As a part of this incredible journey, I had the opportunity to visit Lourdes, France, where the Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a poor shepherd girl.
Just like in Fatima, this was an overwhelming and deeply emotional visit. I had the opportunity to visit the shrine in the grotto where the apparitions occurred and touch the walls where water from the blessed spring seeps. Many people use new handkerchiefs to absorb these waters. Most just touch or kiss the grotto wall. My friend Diane and I also participated in the procession at night and the Mass at 11 PM. Hard to believe I was up so late on a vacation!
We also went early in the morning to the shrine where I waited for a couple of hours to experience the bath in the water from the spring. It is a spiritual cleansing experience. Cold, cold, cold waters. Many people lined up to participate in this experience, some waiting since 5:30 AM.
We also walked around Lourdes and visited Bernadette's family home and the Church where she was baptized. If I am given an opportunity to visit these special sites again, I would like to have more time to just contemplate their significance.
Many more visitors were in Lourdes, and there was a special large delegation of cancer patients, each with their own special requests, no doubt. The experience here in Lourdes and in Fatima were unexpectedly deeply moving. It is also reassuring to see so many people committed to religion and faith.
Here are a few pictures of the visit to Lourdes, many of the cathedral and of the night time processions.
This is a night time photograph of the large statue on the grounds of the cathedral.
St. Bernadette. My patron saint.
The Church of St. Bernadette
Statue of St. Bernadette by the church.
Thousands and thousands of participants in the procession at night.
This is the seating area for those who are mobility limited. The rest of the crowd stands.
Murals on the walls of the cathedral.
Lighted cross up high in the trees.
Bernadette worked in an infirmary with the sick. Often she was also a patient.
Map of pertinent sites to visit, made easy by signs painted on the sidewalks.
Church of cloistered nuns overlooking the grotto.
Daytime side view of the cathedral.
Peaceful grounds by the cathedral. This is the river Bernadette crossed to get to the grotto. A good place for contemplation and prayer.
A great blue heron and some ducks in the river. I can do bird watching almost every where I travel!
No trip is complete without ice cream!
Chapel and hospice facility where Bernadette lived and worked.
Bernadette's childhood home.
Church where Bernadette attended services and was baptized,
Bernadette's home in the mill.
Video clip of procession.
Cross carried in procession.
Statue of Blessed Mother in procession.
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