Reclaiming Her Voice
Where the Whispers of Magdalene,
Martha, and Anne Still Speak
A Women’s Pilgrimage to Southern France
September 30 – October 10, 2026
🗺 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
We begin in Marseille — one of the oldest port cities in France, shaped by crossings, arrivals, and departures for over two thousand years.
This first evening is held gently. Travel gives way to settling; settling gives way to presence. There is no agenda to master — only space to land in your body, in the city, and in the quiet knowing that something meaningful has begun.
Marseille serves as a threshold — a place of passage rather than destination. From this harbor, countless journeys have unfolded toward unknown shores. In this way, it prepares us for the deeper crossing ahead.
The following morning, we travel together to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where tradition holds that Mary Magdalene, Martha, and their companions first came ashore.
Here, land and water meet.
Here, crossing becomes embodied.
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. 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 question:
What am I crossing into by being here?
🌿 Days 5–6
Saint-Maximin & Aix-en-Provence — 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 crypt long associated with Mary Magdalene.
Here, the rhythm deepens.
Extended time is held in the crypt — not for analysis, but for listening. The descent into sacred space invites an inward descent as well.
During these days, each woman creates her own anointing oil — guided prayerfully and intentionally — preparing for the ritual that will take place at the grotto.
The pace slows.
Silence deepens.
Something interior begins to take shape.
Guiding question:
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 question:
What within me is worthy of devotion?
🌄 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.
There is spacious time for sitting, walking, prayer, and reflection.
No striving.
No producing.
Simply receiving.
Guiding question:
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.
Here we consider:
What have I inherited?
What am I called to carry?
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.
✈ 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 is not concluded — it is entrusted.
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