Pilgrimage in France may immediately bring to mind Lourdes and St Bernadette but nearer to home are regions which boast both saints and medieval cathedrals, whilst offering the full range of France's culinary and cultural attractions.

“Each small task of everyday life is part of the total harmony of the universe” Therese of Lisieux

Lourdes is a small town in the Hautes – Pyrenees region of southwest France. In 1858 Our Blessed Lady appeared to a young peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, at the Grotto of Massabielle in this town. Since then many millions of pilgrims have prayed in Lourdes, requesting Our Lady to intercede on their behalf to her Son, Jesus Christ, and responding to Our Lady’s wish that Bernadette should tell people to come on pilgrimage to Lourdes. Visit the original spring, discovered by Bernadette as she dug with her hands into the ground at Our Lady’s request. This spring is now channeled into the Baths where many people have been miraculously cured and where it is possible to bathe. Take part in the Blessed Sacrament Procession where the sick are blessed and remembered in prayer. Pilgrims also visit places connected with the life of St Bernadette as well as her childhood home in Bartres.