A group of more than 50 pilgrims, most of whom were from the diocese, that included Bishop Earl Fernandes returned home earlier this month from a 10-day pilgrimage to France.

The pilgrimage was taken in honor of the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, which began on December 27, 1673.

The trip was organized by Emily Jaminet, executive director of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network based in the diocese, and included eight stops at holy sites throughout France. 

“It was a time of great renewal,” Jaminet said. 

Two priests from the diocese, Father Jonathan Wilson, pastor of Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church, and Father Nic Ventura, former pastor of Columbus St. Cecilia Church who is currently studying in Rome for a licentiate in sacred liturgy, were among the travelers. Father Ventura described the trip as an amazing experience.

“Essentially, we walked in the footsteps of St. John Paul II with our visits – praying and visiting all the sites of the great saints: St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Vincent de Paul and St. John Vianney, to name a few,” he said. “It was a blessing to be able to see and pray with so many from the diocese and to spend time with the bishop and my brother priest Father Wilson.”

Father Nic Ventura (left), Bishop Earl Fernandes and Father Jonathan Wilson pray during Mass in the crypt of the Basilica of Sainte-Therese in Lisieux, France.                  Photos courtesy Emily Jaminet

St. Therese of Lisieux’s incorrupt body is at rest in her tomb. Photo courtesy Bishop Earl Fernandes

On May 31, the group departed from Columbus and flew to Paris. Upon arrival, they took a bus to Lisieux, the hometown of St. Thérèse. 

“We … saw the cathedral there and went to the holy places,” Bishop Fernandes said in an interview on St. Gabriel Radio (AM 820). “We saw where (St. Therese) would often go to daily Mass and confession.”

In addition to attending Mass at the basilica in Lisieux, travelers had the opportunity to pray in front of St. Thérèse’s relics, which are kept in a chapel known as the Chapelle de la Chasse (Chapel of the Tomb). 

Maria Moore, youth minister at Columbus St. Andrew Church, said she enjoyed seeing many roses after having completed a novena to St. Thérèse. The novena instructed those who pray it to keep watch for roses. 

“I saw (roses) everywhere we went and in every color,” she said.

The group also visited St. Thérèse’s family home, celebrated Mass at the Basilica of Notre Dame de Bayeux and traveled to Omaha Beach in Normandy, where American troops landed for the D-Day invasions during World War II. They had an opportunity to pay their respects at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. 

“It was a very powerful and prayerful moment,” Bishop Fernandes said in the radio interview. “I’m not sure we all expected to be as overwhelmed as we were to think about the sacrifices so many made for us and for our country and for freedom … and to really experience the gratitude of the French people.”

Visitors walk through an area commemorating D-Day. Photo courtesy Bishop Earl Fernandes
Bishop Earl Fernandes (left) and Father Vic Ventura stand on the beach at Normandy where the D-Day invasion took place in 1944. Photo courtesy Emily Jaminet
Pilgrims visited the beaches at Normandy before the 80th anniversary of the Allies’ D-Day invasion of France during World War II that took place on June 6, 1944. Photo courtesy Bishop Earl Fernandes

The 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings was celebrated four days after the group’s visit.

On the seventh day of the trip, the group visited Paray-le-Monial, France, the city of the Sacred Heart apparitions. 

“That was a very prayerful time for us,” Bishop Fernandes said of the experience at the Basilica of Sacré Coeur, which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Eucharist has been exposed continuously for 130 years at Sacré Coeur.  

“Sacré Coeur is reserved almost exclusively for prayer. While tourists can walk around the sides, the main naïve is reserved for Perpetual Adoration, and since the basilica’s founding, Perpetual Adoration has been ongoing, even during the war and during Covid,” the bishop said in the interview.

Being present at the site “really ordered our way of thinking about a pilgrimage versus a vacation,” he said.

Father Jonathan Wilson (left), Bishop Earl Fernandes and Father Nic Ventura celebrate Mass for pilgrims in the Basilica of Notre Dame de Bayeux in France. Photo courtesy Emily Jaminet

On June 7 – the feast of the Sacred Heart on the Church calendar this year – travelers attended Mass at the chapel where the apparitions took place in Paray-le-Monial. Jaminet was selected to read from the Letter to the Ephesians, the second reading during Mass. 

“It was amazing to do a reading in the Sacred Heart chapel on the actual feast day,” she said. 

Other sites on the pilgrimage included the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, the church where St. Vincent de Paul’s tomb is located above the main altar,  and the home of St. Joan of Arc. 

“This is what we are called to do: to follow in footsteps of saints,” Father Ventura said. “More than likely, our journey will have different turns or events, but we all have the same destination: home in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

For Jaminet, the primary takeaway of the trip was “that we need to build up a civilization of love. We all have this core responsibility to share the love of Christ with others.”

Elizabeth Pardi is a contributor to The Catholic Times who lives in Columbus.


Pilgrims pray at the tomb of St. John Vianney. Photo courtesy Bishop Earl Fernandes
Pilgrims view a reliquary at the Basilica of Saint-Therese in Lisieux, France.