Category: Sacred France

It’s Easter Monday and an official holiday in France, the culmination of le Carême (Lent), and also the last day of the long French holiday weekend. Le lundi de Pâques marks the end of la semaine sainte (Holy Week) which starts with Palm Sunday – le Dimanche des Rameaux. My favorite Palm Sunday in France…

This past week in France has been la Semaine Sainte (Holy Week) in the Christian tradition. The culmination of the period of Lent or le Carême, it started off last weekend with Palm Sunday, le dimanche des Rameaux, and has continued on to le Vendredi Saint. In France on Good Friday, faithful Catholics often attend Good Friday prayer…

This summer, I made a long overdue pilgrimage back to la Cathédrale de Chartres – Chartres Cathedral. It had been nearly 25 years since my last visit during my graduate school days in Paris. I wanted to refresh my memory of this crown jewel of gothic art and architecture and also to get in a…

One of my favorite pastimes in France is to wander into a church when music is playing. A few weeks ago, I got a two-for-one organ bonus at the lovely Abbaye Saint-Michel de Frigolet in the Provence countryside. The secluded monastery traces its origins to the tenth century and has two main churches, the romanesque Eglise Saint…