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May 6, 2021“France: A Pilgrimage with Mary” is a book or travelogue of the pilgrimage of Father Joseph Roesch, M.I.C., who was responsible for the text; Melanie Williams, photographer; and Mary Clark, project coordinator of the pilgrimage.
Both women are employees of the Marian Helpers Center and the site of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy. They went on a pilgrimage of the nine major and some minor shrines and churches dedicated to Mary located in France. The pilgrimage started in Paris where they went to Rue Du Bac, which is the site of the apparitions of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to Saint Catherine Laboure in 1830.
Next, they went to the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories, and finished their visit to Paris with a visit to the Notre-Dame Cathedral. They rented a car since there was a railway strike going on at the time. They drove to the most famous Marian shrine of France, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, which is near the Pyrenees and the southern border with Spain.
They went east of Lourdes to Notre-Dame-de-Prouille Monastery, which is connected with the founding of the Dominican Order and where Saint Dominic had been. From there they traveled further east to Saint-Bauzille-de-la-Sylve, which brought them to southern France near the Mediterranean Sea.
Then, they went northeast a bit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Laus, which is in the Alps near the Italian border. Their second to the last stop was at the more famous Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, which is also in the Alps near the Italian border. Their last trip was to the Shrine of Our Lady of Pontmain southwest of Paris. They saw a lot of shrines and a lot of France by car.
One may think that this book has many pages, but it only has 112. The book is really an introduction to these wonderful sites. Father Roesch presented a short history or background for each shrine and of the visionary(s). His presentations are lively and interesting.
I read this book straight through and was captivated by it. Most of these shrines and apparitions I had not heard of, but Father Roesch and his companions changed this for me. Melanie Williams' photography is wonderful and very striking. With these two presentations, readers can be inspired by what they read and see.
The shrines and apparitions vary in age and circumstances. The lives of the visionaries are inspiring, and some are sad because their experiences did not cause them to change their lives much. Not all are canonized saints.
The book has an introduction to Father Roesch, “chapters” on each shrine, and a short bibliography of both English and French sources. In the introduction there is a map that is handy to locate where these shrines are in France.
The book jacket has an Internet address to view Father Roesch's video of the pilgrimage. The book jacket on the front has a photograph of Lourdes and on the back is an image of another shrine, I think Pontmain. This book is highly recommended for its text and for its very wonderful photographs.
Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., Saint Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee, is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
