Day 1: USA – Paris
Tour members will meet at the airport three hours prior to departure to organize group and check in. Dinner and breakfast will be served in flight.
Day 2: Arrival in Paris.
Morning arrival in Paris, welcome by our representative at the airport and brief orientation tour of Paris ending at your hotel for a noon arrival. In the afternoon transfer to Montmartre for a visit of the Sacre Coeur Basilica and a private Mass in the crypt. Afterward we still have time to enjoy a walking tour through the Montmartre's narrow streets and a welcome dinner on the Place du Tertre. Return transfer to the hotel and overnight in Paris.
Day 3: Paris
Early breakfast and departure by coach to the Chapel of our Lady of the Miraculous Medal where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in 1830 to Saint Catherine Laboure and offered to the world the Miraculous Medal. Morning mass in the Chapel followed by guided sightseeing tour of Paris including Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Opera, Louvre and a visit of Notre Dame Cathedral with its gleaming stained glass windows. Afternoon at leisure. Dinner and overnight in Paris.
Day 4: Paris, Lisieux, Chartres
After breakfast departure by coach to Lisieux in the heart of Normandy were we arrive in time to attend a mass in the Basilica St. Therese. In the afternoon, guided walking tour in the steps of St. Therese canonized in 1925. We see where she lived and examine her message of confidence and love, a message for our time within the reach of everyone. Then we visit the gothic Cathedral St.Peter, symbol of the prestigious past of the town and continue to our hotel in Chartres for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Chartres, Nevers
Morning visit of the classic Gothic style Cathedral of Chartres housing the “Virgin’s Veil” which according to the Tradition would have been worn by Mary at the time of the birth of Christ. We celebrate a mass and then enjoy a short sightseeing through the winding streets and lanes lined with old gabled houses of the medieval town. Afternoon we continue to Nevers where we are welcomed with a presentation of the life of St. Bernadette Soubirous followed by a guided tour "In the steps of Bernadette" visiting the St. Gildard convent in which Bernadette spent her last days. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Nevers.
Day 6: Nevers, Paray le Monial, Rocamadour
Morning drive to Paray le Monial where we start our visit with the celebration of mass in the Chapel of the Apparitions. In this chapel, Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Mary and revealed to her his heart "burning with love" for man. We then have time to discover the several places of prayer and welcome of the town: the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Chapel of Claude la Colombière and the Chapel Saint Jean. drive to Rocamadour, a village which welcomes each year over one million visitors and pilgrims. Evening mass, then dinner and overnight at our hotel in Rocamadour.
Day 7: Rocamadour, Lourdes
After breakfast visit Rocamadour : Clinging to a cliff, defying gravity, Rocamadour is a popular place of pilgrimage since the medieval time, remarkable for its 7 chapels which have made up the shrine dedicated to Our Lady. Afternoon visit of the main sites: L’Hospitalet, La Voie Sainte, Le Grand Escalier, Le parvis des Sanctuaires, La chapelle Notre Dame, Le Chemin de Croix. Guided city sightseeing tour and mass in the one of the numerous churches in the city. Continue for Lourdes in the afternoon and arrive for dinner time. Participation in the evening to the Candlelight Procession (held nightly at 9:00 p.m.). Overnight in Lourdes.
Day 8: Lourdes
This morning guided walking tour of Lourdes and visit of the places associated with the life of St. Bernadette. These include the Boly Mill in Rue Bernadette Soubirous, where she was born; the Locale Mill, residence of her parents; the Cachot, formerly used as a jail where Bernadette lived at the time of the Apparitions; the Chapel where she received her First Holy Communion; and the Parish Church containing the Baptismal Font where she was baptized. Late afternoon we take part in the Blessed Sacrament Procession and Blessing of the sick at the Sanctuaries. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Lourdes.
Day 9: Paris - USA
End of our pilgrimage and transfer to Pau airport for flight departure to Paris and home