at dawn in the Grotto, where Mary appeared to Bernadette, instructing her to dig for a miraculous spring which has healed thousands of people. Here, we saw many sick and elderly people, seeking a miracle.
While most will not be physically healed, they will all return home, strengthened in faith and perseverance. Could these spiritual graces be the enduring miracle of this holy place?
We participated in the spectacular Rosary procession, held at night with lit candles, a truly moving and powerful experience.
On the train to Paris, I sat next to an elderly woman who is a distant cousin of St. Thérèse of Lisieux!
My favorite saint was welcoming me to her beautiful region of Normandy. There, we visited the remarkable cathedral of Rouen; prayed at the site of the horrible burning of St. Joan of Arc, the legendary young woman who saved France from the English; visited the D-Day museum, beaches, and cemetery; toured the magnificent cathedral in Bayeux; and saw the famous tapestry which depicts the Norman invasion of England, an artifact which I have always been fascinated with, and spent time in Lisieux, where we had Mass at the huge basilica dedicated to St. Thérèse, prayed at her tomb in her convent and toured her childhood home.
In her “Little Way,” she shows us that God is calling us, not necessarily to great deeds, but rather, to do little things with great love.
There, we saw her First Communion dress, her Religious habit, and the manuscripts of her autobiography, Story of a Soul.
In Paris, we had Mass at Sacred Couer, the beautiful basilica honoring the Sacred Heart, built in 1870 after the French victory in the Franco-Prussian War.
We also visited the Rue de Bac, where St. Vincent de Paul, St. Louise de Marillac are buried, two powerful saints who heroically served the poor and suffering and founded both the Vincentian Order and the Daughters of Charity.
In the chapel, there lies the incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure who received the Miraculous Medal from her visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A blessed journey
As you can see, this pilgrimage was a blessed journey of discovery, befriending some of the greatest saints in history, drinking in their wisdom, learning the details of their extraordinary lives, and plumbing the depths of their rich spirituality. Know that I prayed for all of you in these holy places, asking God to bless you, your intentions, and to make fruitful our efforts to evangelize, as we Go Make Disciples!