International, with professionals of nearly 30 nationalities, the Journées Saint François de Sales allow exchanges and exceptional meetings between journalists of the Catholic media, publishers and persons in charge of the communication of the Church, under the eyes of Saint Francis de Sales, patron of the journalists. In 2019, the Marian city receives for the second time these days whose theme is “Journalism and convictions”.

This year again, from January 30 to February 1, these days are co-organized by the Secretariat for Communication of the Holy See, the Federation of Catholic Media and Signis. They will have an exceptional international dimension and will allow unique meetings and exchanges. The Jacques Hamel Prize will be awarded by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in the presence of Roselyne Hamel, the murdered priest’s sister.

François Ernenwein, coordinator of the Days, will present these meetings which will welcome notably Nicolas Brouwet, bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes; Jean-Marie Montel, President of the Federation of Catholic Media; Helen Osman, president of Signis Monde; Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of the Vatican.
On Wednesday, January 30th, participants will be able to deepen their knowledge of the history of the apparitions of Lourdes thanks to the projection of a film on the message of Lourdes and an accompanied visit in the sanctuary and places of life of Bernadette Soubirous.

We present herewith a preliminary program.

At 3:45 pm, a Mass, presided over by Bishop Nicolas Brouwet, will open these days.
The chosen theme, “Journalism and Convictions”, will allow journalists to restate the very foundations of their commitments.

At 17:00, in the hemicycle Sainte-Bernadette, from a video message, Jean Vanier will look at the Christian press and explain the urgency of combining convictions and openness.
The meeting will then be able to follow the exchanges between Helen Osman, president of Signis World Catholic Association for Communication (United States) and François Euvé, director of the journal Etudes, on the questions: In the field of convictions, can we do without an absolute or does one have to resign oneself to living in a world where the existential individual and collective markers are scrambled?

At 18:45, Father André Cabes, rector of the Sanctuary, and Klaus Nientiedt, editor-in-chief of the Konradsblatt (Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) will answer the questions: In the Church, how to live a plurality of convictions? What is the part of interpretation in debates and pastoral work?

At 8 pm, with Dominique Potier, socialist deputy from Meurthe-et-Moselle (France), and Daniel Bougnoux, philosopher, the audience will be able to assess the role of beliefs in culture, education and their necessary presence in a democracy.

Thursday, January 31, opened by a Mass presided by Bishop Norbert Turini, Bishop of Perpignan-Elne, is just as rich with exchanges and debates on the exploration in different places of society around convictions: family, school and politics, with Anne Muxel, political scientist, and Father Nigel Barrett, archdiocese of Bombay (India).

At the end of the morning, Professor Alain Bentolila, linguist, and Father Walter Chikwendu Ihejirika, professor at the University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria), president of Signis Afrique, will lead the debate “School and convictions. What debate at school? “. They will be followed by Paul Piccarreta, director of the review Limites, and Bernard Perret, socio-economist who will propose issues to the temptation of radicalism to fight against the status quo.

In the afternoon, reflection and sharing workshops for journalists, communicators and sales representatives will encourage more specific meetings.


From 6:30 pm, Jean Birnbaum, editor-in-chief of Le Monde des livres, author of a study on the damage caused by the refusal to consider the religious factor in the political field, will help to reflect on the consequences of this “silence “religious” and give ways to change.

In the evening, presentation of the musical show “Bernadette of Lourdes”, which will be given in the Marian city, Robert Hossein space.


On Friday 1 February, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, will celebrate Mass from 7.30 am, and will then present the “Jacques Hamel Prize”, in the presence of Mrs. Roselyne Hamel, sister of Father Jacques Hamel, assassinated July 26, 2016 by two terrorists, in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray (France).


The morning will continue with marketing tips from blogger Erwan Le Morhedec, lawyer, better known by the pseudonym Koz, and sociologist Jean-Marie Charon.

From 11am, Guillaume Tabard, editor-in-chief and political editorialist at Le Figaro and Father Jean-Paul Sagadou, provincial delegate of the Assumption for West Africa, will demonstrate that all media have convictions, more or less explicit.

And lastly, Gilles Vanderpooten, director of Reporters d’Espoirs, and Michel Zanzucchi, editorialist at Avvenire (Italy), will provide insights and answers for more editorial editorial lines that offer solutions for constructive journalism.


Quality simultaneous translation in 3 languages ​​(French, English and Italian) will allow everyone to follow the work efficiently.

Link to register online: https://evenement.otrement.info/

Contact: federation@medias-catholiques.fr
01 74 31 68 98