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★ Hosted by Keith Downey
Catholic Pilgrimage · 11 Days · France

Heroes of Heaven France for Families with Fabiola Garza and Keith Downey

Join Fabiola Garza and Keith Downey on a pilgrimage to France! Visit Paris, Lisieux, Mont Saint Michel, Lourdes, and more.

Dates
July 31 – August 10, 2025
Departs Newark
Duration
11 Days
Trip code 25LD07FRFK
From
$3,995
The Pilgrimage

Walk in the Footsteps of Faith

Join Fabiola Garza and Keith Downey on a pilgrimage to the shrines of France! Visit Paris, Lisieux, Mont Saint Michel, Lourdes, and more.

Keith Downey
Your Host

Keith Downey

Digital Media Manager for the Guadalupe Radio Network and Catholic content creator

Keith Downey is Digital Media Manager for the Guadalupe Radio Network and a Catholic content creator known online as Grassroot Catholic. His work combines digital media, broadcasting, evangelization, and family-focused Catholic storytelling. He has collaborated on podcasts, video, and pilgrimage experiences designed to help Catholics rediscover the roots of their faith and encounter the lives of the saints. His professional focus is now broader digital-media leadership rather than hosting one specific daily radio program.

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Know Before You Go

What's included

✓ Included

  • ✓Roundtrip airfare from Newark to Paris x Toulouse to Newark
  • ✓Airport taxes and fuel surcharges (TBC)
  • ✓9 nights accommodations based on two people per room
  • ✓Buffet breakfast daily
  • ✓5 hotel dinners – beverages may be purchased at an additional cost
  • ✓1 lunch with wine
  • ✓Seine River cruise with dinner and a glass of wine
  • ✓Farewell dinner with wine
  • ✓Professional bilingual tour manager
  • ✓Entrance fees: Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny; Abbey in Le Mont-Saint-Michel; Montmartre with the funicular in Paris
  • ✓TGV train Paris/Lourdes (coach class tickets)
  • ✓City taxes
  • ✓Whispers for the entire trip
  • ✓Porterage at hotels of 1 large suitcase per person
  • ✓Deluxe fully equipped motor coach as per program
  • ✓Daily private Mass
  • ✓Select International Tours Travel Portfolio

× Not included

  • ×Travel protection - we recommend you consider purchasing CFAR Travel Protection
  • ×Tipping /Gratuities for the guide(s), driver, and wait staff (please refer to the suggestions we will provide for you with your final documents) Suggested budget $200- $220.00 per person
  • ×Any items not explicitly mentioned in the listed inclusions
  • ×Beverages at meals unless otherwise noted
  • ×Meals not specifically listed at the end of each day (B.L.D.)
  • ×Church donations (budget $2.00 - $5.00 per Mass)
  • ×Airport transfers for land-only passengers unless at the airport at the same time as the group
  • ×Personal expenses
  • ×Airline Seat assignments and assistance with flight precheck-in
  • ×ETIAS European Travel Authorization
  • ×Any airline baggage charges
  • ×Baggage handling at train stations, airports, and hotels in excess of one suitcase per person
  • ×Any charges incurred due to excessive luggage, including the cost of additional baggage vehicle or porterage charges

Tipping /Gratuities for the guide(s), driver, and wait staff (please refer to the suggestions we will provide for you with your final documents) Suggested budget $200- $220.00 per person.

Day by Day

Your pilgrimage, mapped out

Tap any day to explore. Meals: B breakfast · L lunch · D dinner.
Day 1July 31, 2025
DEPART USA
+

We gather at Newark or JFK Airport for our overnight flight to Paris. Dinner and breakfast will be served on the plane. Quotes for add-on flights from most domestic airports, as well as premium economy and business class upgrades, are available upon request.

Day 2August 1, 2025
PARIS – GIVERNY – LISIEUX
+

Upon arrival in Paris, we meet our Catholic, English-speaking, European tour escort, who will accompany our group while in France. We board our motorcoach for a drive to Lisieux, the home of St. Thérèse, whom Pope Pius X called the greatest saint of modern times. En route, we stop in Giverny to visit the home of Impressionist painter Claude Monet.*We explore the magnificent gardens, the lily pond, and the famous Japanese bridge in Monet’s paintings. Upon arrival in Lisieux, we celebrate Mass and settle into our home for the next three nights. Dinner and overnight in Lisieux. (D) *This visit is pending morning flight arrival

Day 3August 2, 2025
LISIEUX – ALENÇON (Optional Excursion)
+

This morning, we explore the places related to the life of St. Thérèse. Her extraordinary love and devotion for God comes alive as we visit the Cathedral of St. Peter and Les Buissonnets, her family home. On display are relics, clothing, and personal objects belonging to the Little Flower. View the statue depicting the Virgin Mary, who smiled at St. Thérèse during an ecstasy before curing her illness. Unite your prayers in the Carmel Chapel with those of the Carmelite sisters, just as St. Thérèse did before her death in 1897. We celebrate Mass and have time for prayer and personal devotions. In the afternoon, you have a choice of remaining in Lisieux to explore on your own or taking an optional excursion to Alençon, the birthplace of St. Thérèse, to discover the Martin family’s story. We visit the shrine Louis and Zélie and the Notre Dame Basilica before returning to Lisieux. Dinner and overnight in Lisieux.

BD
Day 4August 3, 2025
LISIEUX – MONT SAINT – MICHEL
+

After breakfast, we will have a wonderful excursion to see the unique beauty of Mont-Saint-Michel, one of the most famous abbeys in the world due to its location – perched on a rock in the Gulf of Saint-Malo. Mont- Saint-Michel becomes an island fortress surrounded by the sea during high tide. The causeway to the mainland is only accessible during low tide. The Mont-Saint- Michel monastery, dating to the 8th century, was built to get “as close to heaven as possible.” Today it is one of the world’s top pilgrimage sites and among UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Mass will be celebrated. We will return to Lisieux for dinner and overnight at our hotel.

BD
Day 5August 4, 2025
LISIEUX – ROUEN – PARIS
+

After breakfast, we check out of the hotel and board our motorcoach for Rouen, where we have a two-hour walking tour of the historic town center. We see the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame, whose west façade was often painted by Monet at different times of day. The Cathedral houses the heart of Richard the Lionhearted. We visit the immersive Joan of Arc Memor ial, (The Historial Jeanne d’Arc) where St. Joan was condemned to death and where her second trial took place. We continue to St. Ouen-Abbey and the site where St. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. Mass will be celebrated at the Church of St. Joan. A special lunch awaits us at La Couronne, the restaurant that influenced Julia Child to become a chef. We depart for Paris in the late afternoon to check in to our hotel. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight in Paris. (B, Special lunch)

BL
Day 6August 5, 2025
PARIS – SEINE RIVER CRUISE
+

Following a panoramic bus tour that includes the highlights of Paris, we visit Montmartre, with its magnificent Sacré Coeur Church. Here, we celebrate Mass. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure to explore the “City of Lights” on your own. Optional tour of the relics of the female saints in Paris with Fabiola visiting the Shrine of St. Clothilde, the Pantheon, St. Étienne-du-Mont to see the relics of St. Genevieve, St. Severin with the bones of St. Ursula, and Église Saint-Leu-Saint-Giles with relics of St. Helena. Tonight we gather for a Seine River cruise and dinner. Overnight in Paris. (B, Special dinner)

BD
Day 7August 6, 2025
PARIS AT LEISURE
+

The day is yours to explore Paris as you wish. Plan your day well in advance as you may choose to visit one of the many museums, take an optional half-day tour to Versailles, browse shops and bookstores or visit Euro-Disney. Tickets should be purchased online well in advance. Overnight in Paris.

B
Day 8August 7, 2025
PARIS – LOURDES
+

This morning, we visit the Miraculous Medal Shrine for Mass. We see the incorrupt remains of St. Catherine and the heart of St. Vincent de Paul in the Chapel of the Daughters of Charity. Following a visit to the nearby Church of St. Vincent de Paul, our bus takes us to the Montparnasse train station in time to board the TGV train to Lourdes. Tonight we have the opportunity to join the Candlelight Procession. Dinner and overnight in Lourdes.

BD
Day 9August 8, 2025
LOURDES
+

This morning, we became familiar with the great pilgrimage center of Lourdes. We see the places associated with the Blessed Mother’s apparition and little Bernadette’s life during our walking tour. We see the upper and lower Basilica, celebrate Mass at the Grotto, where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette, drink water from the miraculous spring that has healed many and have a water immersion in the healing baths. Our group will have the opportunity to see Boly Mill, the birthplace of St. Bernadette, and the Cachot, an abandoned prison where Bernadette’s impoverished family lived, as well as the Museum of St. Bernadette. We have time to pray to Stations of the Cross and attend Blessing of the Sick in the afternoon. In the evening, join the Candlelight Procession. Dinner and overnight in Lourdes.

BD
Day 10August 9, 2025
LOURDES
+

Today, we visit Chateâu Fort Musée Pyrénéen, stop at a local market to pick up lunch food, and see the church where St. Bernadette was baptized. The afternoon is dedicated to personal devotions and prayer. Mass will be celebrated. Tonight, we have a farewell dinner in Lourdes. (B, Special dinner)

BD
Day 11August 10, 2025
DEPARTURE FOR USA
+

Early this morning we are transferred to Toulouse airport for our flight home.

B
Pricing

Choose how you travel

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Land Only
$3,995per person

Land Only. Main trip package.

Single Room Supplement
$895additional

Single Room Supplement. Additional supplement.

ETA Required
Confirm requirements with Select for this destination.
Deposit
A deposit of $500.00 per person by check should accompany the enrollment form and a copy of your passport picture page by March 25, 2025.
Final Payment
Final payment is due by May 30, 2025.
Passport Validity
Your passport must be valid through February 10, 2026.
Payment Fee
Credit Card payments are subject to a 4% merchant fee PILGRIMAGE PRICES: Prices are based on minimum 20 passengers.
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This pilgrimage has ended

Completed

This departure has ended. Registration is closed.