Lourdes was a very different place on Monday 11th February 2008 to the town it had been on the same day in 1858. On the Prairie opposite the Grotto, where Our Lady appeared for the first time to Bernadette, about 70,000 people descended for Mass. Over 800 priests and 25 bishops attended the Mass with pilgrims from all over the world. The day was cold, as you would expect for February, but the sun shone and people were just happy to be there.
I had undertaken the pilgrimage as part of our Diocesan Lourdes Organising Committee to visit the town before the main pilgrimages began, to see what had changed and subsequently what changes we needed to make to our plans. The trip was also a perfect time to reflect on what had happened personally to us since we were last in Lourdes and to spend time for ourselves in Lourdes.
I had never seen Lourdes as busy as it became over the weekend. It was impossible to get into the Grotto without joining a substantial queue. We had been lucky enough to arrive before the main crowds and so had the joy of being there with relatively few pilgrims and then being part of the massive celebrations. One of the most spectacular sights of the trip was the torchlight procession on Sunday, at the end of which the feast day was announced. Despite the sanctuary filling up with people, there were still many who had another mile of walking before they arrived in front of the Rosary Basilica. Queuing seemed to be ‘de rigueur’ over the weekend. As we passed the Baths, a queue of about 50 people had already converged despite the fact they did not open for another two hours. “That just shows the strength of their faith”, said one of my friends. And it does. That was what was most amazing about the trip: the variety of people who had made the pilgrimage, to travel to Lourdes to pray for their own miracles.
Whilst we were in Lourdes, an article came to our attention wherein a female journalist questioned whether miracles occur in Lourdes. In fact there has not been an acknowledged miracle in Lourdes since 1987. But Lourdes is more than that. It is a place where people come to feel at home, to feel special and to be among friends. I find it difficult to put into words just what it is that is so special about Lourdes, but it is. Over the weekend of the anniversary of the apparitions, I felt at home, I felt special and I was certainly among friends.
Fiona Moffat, Youth Manager
