Our Lady of Lourdes
The Grotto at Lourdes
Massabielle, where Our Lady appeared eighteen times in 1858 and told Bernadette to dig. The spring still runs, and pilgrims still queue for the baths.
Destinations / France & the Marian Shrines
with St. Bernadette at the grotto
The Marian Shrines
of France
Lourdes, Nevers, Lisieux and Paris — the country that gave the Church more apparitions than any other.
No country in Christendom has more Marian shrines than France, and no shrine draws like Lourdes. Six million people a year come to a grotto in the Pyrenees because a fourteen-year-old girl was told to dig in the mud there.
A ProRome pilgrimage to France is built around the grotto and the water — the torchlight procession, the Blessed Sacrament procession, the baths — and then follows St. Bernadette north to Nevers, where her body lies incorrupt behind glass in a convent chapel.
From there the road runs to Paris: Rue du Bac and the Miraculous Medal, St. Vincent de Paul, Sainte-Chapelle and Sacré-Cœur. Groups with more time add Lisieux and St. Thérèse, Mont-Saint-Michel rising out of the tide, or the Curé d’Ars and Paray-le-Monial where the Sacred Heart was revealed.
9
Nights Abroad
Recommended
Daily
Mass at
Sacred Sites
3
Lodging Styles
To Choose From
25–500+
Pilgrims
Per Group
Where You Will Pray
The shrines that make a French pilgrimage
The processions
The Sanctuary & its basilicas
Three basilicas above the grotto, the mosaics of the Rosary, and the two processions — torchlight at nine, Blessed Sacrament at five — that a group should not miss.
St. Bernadette Soubirous
Nevers
The convent of St. Gildard, where Bernadette lived thirteen years and died at thirty-five, and where her incorrupt body lies in a glass shrine beside the altar.
St. Catherine Labouré · St. Vincent de Paul
Paris
Rue du Bac and the Miraculous Medal, the incorrupt body of St. Catherine, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame, and Mass at Sacré-Cœur above the city.
St. Michael the Archangel
Mont-Saint-Michel
The abbey on the rock, cut off by the tide, climbed by pilgrims for a thousand years. Mass in the abbey church when the schedule allows.
St. Thérèse · St. Joan of Arc
Lisieux & Normandy
The basilica and Carmel of St. Thérèse, Les Buissonnets where she grew up, Rouen where St. Joan was burned, and the beaches of 1944.
The Ground You Cover
France, shrine by shrine
Click any marker to see what is there and how long groups usually stay.
Legend
- The classic route
- Add-on shrines
Nowhere is off limits
These are the shrines groups ask for most — not a list of where we can go. France has more Marian apparition sites than any other country, and we have brought pilgrims to most of them. If there is a shrine or a saint your group cares about, tell us and we will build the road to it.
A Sample Nine Nights
Lourdes, Nevers and Paris
Nine nights abroad is what we recommend — three at Lourdes, two at Nevers, three in Paris, and the travel between them. The shape follows St. Bernadette’s own life.
Day 1
Depart the United States
Overnight flight to Paris or Toulouse.
Day 2
Arrive and travel to Lourdes
Transfer south to the Pyrenees. Opening Mass at the shrine and the torchlight rosary procession in the evening.
Day 3
The grotto
Mass at the grotto itself, the baths, the Stations on the hillside, and the Blessed Sacrament procession.
Day 4
Lourdes and Bartrès
The sites of Bernadette’s childhood — the mill, the cachot, and the shepherd’s hut at Bartrès. A free afternoon at the shrine.
Day 5
North to Nevers
Coach north through the Massif Central, arriving at the convent of St. Gildard for evening Mass.
Day 6
St. Bernadette at Nevers
Mass in the chapel where her incorrupt body lies, the convent museum, and the room where she died.
Day 7
On to Paris
North to the capital, with Chartres and the Veil of Our Lady on the way.
Day 8
Marian Paris
Rue du Bac and the Miraculous Medal, the incorrupt body of St. Catherine Labouré, and St. Vincent de Paul.
Day 9
The heart of Paris
Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame, Mass at Sacré-Cœur, and a free afternoon.
Day 10
A last day
Versailles, the Louvre, or Lisieux as a day trip. Closing Mass and group dinner.
Day 11
Return home
Transfer to Charles de Gaulle, with your tour manager through to the airport.
This is a starting point, not a package. Groups regularly add Lisieux and St. Thérèse, Mont-Saint-Michel, Ars and Paray-le-Monial, or cross into Spain for Fátima and the Camino.
What it costs
$3,000–$3,500
Student groups · per pilgrim, land only
$3,800–$4,500
Adult groups · per pilgrim, land only
Both ranges are all-inclusive on the ground and vary with the season you travel. Airfare is quoted separately — see the FAQ below for how that works.
- Lodging matched to your group — religious guesthouse, four-star hotel, or five-star
- Daily breakfast and most dinners
- Private motorcoach and all ground transfers
- Catholic guides throughout
- All entrance fees and site reservations
- Daily Mass arranged and reserved
- A ProRome tour manager for the full trip
Where you stay
Religious guesthouses. Lourdes in particular is full of houses run by orders and hospitalités, many of them a few minutes from the grotto. For a group that wants to be at the shrine for the evening procession, that location is worth more than any amenity.
Four-star hotels. More space, more amenities, and the option most parish groups choose.
Five-star. For groups who want it, we build it — and we will tell you honestly what it adds and what it does not.
The choice is yours on every pilgrimage, and it moves the price more than any other decision.
When to go
April to June and September to October are ideal — mild, and the processions at Lourdes in full swing.
Summer is the height of the Lourdes season. Enormous crowds, extraordinary atmosphere, and lodging that must be held early.
Winter is quiet at Lourdes and much of the shrine programme pauses, though the grotto never closes.
11 February, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, and 16 July, the anniversary of the last apparition, are worth building around.
What Sets Us Apart
Your guide is a missionary, not a tour guide
ProRome guides are trained missionaries with degrees from Catholic universities. They are not working from a script, and they are not reciting dates from a plaque.
At Lourdes especially, a guide who can explain what the Church actually holds about apparitions, private revelation and miraculous cures — rather than either dismissing or overselling them — changes the week for a group.
Common Questions
Planning a French pilgrimage
How long should a pilgrimage to Lourdes be?
Nine nights abroad is what we recommend for a full French pilgrimage — roughly three nights at Lourdes, one or two at Nevers, and three in Paris. Groups that want Lourdes alone can do it well in four or five nights, which leaves room to add Spain or another region.
Can our group go into the baths at Lourdes?
Yes. The baths are open to pilgrims and we arrange the timing for your group as part of the week. Many groups also take part in the torchlight rosary procession and the afternoon Blessed Sacrament procession, both of which are extraordinary with a parish group of any size.
How much does a French pilgrimage cost?
Student groups typically run $3,000 to $3,500 per pilgrim and adult groups $3,800 to $4,500, land only and all-inclusive on the ground, varying with the season. Airfare is quoted separately.
Where do groups stay in Lourdes?
That is your choice. Lourdes has a large number of houses run by orders and hospitalités, many within a few minutes of the grotto — for a group that wants to be at the evening procession, that location matters more than amenities. Four-star hotels and five-star itineraries are equally available.
Why do groups visit Nevers as well as Lourdes?
Because that is where St. Bernadette’s story ends. She left Lourdes at twenty-two, entered the convent of St. Gildard at Nevers, served as an assistant nurse and sacristan, and died there at thirty-five. Her body was exhumed three times and found incorrupt, and since 1925 it has lain in a glass shrine in the convent chapel. Seeing the grotto and then seeing her is a different pilgrimage from seeing the grotto alone.
Can we visit Lisieux and Mont-Saint-Michel too?
Yes, with the right length of trip. Lisieux and Mont-Saint-Michel sit in Normandy, north-west of Paris, and add two or three nights. Groups sometimes build the whole pilgrimage around Paris and Normandy instead, with Lourdes as the add-on rather than the anchor.
Is France suitable for a Catholic school group?
Very much so. Lourdes has a long tradition of youth pilgrimage and the shrine is set up for it, and the story of St. Bernadette — a poor, asthmatic, uneducated fourteen-year-old who was disbelieved by almost everyone — lands with teenagers in a way few saints’ lives do.
How far in advance should we start planning?
Twelve to eighteen months. Lourdes lodging near the grotto is the constraint, especially in summer and around the February and July feasts.
How does airfare work?
Airlines do not release group fares until roughly eleven months before your return date, so airfare is quoted separately from the land price. That gives you two ways to launch. You can launch land-only now, start registering pilgrims at the land price, and add airfare once it opens — the usual choice when a group wants a long recruiting window. Or you can wait until the eleven-month mark, let us contract the air, and launch one all-inclusive price, which is simpler for pilgrims but shortens the time you have to fill the trip. We will tell you which fits your group when we talk.
Let’s build your French pilgrimage
Tell us your group, your dates, and what is on your parish’s heart. We will come back with an itinerary and a price — no obligation, and no template.
Request a Custom Proposal →