Welcome to our Pilgrimage Blog!

 Hello, Pilgrims & Guests!

We're just a few days away from our pilgrimage to France, and I can't wait to travel with you! I'm praying that the experience is a fruitful one for everyone on the journey.

Pope Benedict XVI once said:

To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe (Speech, 6 November 2010).

As we travel to France, we'll have the great privilege of seeing places where God's grace has shown through the lives of some of his greatest saints: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis & Zelie Martin, St. Loius de Montfort, Bl. Marie Louise Trichet, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Faith, St. Bernadette Soubirous, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. John Vianney, St. John Francis Regis, St. Thérèse Couderc, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Jane Frances de Chantal. Let us pray that the same grace of holiness the Lord poured out on these extraordinary saints will also overflow into our lives as we make this pilgrimage.

Once our journey begins, I’ll be using this blog to share photos and memories along the way. Check back here soon!

Comments

  1. Walt GardinerOctober 6, 2025 at 5:46 PM

    Bon voyage to all on the Pilgrimage to France. We were hoping to join you but grandparent duty called us to Texas Sep 21-Oct 12. You will be in our thoughts and prayers throughout your journey to the sacred sites of France led by one of the best guides possible in Fr. Ray Schmidt.
    All the best.
    Walt & Julie Gardiner

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Southern Maryland to Lisieux

Image
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 decisio...
Read more

Meeting Heroes in France

Image
What a grace-filled day in Lisieux and Normandy! Today we were reminded of the heroic humility of St. Thérèse and the heroic sacrifice of the American soldiers in World War II. After a 7:30 breakfast at the hotel, we departed for a 9:00 a.m. private Mass celebrated by Fr. Swink at the Carmel of Lisieux, the Discalced Carmelite convent where St. Thérèse spent the final years of her life as a cloistered nun. Just off the chapel is the reliquary of St. Thérèse, containing some of her bones beneath a wax figure of the young saint. Praying before her earthly remains was such a moving experience! The French affectionately call her La Petite Thérèse (“Little Thérèse”), both to distinguish her from St. Teresa of Ávila and to highlight the heart of her message:  Littleness is the path to holiness.  Fr. Ray's homily reminded us that Thérèse is a constant spiritual companion. Just before 10:00 a.m., we traveled down the st...
Read more