Catholic France and Our Lady of La Salette

Dear Pilgrims, Priests, and Sisters,

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you for joining us on our pilgrimage through Catholic France and to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of La Salette. I hope everyone has had an opportunity to rest and recover from our journey!

With the busy customs and baggage claim at Dulles, I did not have the opportunity to personally thank everyone and say goodbye as I would have liked. Now that we are all safely home, I wanted to tell you how grateful I am to have shared this pilgrimage with you.

Thank you for entrusting JMJ Tours and me with your pilgrimage. Your confidence and support mean a great deal to me and to my family. More importantly, the reason I have continued organizing Catholic pilgrimages for so many years is my hope that these journeys help each of us grow closer to Our Lord and Our Lady, deepen our Catholic faith, experience the graces of the holy places we visit, and return home spiritually renewed.

I especially want to thank Father John and Father Randy, along with Sister Marijo, Sister Aniliza, and Sister Nida, for their spiritual leadership, kindness, hard work, and generous assistance. Having our priests and the Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette traveling and praying with us made this pilgrimage particularly meaningful.

I also want to sincerely thank the many members of our group who so generously helped others throughout our journey. Whether assisting with luggage on the TGV, at our hotels and motorcoach, looking out for fellow pilgrims, or simply lending a hand when needed, your kindness did not go unnoticed. These may have seemed like small acts at the time, but collectively, they made a tremendous difference. 

That willingness to care for and help one another reflects the spirit of fellowship and Christian charity that makes a Catholic pilgrimage so special.

Looking back, I believe we were blessed in so many ways. Our flights operated on time, our transportation went smoothly, we had excellent drivers and guides throughout our journey, and the weather was mostly wonderful. We also experienced some of the normal challenges of traveling through historic European cities—luggage, cobblestone streets, walking, and places our motorcoach simply could not reach. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience, flexibility, good humor, and positive spirit along the way.

Most of all, I will remember the spiritual blessings we experienced together: walking in the footsteps of St. Thérèse in Lisieux; visiting the American Cemetery in Normandy and magnificent Mont-Saint-Michel; praying at Our Lady of Pontmain; experiencing Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris; celebrating Mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal; visiting Ars and St. John Vianney; and finally journeying into the French Alps to the peaceful Sanctuary of Our Lady of La Salette.

La Salette was a beautiful and fitting conclusion to our pilgrimage—a place of prayer, peace, reconciliation, and reflection. To stand together where Our Blessed Mother appeared 180 years ago was a special grace and a wonderful way to conclude our journey through Catholic France.

It was also a privilege to watch our group grow closer along the way. Friendships were formed, laughter was shared, many prayers were offered, and I believe many graces were received. We began as 49 individual pilgrims, priests, and Sisters, but along the way we truly became a Catholic pilgrimage community.

Thank you for the kindness, friendship, patience, generosity, laughter, and faith you brought to our group. It was truly a privilege and a blessing for me to travel and pray with all of you.

I have gathered photographs and videos from our pilgrimage on our Facebook page and on a special JMJ Photo page. I hope they bring back memories, and please feel free to share them with family and friends.

Our Catholic France & Our Lady of La Salette Pilgrimage Photos & Videos:

CLICK THE RED BOX LINKS BELOW

Please know that you and your families remain in my prayers and will be remembered on future JMJ pilgrimages. Sister Marijo and the Sisters will also continue praying for all the intentions you placed in the envelopes.

I hope the friendships we formed and, most importantly, the spiritual graces we received in France remain with each of us for many years to come.

May Our Lady of La Salette continue to intercede for each of you, draw us ever closer to her Son, and help us carry the blessings of our pilgrimage into our families, parishes, and daily lives.

Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners, pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you.

With sincere gratitude and prayers,

Dan Callahan
Pilgrimage Director
JMJ Tours
dan@JMJtours.com