This year over the Easter holiday, the Junior class from Gregory the Great Academy, led by staff members Matthew Williams and David McMyne, traveled to France for two weeks of spiritual and cultural adventure. The trip began in Paris, where the boys visited the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Parisian Catacombs, and the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal where the body St. Catherine Laboure is enshrined.
From Paris, the boys traveled to a large farm east of Bourges, where they stayed on an 800 acre property in a large chateau from the 13th century. Bourges is home to one of the largest gothic cathedrals in France and boasts over 1500 half-timbered buildings from the Middle Ages. Their time in Bourges included a visit to nearby Nevers, to visit and pray before the incorrupt body of St. Bernadette Soubirous, who received the famous vision of Our Lady of Lourdes.
On Holy Thursday, the students and staff began the Easter Triduum at the Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Fontgombault. The boys participated in all of the services at the monastery, including those of the divine office. It was an incredibly spiritual time for all who participated.
From Fontgombault the boys made their way to Tours, the town of Forgeres, the famous island monastery town of Mont Saint-Michel, Omaha Beach, Lisieux, and spent their final day in Chartres.
