While the Pope’s September visit to France turns global attention to Notre Dame Cathedral and Lourdes, a lesser-known basilica — with ties to Sts. Thérèse of Lisieux and John Henry Newman, the Augustinians, and even Mozart — keeps one of France’s most enduring Marian devotions alive.
The Marian dimension of Pope Leo XIV’s Sept. 25-28 apostolic trip to France is already evident in the detailed itinerary released by the Vatican, including solemn vespers at the newly restored Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral (named for Our Lady), followed by a weekend in Lourdes, where the Blessed Virgin appeared 18 times to a young peasant girl in 1858.
This spiritual focus also offers an opportunity to draw attention to other major sites of Marian devotion scattered throughout the country, even if they are not on the agenda for upcoming papal visit. For instance, many Catholics know of the famous Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on Rue du Bac, where Mary is said to have appeared to St. Catherine Labouré. However, there is another site — less well-known but no less iconic — located just a few steps from the Paris Stock Exchange: the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories.
