Product Description

While France is known for the romantic grandeur of Paris, beautiful chateaus, lush vineyards and gourmet cuisine, it also offers an exceptional opportunity for those seeking more meaningful travel experiences at its many inspiring spiritual shrines. The Pilgrim’s France leads the spiritual adventurer from Normandy to the Pyrenees, from Mont-St-Michel to the Riviera, and from Brittany to the Alps, inviting the pilgrim to encounter the deep blessings of many sacred places.

This unique guidebook explores seven shrines of the Virgin Mary and more than thirty saints, providing fascinating biographies of these revered souls. Stories of well-known historical figures such as St. Joan of Arc come to life, as well as St. Catherine Labouré, the saint of silence, responsible for the miraculous medal. For those seeking spiritual serenity and inspiration with a Gallic flavor, this book will serve as a faithful companion to experience the heart and soul of France.

Features include:

Inspiring biographies of the saints

Location of hidden rooms with saints’ relics

Instruction on how to meditate with the saints

How to find quiet areas for meditation and prayer

Useful maps and directions

Helpful references for lodging in monasteries

"The saints’ presence is very much alive, today, at these shrines. James and Colleen Heater show us how truly to receive the saints’ blessings, by experiencing for ourselves their living presence." -- J. Donald Walters, author of Meditation for Starters

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292338 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 376 pages

Customer Reviews

Penny wise and pound foolish
To book a pilgrimage to France and not pay the additional dollars for a copy of the Heaters' The Pilgrim's France is penny wise and pound foolish. I should know, because unfortunately, that is what I did last October.
At a get-acquainted meeting prior to the trip, one of my fellow pilgrims announced that she had come upon the book at a local bookstore. Some people in the group then bought it, too, but I thought I'd save money by ordering it from the library.
The library's copy was already on loan, so I left for the trip with plenty of secular guides to France, but not The Pilgrim's Guide. At times on the tour bus I read from other people's books, but that does not compare to having one's own book when visiting a sacred place. Our tour guides filled us in on generalities, but that was not to the detailed level that this book does. (Yet the reading is enjoyable as well as intensely informative.)
Being on a tour, we did not need to know about accommodations or travel directions, but it was all there, along with very, very interesting commentary on the lives of each saint and what to see at each shrine. I can not begin to imagine how long it took the Heaters to compile all the data.
Shortly after I returned home, I was able to take out the library's copy of The Pilgrim's France. I renewed it as many times as I could because it was a useful reference as I finished writing in my trip journal.
Reading it was also distressing to me, however, because I realized things I'd missed that I wouldn't have missed if I'd had a copy of the book with me on the trip. Then and there I decided to buy both The Pilgrim's France and the Heaters' other book, The Pilgrim's Italy.
I had a fantastic pilgrimage experience, but it could have been even more fantastic if I'd owned this book. Whether you are an actual pilgrim or an arm-chair pilgrim, I highly recommend it.

There are great travel books - this one zooms past those!
James and Collen Heater have written a wonderful series of travel books for those of us seeking a more spiritual journey - or a spiritual quest of sorts. In the true sense of the word "pilgram" this book provides a "traveler" all they need to find the sacred places in France. To go where the saints and sages lived and walked. To meditate and pray in those holy places that are hundreds of years old. To feel that divine energy in those very special places - this is what the book is all about.

If you are going to europe anytime in the futre - take along not only this book but all of their books in the "Pilgrim" series of travel books. It will be the best thing you can pack for the trip.

This book is worth of your purchase! It will be money well spent - in will be "good karma"!

I personally recommend this book for all travlers to Europe and for those arm-chair adventures to dream along with the book. I would rank it higher than FIVE STARS - IF I COULD DO SO.

France for the Faithful
France is not just for fashion, perfume, cuisine, romantic escapades, and wine ... it is also a country where Catholics go to visit Lourdes and other sacred sites from lives of French saints. If you plan to make a trip to France both a cultural and spiritual jouney ... The Pilgrim's France should join your Fodor before you go.