Lourdes has been a site of significant importance to the Catholic Church since 1858. It was in February of that year that a young Bernadette Soubirous first had an apparition of a woman who announced herself as the Immaculate Conception. Having grown up with no theological schooling of any kind, Bernadette soon came to learn the teachings of God through this woman (who appeared to her multiple times). Mary's message was simple: "You will pray to God for sinners" she told her. It was a message of repentance and prayer. She requested that Bernadette dig a hole in the ground near where the apparition took place and when she did, a spring of water flowed from the earth. Bernadette was to drink the water and wash her face with it.
Mary then asked Bernadette to speak to the priests and have them build a chapel near the spring so that people could come and pray there. When Bernadette approached the Church with the stories of the apparitions and Mary's requests, she was thought to be foolish and was rejected. However, the Church eventually had a change of heart when they heard the words that were coming out of Bernadette's mouth, realizing that no young girl could come up with such things on her own, and that she had, in deed, been divinely inspired to say and do such things.
Since the church has been built in Lourdes, millions of people have come to do as Mary asked, to drink the water and wash with it. Those who are sick and disabled are tended to by countless volunteers, who push their wheelchairs and assist them in having the full Lourdes experience of prayer, repentance, and healing. While the Church has formally recognized only 68 accounts of healing as being scientifically inexplicable, thousands have claimed to have been healed from the water in Lourdes.
Another miracle of St. Bernadette is that after her death in 1879, her body never decomposed. It remains to this day in a glass case in Nevers, France, where people also come to witness God's divine power.
Lourdes is certainly an amazing and holy place, and with 2008 marking the 3rd jubilee (150th anniversary of the apparitions), the number of people present and the faith with which they prayed was stronger than ever. It was a great blessing to be there to witness such faith and to renew our own.
While Neal and I were touring the Louvre in Paris, my parents took the 6 hour train ride to Lourdes, and we flew down in the evening in time to meet them for dinner. Coming to Lourdes after Paris was quite a change, though a pleasant one. Not only had the landscape gone from flat to mountainous, and the city from large to small, but there was also a palpable spirituality that permeated everything around us. Even the cab driver spoke of Lourdes as one of the most holy places on earth. This was evident by the amount of people who had traveled from all over the globe to pray there, the 270 hotels in the city (making it the second most visited city in France after Paris), the 22 Catholic churches within the city limits, and the endless but packed souvenir shops that all sold an assortment of rosaries, candles, statues, and the like.
View from our table at a restaurant near the river.
The castle on the hill is called the Chateau Fort, which
used to be the prominent feature of Lourdes before
the apparitions.
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (above), and
the Basilica of the Rosary (below), which includes
multiple other chapels throughout.
The grotto, inside of which is the spot where Bernadette
dug the hole for the spring. The line was always so long
it took us almost the entire week to get in to see it.
Just outside the grotto there is a spot where people sit
to pray. On the floor of this area is this tiled marker
of the actual spot that Bernadette knelt when she saw
the apparitions.
Next to the grotto is an area where anyone can bring a
candle and light it in honor of a special intention or person.
The candles in this picture were priced anywhere from
$200-$400 and yet you see people carrying them in,
engraved with special names or prayers. There were also
smaller candles that could be purchased for the same
purpose.
This is called the "baths" and is where people come to be
submerged in the water that flows from the spring. The
line was at least 300 people long at any given time, though
there are only two groups a day that get through. In order
to be part of one of those groups, you need to line up 2-3
hours ahead of the cut-off time.
Inside the Basilica of the Rosary
Around the central dome of the sanctuary
are 15 Chapels of the Mysteries which are
decorated with mosaics depicting the 15 mysteries
of the Rosary (the five joyous, sorrowful, and
glorious). They were stunning.
View from the second floor of the basilica
Pizza dinner - cheers!
Every night there is a candlelight procession that takes place
outside the basilica, where the rosary is prayed in multiple
languages. It's truly a sight to see. Thousands gather to
pray and sing aloud, as they walk in procession following
a statue of the Blessed Virgin.
Walking in procession behind mom and Neal
(sorry for the shaky camera - it's hard to
walk and film at the same time!)
Singing in between decades of the rosary
As the words "Ave Maria" were sung, everyone
would lift their candles in unison.
This was not the statue that was carried in
the procession, but remained at the entrance
to one side of the basilica. People put flowers
here to honor her, and we put one here as well.
It was the flower that Val had given me for
helping to read at the wedding. We said a
special prayer for the newlywed couple here.
Exploring the area, my parents recommended walking
a hill on which life-sized stations of the cross had been
erected. We followed an Italian group who read from
scripture and said a prayer at each station. Though we
couldn't understand exactly what was being said, we
prayed along with them. The view as we walked up the
hill was beautiful.
This was the most powerful station, not only because
of its meaning but because of its lifelike size.
People prostrated on the ground in reverence for Jesus's sacrifice
At the end of the hike, Neal took a moment to rest and
drink from our water "jug," which was filled with water
from the spring (there are special faucets where you can
fill water containers).
Mmmm....more gelato
A glimpse of what the town looked like at night.
This restaurant was called Cafe Jean d'Arc (Joan
of Arc), which my mom endearingly referred to
as Joanie of Arc (in honor of her friend Joanie).
Visiting the Chateau Fort on the hill
If you look down from the castle you can see the basilica.
In front of it is a huge patch of oval-shaped grass. Believe
it or not, underneath that grass is an enormous underground
church.
The gardens had some of the most brilliant-colored flowers
A miniature replica of an abbey, which I thought
was really well done
After we left the castle, we ventured up even higher by
taking a tram up to Le Pic de Jer (Jer being the name
of the particular mountain we're standing on here)
There were panoramic views as far as the eye could see.
The only part I didn't like about this adventure
was the tram ride up and down the mountain. Yikes!
Sunday mass inside the underground church. This was
an international mass in multiple languages that had
dancers from India perform throughout. The mass
was so crowded we had to sit on the floor.
The river that runs along side the basilica and the grotto
Sunset over the basilica
View of the nightly procession from our hotel balcony
(we could even hear them singing)
While Neal and Dad had been lucky enough to get into the
baths two days before we left, mom and I weren't so lucky
(they separate the men's line from the women's). So, the
day before we left we got up at 5:30 a.m. and were in line by 6.
Although there were still about 150 people ahead of us, we
got in before the cut off and several hours later were dipped
in the freezing cold baths, trying hard to focus not on the
temperature of the water but on the prayers and intentions
on our heart. It's quite a humbling experience and in many
ways, refreshing.
Since Mom and Dad had been to Lourdes twice before,
they had made friends with Filipe (left), a waiter at the
local New Orleans Cafe, where we ate breakfast daily.
On this trip we also befriended Michele (which is how they
say Michael in french), who is pictured here on the right.
Our daily gelato spot (do you see our friend waiving
to us from inside?)
The grotto lit up at night. On our last night we stood
in line and finally got in to see the place where
Bernadette originally dug the hole for the spring.
There it is, under the glass
Finally, we lit a candle for all of our family
and friends, praying for each one individually.
