From Southern Maryland to Lisieux

October 07, 2025

Our pilgrimage began close to home at St. John Francis Regis Church in Hollywood on Monday with a pilgrim’s Mass at 10:00 a.m., celebrating the Memorial of St. Foy (also known as St. Faith or Santa Fe), a twelve-year-old early Christian martyr whose relics we’ll be visiting in France. The first reading from the prophet Jonah gave us a glimpse of what we don’t want our pilgrimage to look like: Jonah, fleeing from the Lord, encountered turbulent storms and ended up in the belly of a large fish. Assuring us that we are traveling to the Lord, not away from Him, Fr. Ray prayed that we would experience safe travels through the intercession of St. Raphael and St. Christopher. We then made the drive to Dulles on a brand-new Keller bus.

Although our group made it through check-in and security without issue, our time at the airport was still a small exercise in patience. We had originally planned to fly into Paris, but earlier in the week we made the decision to switch our flight to Brussels to avoid delays caused by air traffic control strikes. Flying into Brussels meant a longer bus ride to Lisieux and, we feared, less time at the sites of St. Thérèse. Our flight to Brussels was delayed 15 minutes, then just over an hour, leaving us wondering whether we’d have time to enjoy Lisieux on Tuesday.

When all was said and done, our 5:30 p.m. flight departed just after 6:30, and we landed around 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday (today) Brussels time. Some managed to sleep well on the flight, but most of us just caught a nap or two.

In Brussels, we met our guide from Tangney Tours, Margaret, and our bus driver, Didier. We then began the long drive from Brussels to Lisieux, catching up on sleep along the way (Although I promised not to take photos of sleeping pilgrims).

We crossed the French border just before 11:00 a.m. and soon stopped for lunch at the French equivalent of a highway rest stop. Although Fr. Ray is the only one on the trip who speaks French, we all managed to order delicious sandwiches, coffee, pastries, and more by pointing and saying “merci” a lot.

Our flight changes caused a significant delay in our arrival to Lisieux, the home of St. Thérèse, but this ultimately became a blessing. Our tour company was able to rearrange the schedule so that we could spend both this afternoon and tomorrow morning in Lisieux, giving us even more time with a saint who is a favorite of many on the pilgrimage (including me!).

This afternoon, we enjoyed a tour of the Basilica of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, followed by a private Mass in the Adoration Chapel.

After Mass, we had the opportunity to venerate the relics of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Thérèse.

We ended the evening with a lovely dinner at our hotel.

Tomorrow we’ll visit Les Buissonets (the childhood home of Thérèse) and the Carmel of Lisieux (the convent where she spent her final years), then head to Normandy and Mont-St. Michel.

Several pilgrims, including Fr. Swink, arrived to France earlier to enjoy some time in Paris, including a Mass in Notre Dame.