From the 25th to the 27th of January 2023, the 26th International St. Francis de Sales Days took place at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes France. The event was organized by the communications department for the Holy See, the Federation of Catholic Media, and SIGNIS: the World Catholic Association for Communication. 

The international conference invited 230 Catholic media professions from around the world to take part in a pilgrimage at the shrine and provided the setting for journalists who represented 25 different countries to meet one another and discuss important topics facing the Church and wider society today. 

Themes that were addressed during the conference included, transmitting the Gospel in today’s world, addressing the abuse crisis in the Church, examining the influencer trend on social media and how it will impact the future of Catholic journalism, and how to speak of the divisions of the Church. 

The talks were conducted in the Conference Hall of the French Bishops. Special guests to the conference included French actor, Gad Elmaleh, who recently converted to Catholicism and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See. Cardinal Parolin present the Jacques Hamel Prize, named in memory of the French priest assassinated in 2016, to journalist Christophe Chaland. 

A common theme throughout the pilgrimage was the importance of owning our identity as “Catholic” journalists in a secular world, and of sharing the faith through acts of kindness and charity.