Lourdes

Lourdes is a bustling religious town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the multiple apparitions of Mary (Our Lady of  Lourdes), had by Bernadette Souubirous (St Bernadette). Beginning in 1858 Bernadette had 18 visions of Mary on separate occasions, We walked down to the Basilica and visited St Bernadette’s grotto where we drank the Holy Water. This spring water from the grotto is believed to possess healing properties. It was certainly very refreshing. Yearly from March to October the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a place of mass Roman Catholic pilgrimage. We went back to the Basilica at night and watched the pilgrimage from the top landing of the church. The procession was lead by a massive Mary float, all lit up and decorated eloquently. Many of the pilgrims held ornate banners and flags as they staunchly promenaded through the procession. Thousands of people took part in the open public mass. I had mixed feelings of the experience.  A part of me was in awe of the public display of Christian faith and hope by the masses.  However, I could not help but feel somewhat sad, seeing the elderly, frail and seriously ill being paraded in masses of wheelchairs, in the cold night air, desperately clinging to the hope that if they could just touch the rock where Mary appeared, they would be healed. We also visited an underground church which houses 2500 people each service.