A Pilgrimage through France
by Private Barge

Pilgrims arrive at Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport, where the ProRome Tour Manager meets the group. A private coach climbs to the hilltop Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, where Lyon placed itself under Our Lady’s protection during the plague of 1643, for the opening Mass and a view over the city. After check-in at the hotel, the group gathers for the welcome dinner. Bienvenue en France!

The coach drives north into Burgundy to Paray-le-Monial, where Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and revealed His Sacred Heart. Mass for the people of Sacred Heart Parish in the Chapel of the Apparitions is followed by a visit to the Romanesque basilica. In the afternoon the group stops at Ars to pray before the body of St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests, and to see his church and presbytery, before returning to Lyon for dinner.

Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in Lyon is followed by a short walk through the old quarter of Vieux Lyon below Fourvière. The coach then travels south down the Rhône valley to Sète on the Mediterranean coast. At 6:00 pm the group boards the private barge Anne-Marie, settles into the cabins, and meets the crew at the welcome cocktail before the first dinner on board.

A morning visit to the Étang de Thau, the lagoon known for its oyster and mussel beds, ends with a tasting on the museum terrace. In the afternoon the coach climbs into the hills to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, one of the most beautiful villages in France, for Mass in the Abbey of Gellone, founded by St. William of Gellone, and a stop at the Devil’s Bridge. Dinner on board.

The barge cruises across the Étang de Thau and onto the Rhône à Sète Canal, arriving at Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone by late morning. Mass on board. In the afternoon the group rides by wagon onto a manade, a traditional Camargue bull ranch, to watch the herders at work, followed by a snack of the farm’s own products. The evening is free on board or in nearby Palavas-les-Flots.

The barge follows the canal through the salt marshes to Aigues-Mortes. Sunday Mass in the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Sablons, where St. Louis IX prayed before sailing on Crusade in 1248, is followed by a walk on the medieval ramparts of the town he founded as his port. The afternoon rides the small train through the salt pans of the Salins du Midi, with a visit to the salt museum. Dinner on board.

A morning cruise reaches Gallician. In the afternoon the coach crosses the Camargue wetlands, home to white horses, black bulls, and flamingos, to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Mass in the fortified Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer, which keeps the relics of St. Mary Jacobe and St. Mary Salome, who by Provençal tradition landed on this coast after the Resurrection. The coach returns the group to the barge.

The barge cruises along the canal and the Rhône to Arles, the city where St. Caesarius served as bishop. A guided tour reaches the Church of Saint-Trophime, with its carved portal and cloister, where Mass is arranged, and the Roman arena and theater. A visit to an olive oil producer in the countryside includes a tasting, and the evening closes with the gala dinner on board.

After breakfast on board, the group disembarks at 9:00 am and drives to Avignon for a guided visit of the Palace of the Popes, seat of the papacy for much of the fourteenth century, and Mass at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame des Doms beside it. After check-in at the hotel in Avignon, the group gathers for the farewell dinner.

Breakfast at the hotel in Avignon. In the morning a private coach travels north along the Rhône valley to Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport, about two and a half hours, where the Tour Manager assists with check-in for the flights home, carrying the graces of nine nights from Paray-le-Monial to Provence.