In the Footsteps of the Sacred Heart Pilgrimage to France w/ Fr. Cody Chatagnier & Fr. Mike Bergeron

We depart the United States on an overnight flight to Paris, the City of Light, and, for our purposes, the city where the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus found its grandest expression in stone, in royal decree, and in the heart of a nation. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board. Quotes for optional Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request and will be provided starting 120 days before departure. As we work with group rates, we are unable to request specific airline seats. If this is an important feature for you, please book your own air and book land only with us.

We arrive in Paris and are greeted by Select International’s Tour Manager, who will accompany us throughout our entire journey. Our pilgrimage begins at the magnificent Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur, which crowns the city as a permanent act of national consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Built between 1875 and 1914 as an act of penance and hope following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, it was the French Church’s answer to the call first entrusted to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: that France consecrate herself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We celebrate Mass and walk the cobblestone streets of Montmartre, taking in sweeping views of the city below. Our hotel rooms are available after 4 PM when we settle in and gather for a welcome dinner and a well-deserved night of rest. Overnight in Paris. Meals: Welcome Dinner with wine

We begin the day at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on the Rue du Bac, where in 1830 Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Labouré and entrusted her with the design of the Miraculous Medal. The incorrupt body of St. Catherine rests here beneath a statue of Our Lady. We celebrate Mass in this intimate chapel and spend time in quiet prayer before the altar of the apparitions. We then visit the nearby Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul on the Rue de Sèvres, where the saint’s incorrupt body rests in a magnificent silver reliquary. We enjoy a panoramic tour of Paris, stopping at the Eiffel Tower for photographs. Our final stop of the day is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, magnificently restored following the 2019 fire. In the evening, we gather for a special dinner cruise along the Seine River, gliding past the illuminated monuments of Paris. Overnight in Paris. Meals: B, Special Dinner

This morning we depart Paris and travel south to Nevers. It was here, in the convent chapel of Saint-Gildard, that St. Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary of Lourdes, spent the last thirteen years of her life as a Sister of Charity of Nevers, hidden from the world, suffering in silence, and growing daily in holiness. She died here in 1879 and was never to return to Lourdes. Her body, exhumed three times and found incorrupt, rests today in a magnificent glass reliquary shrine in the convent chapel, her face serene and her hands clasped around her rosary, just as she held it when Our Lady appeared to her on the banks of the Gave. We celebrate Mass at the shrine. We continue to Dijon, arriving in the late afternoon. This region is among the most celebrated wine-producing areas in the world, and we enjoy a visit to a local winery for a guided tasting of Burgundy’s renowned vintages, a fitting welcome to the land of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Dinner and overnight in Dijon. Meals: B, D, Wine tasting

After breakfast, we explore Dijon, a city whose spiritual heritage is woven directly into the story of our pilgrimage. We visit the Cathedral of Saint-Bénigne, built over the tomb of the early Christian martyr who first brought the faith to Burgundy, its magnificent Romanesque crypt one of the finest in France. Here we celebrate Mass. We then trace the footsteps of St. Jeanne de Chantal in Dijon, the great mystic, widow, and spiritual daughter of St. Francis de Sales, who co-founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. It was within this very religious family that a young novice named Margaret Mary Alacoque would, just decades later, receive the revelations of the Sacred Heart that changed the devotional life of the entire Church. Standing in the places where Jeanne de Chantal prayed and founded her mission, the theological thread of our pilgrimage begins to draw powerfully together: from Francis de Sales to Jeanne de Chantal to Margaret Mary Alacoque, a lineage of hearts on fire. In the afternoon, we depart Dijon and drive south through the golden vineyards of the Côte d’Or to the town of Mâcon, our base for Paray-le-Monial. Dinner and overnight in Mâcon. Meals: B, D

Today we dedicate ourselves entirely to the graces of Paray-le-Monial, the sacred center of our pilgrimage and the birthplace of the modern devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the chapel of the Visitation convent, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in a series

We depart and travel to the tiny village of Ars-sur-Formans, home of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, one of the most beloved priests in the history of the Church. His entire priestly life was animated by a burning, Eucharistic love for the Heart of Jesus; he was known to spend hours in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, and pilgrims came from across Europe simply to go to confession with him. We celebrate Mass at his shrine. We then continue to Lyon, one of France’s oldest cities and a great early center of Christianity, home to the martyrs of 177 AD, including St. Blandina and St. Pothinus. We visit the magnificent Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, the ‘hill that prays,’ which rises above the city atop a Roman hill and overlooks the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Dinner is at leisure tonight with the opportunity to sample the local cuisine, as Lyon is widely regarded as the gastronomic capital of France. Overnight in Lyon. Meals: B

This morning we travel from Lyon to the gem-like Alpine town of Annecy, set on the shores of a crystal-clear mountain lake and surrounded by the peaks of the Savoy Alps. Annecy is the city of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Church, and co-founder with St. Jeanne de Chantal of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, the very religious family in which St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received her visions of the Sacred Heart. We visit the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre, where St. Francis de Sales served as bishop, and the Basilica of the Visitation, where the bodies of both St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne de Chantal rest in magnificent reliquary shrines and celebrate Mass in this holy spot. In the afternoon, there is time to walk the charming old town along its canals and flower-lined bridges. Dinner and overnight in Annecy. Meals: B, D

Following Mass, we depart Annecy, returning to Lyon where we board the TGV train for Lourdes. Five hours later we disembark in one of the

We immerse ourselves fully in the graces of Lourdes. We celebrate Mass at the Grotto of Massabielle, the sacred rock where Our Lady appeared, and walk in the footsteps of St. Bernadette, visiting Boly Mill where she was born, and the Cachot, the cramped, abandoned prison where her impoverished family was forced to live. We drink from the miraculous spring and have the opportunity to be immersed in the healing baths. We walk the life-sized Stations of the Cross that ascend the hillside above the Grotto, meditating on the Passion of the Sacred Heart we have honored throughout this pilgrimage. In the evening, we join the Blessed Sacrament Procession, a profound union of Eucharistic and Marian devotion at this holy shrine. Dinner and overnight in Lourdes. Meals: B, D

Our final full day in Lourdes is given entirely to prayer, grace, and gratitude. The morning is free for personal visits to the Grotto, quiet prayer in the chapels, time in the Adoration Chapel, or a final immersion in the healing baths. We gather in the afternoon for a presentation on the story of Lourdes and the life of St. Bernadette. As the day draws to a close, we come together for a special farewell dinner with wine, giving thanks for every grace of this extraordinary journey. From Sacré-Cœur in Paris, to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, to the Shrine of St. Bernadette in Nevers, to the Cathedral of Saint-Bénigne in Dijon, to the apparition chapel of Paray-le-Monial, to the shrine of the Curé of Ars, to the tomb of St. Francis de Sales in Annecy, to the sacred Grotto of Lourdes, we return home carrying the promises of the Sacred Heart deep within us. Overnight in Lourdes. Mass will be celebrated. Meals: B, Special Farewell Dinner with Wine

Today marks the end of our pilgrimage. We say farewell to a country and a trip that will last in our memory forever. We are transferred to the airport for our return flight home. Meals: B