Diary of a visit to Lourdes

Way back in 1983 I visited Lourdes. Well sort of. It was all a bit 'random'. I had left a friend's place in Cologne and was using my Eurail Youthpass, heading for Brussels. For some reason when I arrived in Brussels I took an aversion to it and hopped on a train for Paris. I arrived in Paris at midnight, realised I had been pretty stupid as I had no intention of looking for a bed at that hour, so I hopped on the next train out which was to Toulouse. I sat up all night hardly sleeping in the train seat and when we reached Toulouse at 7am I felt incredibly grotty so I looked for the next train out. It was to Lourdes. I arrived there on a grey morning with hardly anyone about, wandered around for a few hours with my large backpack and then left! Hardly the most edifying visit of the century and not one of my best bits of travel planning!

Wednesday 3 May, 2006.
Although I am not exactly an observant Catholic I decided that on this trip I would visit Lourdes again while I was in the south of France, and stay at least a whole afternoon. I caught a train from Montpellier to Toulouse, then an onward connection to Lourdes, arriving soon after 2pm. It was a very sunny warm day with gorgeous views of the Pyrenees. I quickly found a simple hotel near the station where they seemed impressed by my New Zealand passport, and gave me a mountain view room. With a view to die for, I decided to stay at least two nights!
Being a rather slack Catholic I wasn't sure how I would find being in Lourdes. But amazingly I relaxed into it quite well. The complex was far bigger than I remembered, with different churches and chapels all over the place. I found it a bit overwhelming at first. Many other people were in huge pilgrimage groups from dioceses, especially French ones, and they all seemed to know what they were about.
I had just about had enough and was nearly ready to leave late afternoon, when I spied many people gathering over the river, some with flags and banners, and realised a procession was about to begin. It was my first taste of the daily procession into the underground basilica for Benediction and the blessing of the sick. Those in pilgrimage groups have turns in the procession, with the sick and disabled going first in each group, together with their carers. Most of the 'malades' are elderly but on this first day there was also a group of disabled children. The priests come later in the procession with the Blessed Sacrament. After about half an hour of procession, they have Benediction in the church. There was something special about the atmosphere of this place, where so many were caring for so many others, that captivated me as I stood in reverence and watched the procession pass by.

Thursday 4 May, 2006
This morning I went to the 9am English speakers' Mass. There were five priests all of whom had a different variant of an English accent! People from all continents were in the chapel. I had a brief talk with a priest from the US afterwards, outside in the sunshine, which I appreciated.
I found the place where you could place a Mass intention and placed one for a friend at home who was seriously ill.
I spent the rest of the morning just cruising and people-watching, and sitting by the river watching it flow by. The river Gave seemed to be carrying plenty of spring snow-melt and its flow was vigorous. By this stage of my trip I had become accustomed to the pattern of French mealtimes, and managed to organise myself to have lunch with the French for a change. Maybe half the reason the French are healthy is just that they stop for two hours and have a relaxing time in the middle of the day! I had a non-Lourdes break, finding an internet place and a supermarket, then returned to the sanctuary for the Blessed Sacrament procession again.
I intended to stay for the candlelit Marian procession this evening, but didn't realise how much the weather was due to change. I stayed by the river on the opposite bank to the Grotto as it got darker, and the sight of the candles in the gathering night was magic. But I should have gone and fetched my raincoat! I began the candlelit procession, but abandoned it when I got too cold. (I was finally recovering from a severe cold 'bug' that had affected me for a month so needed to take care!) This evening it was the 'Light' mysteries. The rosary was said in lots of languages and we even got a few English Hail Marys. It was something special to be so international. There was singing interspersed as well: I could sing the Ave bits lustily.

Friday, May 5, 2006
The start of the day wasn't so much my scene. The sermon at the English Mass had a rant about the devil. I escaped from it gladly and enjoyed sitting by the river which was very swift flowing.

I spent quite a bit of time by the river. There was a lot of activity to watch and listen to. At one point I was sitting on the ground leaning against a tree trunk, watching one of the big French diocesan groups having a mass outdoors, and enjoying their music. Suddenly, someone appeared in front of me to wish me the Peace of Christ in beautiful French.

From across the river, the sounds of prayer emanating from the bathing pools also wafted in the air. Sometimes those sounds were very pleasant and sometimes in some foreign language they were very untuneful, but all the time people were praying for those going in the pools. Maybe that is what makes this place so special - all the prayer just wafting around. Plus the presence of the sick and disabled, and those caring for them.

They have the smells and bells and candles and flags down to a fine art here. I took part in the Benediction and blessing of the sick again and found it very beautiful and moving.
Perhaps the most important thing that happened today was meeting two young women from New Zealand, Bridget and Michelle, and talking to them for half an hour, in the sunshine, beside the river. They were just setting off to do the St James pilgrimage to Compostella. I have often wondered how they got on.

I took no chances with the weather this evening for the Mariale procession and arrived for it with my jacket, hat, gloves and raincoat. I got slightly over-warm!

Saturday May 6, 2006
All my sitting by the river was giving me lots to think about and I was wishing I had met someone I could talk to in English. I had a good convo in French today with the man who ran the internet place, about how much the clouds and the hills around Lourdes reminded me of places I had been in New Zealand. He had some beautiful photos that he had taken in nearby parts of the Pyrenees. I was keen to join a day-tour from Lourdes across into Spain one day, but early May was too early in the season for these to run predictably.

By now I had sunk into the rhythm of the days at Lourdes. The sanctuary seemed much busier on a weekend though. The underground basilica was really full for the blessing of the sick.

I finally got brave enough today to line up to go into the Grotto itself and file past the rock where Mary appeared to Bernadette. This place had seemed like the 'holy of holies' for true believers and not somewhere I belonged. But I wanted to make a petition there for someone at home who was sick, so I finally managed to be a little more courageous.

This evening after dinner I came back well before the Mariale procession and I sat quietly over the river from the Grotto and watched the light of the candles shine out into the night. It began raining heavily and I needed to find shelter under a nearby building. For the Mariale procession itself though, the rain stopped, then poured down at the very end.

The thing that I have enjoyed the most about being at Lourdes, apart from sitting by the river and watching the world pass by, is taking part in the Mariale processions.

These start at 9pm, rain or shine, with a multilingual introduction over the loudspeakers. The procession sets off, and each night there is a rosary said, interspersed with singing along the way, often with parts in Latin that everyone can sing. The whole rosary is multilingual, led through the loudspeakers. The languages vary a little each night, depending on which countries have pilgrimage groups there. People generally only reply when the prayer is said in their own language. Most people are holding lit candles, and there are also spectators holding candles.

At the back it can take 2-3 decades to actually start moving and then you move around the whole processional esplanade. You can see people down the other side of the esplanade: the procession is very long.

It is hard to know why, but I find that each evening after I have taken part in this procession I have felt an incredible peace afterwards. In the morning after it, I have still felt that peace, almost as if I have been caressed.

Sunday May 7, 2006.

This turned out to be a very special day. I went to the huge International Mass for Sunday in the underground basilica which was packed. It was very beautifully done, eg four different priests read the gospel in four different languages, plus they had some other languages scrolling by on the big screen. But I was feeling quite isolated as an English speaker, and nearly in tears at some points. And the reading was about the Good Shepherd, and I was thinking 'What Good Shepherd? - I have been in Lourdes several days and I have all these thoughts in my head and nobody to say them to.' I was about to get a Lourdes-sized answer to that 'prayer'.

The end of the Mass arrived and people were dispersing when I noticed what looked like a New Zealand flag on somebody's backpack. Sure enough, the flag belonged to a young man from Hamilton, and we chatted as we left. It turned out he was meeting a NZ priest and I ended up meeting him too. The invitation was soon made to join them for lunch.

We bought baguettes etc and sat on a park bench, eating and chatting. Then I had a chance to say some of the things I had been thinking. Like sitting beside the river and thinking that maybe there is a God but that all the rest was beyond me. And like how peaceful I felt after the Mariale procession. The priest, listened and spoke, straight talking. He shared his very real faith but listened to what I had to say as well. He talked about Teresa's little acts of love. He told me I was a 'real Catholic'. He interpreted my feeling of peace as the embrace of Mary. We talked about faith and reason in Western society. He then very generously offered to say a rosary novena for me for the next nine days. It was a precious meeting and talk.

A bit later in the afternoon I met up with B again and we went to the Blessed Sacrament procession and Benediction together. He then went to a last Mass before leaving Lourdes and I joined him later for little things like buying food, and he bought little water bottles that he then filled, before a last visit to the Grotto to place a prayer petition.

It was a very special day on my travels, full of very rich and honest human contact. It was almost as if Mary noticed this child who had been to her procession on the Saturday night, feeling a bit lonely in the big Sunday Mass, and saying "Oi! - this child needs some attention." ( which I got in terms of human Kiwi contact after the Mass.)

Monday, May 8, 2006
I was basically ready to leave Lourdes on the Monday, but it was yet another public holiday in France. Anyone who has ever been caught on a European train without a reservation on a holiday weekend will understand why I stayed on another day! The extra day gave me a chance to reflect more on Sunday's conversation. And as it turned out, there was a Kiwi group in town that evening. As I waited to join my last Mariale procession, I spied a banner that read "Christchurch, New Zealand." They didn't seem to mind my invasion of their banner-space at all!

Tuesday May 9, 2006.
On my final morning I awoke to a beautiful clear morning. The view of the mountains from my hotel was stunning. I sat on a park bench across the road from the station for a while just looking at it.
The train left Lourdes, passing on its tracks well above the Sanctuary, giving a wonderful overview. We continued along beside the River Gave for quite some distance. Eventually our route receded from the mountains, and we headed north towards Bordeaux.