French officials have prevented schools from taking pupils for free to a musical about Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, claiming it would contravene rules on keeping all religion out of education. The show’s producers were informed by mail that it was being excluded from a “pass culture” scheme that allows teachers to take groups to cultural events for free, for not respecting the principle of laïcité, a complex republican tenet often translated as “secularism”. Bernadette Soubirous was 14 when she claimed to have had visions of the Virgin Mary in a grotto in Lourdes in 1858. The grotto is now a shrine and pilgrimage site for 5 million visitors a year. Roberto Ciurleo, a co-producer of the show Bernadette de Lourdes, described the decision as “brutal and senseless” and said the production team would be contesting it. “Our show is a historical reconstruction in the form of a police investigation, drawn from the official records … it tells the story of Bernadette’s interrogations,” Ciurleo said. “There is no apparition of the Virgin Mary in the grotto.” He added: “The director is an atheist, as are the songwriters.” The commission that rules on what works are covered by the pass decided the musical offered “no particular educational dimension” and that it raised questions about respect for the laïcité charter. The ministry of education’s website describes laïcité as a “principle of freedom, the freedom to believe or not to believe. It is the foundation of our society and our school, which must protect students from ideological, economic and religious proselytising.” It is the same charter that bans pupils from wearing objects or clothing considered ostentatious religious symbols, including headscarves, kippahs and large crosses, at school. The pass culture was launched in May 2021 and exists in two forms: secondary school pupils are given credit – including €300 (£260) on their 18th birthday – to buy books, concert, theatre and cinema tickets, newspaper and magazine subscriptions or music streaming, and for schools to use for class “educational artistic and cultural activities”. Individual students can still use their pass to attend the musical – which has been touring France since April 2022 and continues until next year – for free but not school groups. Ciurleo added: “At the mere mention of the show’s title, the members of the commission decided that we were a problem for secularism. Without even visiting us, or asking us any questions.” He rejected the idea the show had little educational value, saying a discussion workshop was held for school groups after the performance. Bernadette of Lourdes was interrogated about her visions by the Catholic church authorities, which declared the apparitions authentic in 1862. She later became a nun and was canonised in 1921, 42 years after her death aged 35.