Reclaiming Her Voice
A Women’s Pilgrimage to Southern France
Where the Whispers of Magdalene,
Martha, and Anne Still Speak
April 1 – 10, 2027
The Journey
This pilgrimage unfolds as a lived experience rather than a tightly managed schedule.
The days descriptions that follow offer a general rhythm of where we will move and gather together. Yet pilgrimage is not simply about places visited or moments completed. It is about allowing the land, the stories, and the silence to work gently within you.
Some days will carry shared ritual and teaching.
Some will offer spacious wandering and quiet integration.
All are shaped with intention.
As you read through the outline of our days, notice what stirs. Notice where you feel resonance, curiosity, or invitation.
The outer journey moves through Provence.
The inner journey moves through you.
Both matter.
Days 1–4
Marseille & Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer — Threshold and Crossing
Participants will arrive in the Marseille area on March 31, with our pilgrimage beginning together on the morning of April 1. We gather that morning and travel to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where tradition holds that Mary Magdalene, Martha, and their companions first came ashore after crossing the Mediterranean.
As we leave Marseille and travel into the wild beauty of the Camargue, we begin our own crossing — leaving behind the familiar rhythms of everyday life and entering the slower, more intentional rhythm of pilgrimage.
Here, land and water meet.
Here, an ancient story comes alive.
Here, pilgrimage truly begins.
We gather on the shore in sacred circle, breathing in the sea air and grounding into the land — honoring the courage of those who crossed before us and listening for what has called each of us here.
Over the next four days, we allow the rhythm of this place to shape us: basilica and sea, procession and prayer, wandering and reflection.
There is time to deepen — within the ancient church walls, along the open horizon, and in the living traditions of this vibrant seaside town.
Guiding questions:
What am I ready to lay down as I begin this journey?
What am I being invited to step into?
Days 5–6
Aix-en-Provence & Saint-Maximin — Voice and Descent
Leaving the sea, we turn inland.
In Aix-en-Provence, we reflect on Mary Magdalene’s preaching tradition — her courage to teach across cultural boundaries, her willingness to speak without seeking permission.
From there, we travel to Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, home to the Basilica and home to the Basilica and crypt long associated with Mary Magdalene. This village becomes our resting place for the remainder of the pilgrimage, a steady home from which we will journey outward and return inward in the days ahead.
Here, the rhythm deepens.
Extended time is held in the crypt — not for analysis, but for presence. The physical descent into sacred space invites an inward descent as well, a turning toward what is quiet, essential, and waiting to be named.
During these days, each woman prayerfully creates her own anointing oil — blending scent, intention, and devotion — preparing for the anointing ritual that will take place at the grotto.
The pace slows.
Silence deepens.
Something interior begins to take shape.
Guiding questions:
What within me is asking to be given voice?
What is being prepared within me?
Day 7
La Sainte-Baume — Ascent and Consecration
We enter the sacred forest and walk toward the mountain grotto long associated with Mary Magdalene’s years of contemplation.
The ascent is moderate and intentional — made at an unhurried pace, honoring the body as part of the prayer.
In the grotto and forest, we gather for sacred anointing.
In ancient tradition, anointing was not about perfection — it was about recognition. Naming what is precious. Blessing what is worthy of care.
Each woman becomes both anointer and anointed — offering and receiving blessing in turn.
This is the most physically demanding day of the pilgrimage and is held with flexibility and care.
A picnic meal is shared in the forest.
The mountain does not rush us.
Guiding questions:
What within me is worthy of devotion?
What am I ready to consecrate within myself?
Day 8
The Monastery — Silence and Beauty
We spend a full day in retreat at the Orthodox Monastery of Saint-Michel-du-Var.
This day carries a different quality of stillness.
Surrounded by sacred frescoes and daily prayer, we enter silence not as withdrawal — but as living presence.
Here, beauty becomes its own form of contemplation — something to receive rather than simply observe.
There is spacious time for sitting, walking, prayer, and reflection.
No striving.
No producing.
Simply receiving.
Guiding questions:
What is the silence asking me to hear?
What becomes possible when I allow myself to receive?
Day 9
Apt — Lineage and Blessing
In Apt, at the Basilica of Saint Anne, we turn toward lineage.
Anne — grandmother, elder, transmitter — invites reflection on what has been carried forward through generations of women.
Guiding Questions:
What have I inherited?
What am I called to carry forward?
What now wishes to live through me?
We gather for closing circle.
We share farewell dinner.
We bless the continuation.
The pilgrimage does not end.
It releases us into what comes next.
Day 10 - Departure — Return to Marseille
We travel back to Marseille together, holding the return gently.
Flights are to be scheduled after 2:00 p.m., allowing for shared transition and unhurried goodbyes.
What has been awakened within us is not concluded — it is entrusted.
If you feel a quiet resonance as you imagine yourself within this journey—
If something within you recognizes what is being offered—
You are warmly invited to take the next step.
❤️ Begin the Pilgrimage Inquiry