Pilgrimage Sites in France

Alençon

Alençon is the birthplace of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and home to the Basilica of Notre-Dame where her parents Saints Louis and Zélie Martin were married.

Apt

Ancient cathedral claiming St. Anne's body relics since Charlemagne's time, with two Romanesque crypts and the mysterious Veil of St. Anne.

Ars

Home to the incorrupt body of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, whose 41 years of ministry transformed this humble village into France's spiritual heart.

Avignon

Avignon served as the seat of seven Popes from 1309-1378, making it a pivotal center of Catholic Church history. The city's magnificent Palace of the Popes and cathedral continue to attract faithful pilgrims seeking connection to this papal legacy.

Blanot

Côte-d'Or

Site of the 1331 Eucharistic Miracle where a Host fragment transformed to blood before witnesses, with the relic exposed annually on Easter Monday.

Brive

Brive is home to the ancient Caves of Saint Anthony of Padua, where pilgrims have sought spiritual refuge since the 13th century.

Chartres

Chartres Cathedral houses the sacred Veil of the Virgin Mary, drawing pilgrims for nearly 1,000 years to this Gothic masterpiece and major Marian sanctuary.

Conques

Conques is a major medieval pilgrimage destination on the Camino de Santiago, home to the magnificent Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy with its famous reliquary and Romanesque treasures.

Cotignac

Cotignac is the world's only village where all three members of the Holy Family appeared, making it a premier Catholic pilgrimage destination in Provence.

Faverney

Haute-Saône

Site of the 1608 miracle where a monstrance suspended in mid-air for 33 hours during a fire, with the preserved Host venerated each Whit Monday.

La Salette

La Salette is a major Catholic pilgrimage site where the Virgin Mary appeared to two children in 1846, bringing a message of reconciliation and conversion.

Lalouvesc

Mountain shrine where St. John Francis Regis died in 1640 and St. Thérèse Couderc founded the Cenacle in 1826.

Le Puy-en-Velay

Le Puy-en-Velay is one of France's oldest Marian pilgrimage sites, home to the Black Virgin and a major starting point for the Camino de Santiago.

Lyon

Lyon serves as a significant Catholic pilgrimage destination, home to the historic Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, a popular Marian shrine since 1170 that attracts pilgrims seeking spiritual reflection.

Lisieux

France's second-greatest pilgrimage site after Lourdes, where St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus lived, died, and taught her 'Little Way' of spiritual childhood.

Lourdes

The Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous here in 1858, making Lourdes the world's most visited Marian shrine.

Marseille

Marseille is a major Catholic pilgrimage destination centered around the iconic Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica, known for its Assumption Day pilgrimages and Marian devotion.

Mont-Saint-Michel

Mont-Saint-Michel is a majestic medieval abbey dedicated to Archangel Michael, serving as one of Europe's most important Catholic pilgrimage destinations for over a millennium.

Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre

Indre

Home to the two drops of Christ's blood brought from Calvary in 1257, venerated in the Holy Sepulchre replica basilica for over 700 years.

Nevers

Burial place of St. Bernadette Soubirous, visionary of Lourdes, whose incorrupt body lies in a crystal reliquary at the Saint-Gildard sanctuary—the geographical heart of France.

Nice

Nice features the national sanctuary Our Lady Help of Christians, a Catholic pilgrimage destination with beautiful art deco architecture and deep Marian devotion.

Paray-le-Monial

Paray-le-Monial is the sacred site where Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, establishing it as a major Catholic pilgrimage destination.

Paris

France's capital houses the Crown of Thorns at Notre-Dame, St. Catherine Labouré's incorrupt body, and perpetual adoration at Sacré-Cœur since 1885.

Pellevoisin

Pellevoisin is a significant Catholic pilgrimage site where Our Lady appeared to Estelle Faguette in 1876, establishing devotion to Our Lady of Mercy and the White Scapular of the Sacred Heart.

Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume

Sacred grotto where Mary Magdalene lived as a hermit for 30 years, one of Christianity's oldest pilgrimage sites, drawing over 500,000 visitors annually to the Dominican-run sanctuary.

Pontmain

Pontmain is a major Marian pilgrimage site where Our Lady appeared to four children in 1871, bringing hope during the Franco-Prussian War.

Reims

Reims is the historic coronation site of French kings and home to magnificent Gothic cathedrals. This sacred city draws Catholic pilgrims to witness where Clovis was baptized and monarchs were crowned.

Rocamadour

Rocamadour is a spectacular cliffside pilgrimage site famous for its Black Madonna statue and miraculous healing powers, attracting kings and saints since the Middle Ages.

Saint-Étienne-le-Laus

Site of the longest approved Marian apparitions in Church history, where Our Lady appeared to shepherdess Benoîte Rencurel for 54 years (1664-1718), drawing pilgrims seeking healing and reconciliation.

Saint-Gilles

Saint-Gilles was once the fourth most important pilgrimage destination in Christendom, where the relics of Saint Gilles attracted countless pilgrims seeking miracles and blessings.

Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

Home to the relics of Saint Mary Magdalene, this major pilgrimage site features a Gothic basilica where pilgrims venerate the remains of the Apostle to the Apostles.

Sainte-Anne-d'Auray

Sainte-Anne-d'Auray is Brittany's most important pilgrimage site where Saint Anne appeared in 1624, making it France's third major Catholic shrine.

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

This historic Camargue village houses relics of the Three Marys and Saint Sarah, drawing pilgrims since medieval times with annual May and October processions to the sea.

Souvigny

Eldest daughter of Cluny, Souvigny shelters the shared tomb of Saints Mayeul and Odilo—two abbots whose sanctity made this sanctuary a medieval pilgrimage powerhouse.

Taizé

Taizé is one of the world's most important Christian pilgrimage sites, attracting over 100,000 young people annually for prayer and reconciliation.

Tours

Tours houses the tomb of St. Martin of Tours, the 4th-century bishop renowned as the 'Apostle of Gaul,' making it a major pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages.

Trois-Épis

Alsace's only Marian apparition site, where the Virgin Mary appeared to blacksmith Thierry Schoeré in 1491 holding three wheat ears—a symbol of blessing and warning.

Vendeville

France's national sanctuary of Saint Rita, where a humble plaster statue arrived in 1928 and now draws 120,000 pilgrims annually seeking the Patroness of Impossible Causes.

Vézelay

Vézelay is a major Catholic pilgrimage site housing relics of St. Mary Magdalene. This UNESCO World Heritage basilica was a starting point for the Way of St. James.