The Magdalene Pilgrimage:
Vézelay · Paris · Chartres

A 7-Day Journey of Relics, Vigil, Black Madonnas, and the Spiral

Day 1 – Saturday · Vézelay: The Hill of Magdalene

We begin as pilgrims on the ancient road. In the hilltop Basilica of Sainte Marie Madeleine we pray before her relics, descend to the crypt, and open our journey in silence. As the sun sets over the vineyards of Burgundy, we share our first circle and supper, gathered in the name of the Magdalene.

(Overnight in Vézelay)

Day 2 – Sunday · The Pilgrim’s Blessing & Return to Paris

At dawn we walk in silence to the pilgrim’s stone, where for centuries blessings were given to those bound for Compostela. Carrying that blessing, we return to Paris and enter the great temple of La Madeleine, where Magdalene presides in stone and mystery. Evening rest and welcome dinner in the city.

Day 3 – Monday · Magdalene in Art & Imagination

In the Louvre we encounter Donatello’s wild-haired penitent, Caravaggio’s Magdalene radiant in repentance, La Tour’s Magdalene with her candle of inner light. At the Musée Gustave Moreau, we meet her as muse and mystic, shimmering in symbolist vision. This day is a meditation on how Magdalene has been seen and dreamed across centuries.

Day 4 – Tuesday · The Churches of Magdalene & Mary

We pilgrimage through Paris’ sacred churches:

• Saint Sulpice, where the line of light and shadow crosses the nave,

• Saint Denys du Saint Sacrement, where Delacroix’s Magdalene clings to the Cross,

• Saint Germain l’Auxerrois, gothic church of queens and kings,

• and the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, alive with Marian devotion.
  As night falls, we climb Montmartre and enter Sacré Cœur for the all-night vigil, keeping watch in silence as Magdalene once kept watch at the tomb.
  
  (Overnight inside Sacré-Cœur)

Day 5 – Wednesday · Black Madonnas: Descent & Shadow Feminine

We journey north to the Basilica of Saint Denis, necropolis of queens and kings, and descend to the crypt where the Black Madonna resides. In the afternoon we enter the quiet chapel at Picpus Cemetery, where the Black Madonna of Peace watches over a garden of martyrs. This day is an immersion into the hidden, dark feminine of Magdalene’s path.

Day 6 – Thursday · Water & Anointing

We walk to Paris fountains, gathering living waters into altar jars: Magdalene’s tears, baptism, remembrance. Afternoon rest. In the evening we enter the hammam at the Grand Mosque of Paris, where steam, stone, and anointing recall Magdalene’s act of devotion and blessing.

Day 7 – Friday · Chartres: The Spiral of Completion

On our final day we travel to Chartres Cathedral. In silence we walk the labyrinth, each step a spiral inward. We descend to the crypt and meet the Black Madonna, luminous in her mystery. After a final meal together we return to Paris, where roses and water seal our closing circle: Magdalene’s blessing for the path ahead.

Closing Blessing

May the road you walk from here be soft beneath your feet,
lined with roses and the sound of living water.

May the Magdalene walk beside you —
in your silence, in your courage, in your remembering.

May what was anointed in you remain fragrant,
a quiet reminder of love’s unending presence.

May your heart stay open to mystery,
your eyes to beauty,
your soul to the sacred in all things.

And when you forget,
may you find your way again
by the spiral within you.

Go in gentleness,
go in grace,
go in light.