Walking in the Footsteps of the Saints, Part 2: Shores of Normandy

November 4, 2025

Today was a day of remembrance.  Each of us in our group had prepared for a day trip to the shores of Normandy and were at our bus in time for an 8:00am departure.  Along the route, we stopped in Port-en-Bessin where Fr. Chinna celebrated Mass at Eglise Saint-André Catholic Church with us.  This was our first peek at some of the effects of June 6, 1944.  

Built between 1880-1898, this church replaced a 12th century sanctuary to accommodate this growing fishing community.  This is a most unique church, as it definitely has a maritime theme going on.  Giant seashells, used as holy water fonts, greet you when you first enter the church.  If that didn’t strike you as unusual, the scale models of ships mounted to the walls and the banners adorning the interior with the names of ships lost at sea certainly will!  With a more careful look, you’ll see the community’s dedication to its seafaring lifestyle continue in many of the stained-glass windows.  A couple of examples include depictions of Jesus calming the seas and fishermen’s boats overloaded with their catch when Jesus told them to cast their nets one final time. So, I found myself confused when I began looking at the art depicted in the stained-glass.  What confused me most was the lack of any art in many of the windows.  There was simply clear glass instead of stained glass.  I tried asking a local parishioner about it, but language was too much of a barrier between us.  I was stuck using Google to help me solve the mystery.  What I learned was that this building was severely damaged during the bombings that took place in June 1944.  In helping free this area from Nazi occupation, Britain dropped bombs that destroyed the spire on the exterior and blew out all of the windows.  

Many of the stained-glass windows have since been replaced and the spire has been rebuilt.  The clear windows serve as a lasting memory of the horror this community suffered not only during Nazi occupation, but during its path to liberation.  The model ships and colorful banners serve as memorials to the sailors and their ships that have been lost at sea.  This certainly is a church that has marched forward in time by rebuilding its worship space following the war and, at the same time, keeping its past memorialized.  

Following Mass, we drove past the town’s busy harbor on our way to Arromanches-les-Bains.  It certainly seems the fishing industry is alive and well here.  I’m willing to bet the local restaurants are sure to offer “The Catch of the Day” on their menus!

Arromanches was a huge history lesson for me, as I had NEVER heard of it!  This was the town whose beach (Gold Beach) was invaded by Britain on D-Day.  Our first “history class” of the day was taught via a theater in the round.  Images from British, French, American, Canadian, and German archives were projected onto the nine screens that surrounded us.  We certainly saw countless saints as they bravely stormed the five beaches (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) of Normandy.  

Dick and I had watched the opening scenes of “Saving Private Ryan” before we left on this trip.  It’s such a powerful film, acclaimed to be brutally accurate in capturing the horrific scene of D-Day.  The combination of “Saving Private Ryan”, watching real images of the day, and being in the exact location of the horror made for an emotional day.  

Note the remanent of the floating harbor still visible today

Arromanches was particularly interesting, as the British had designed, built and were able to successfully solve the huge problem of how to get equipment unloaded off of ships and onto the shore of Gold Beach. This was absolutely mandatory, as liberating the shoreline was a start, but then the Allies needed to be able to liberate the entirety of France and this required tanks, trucks, ambulances, supplies and men.  The Normandy shoreline was too shallow for ships to be able to dock and unload needed supplies and equipment.  There simply were no harbors.  The answer:  an elaborate plan to secretly build floating harbors (code name: Mulberries) in Britain, ship them across the channel and construct them off the shore of Arromanches under enemy fire.  It worked!  In 100 days, 220,000 soldiers, 530,000 tons of supplies and 39,000 vehicles were landed in Arromanches!  Now, that’s impressive!  Today, you can still see remnants off the shoreline of Gold Beach.  

During the bus ride through Normandy, I finally gained an understanding of the difficulties encountered in liberating France once we had “boots on the ground”.  I had heard of the “hedgerow” warfare soldiers faced, but I just couldn’t picture the enormity of this factor.  It was in traveling through the countryside that I was able to see the rows of dense “hedges” that line each of the small farm fields.  Rather than wire or wooden fences, farmers have “fences” of thick vegetation that keep livestock contained and define individual fields.  It’s much different from the vast acres upon acres of farm fields we see in the heartland of America.  The frequency and density of this vegetation provided cover for enemy to hide in making for great difficulty in the Allies’ advancement through Normandy.  It took approximately three months for Normandy (roughly the size of Massachusetts) to be liberated.  Seeing all of this in person has brought all of the history books from my school years alive and I finally have a real understanding of how this all went down.  

Remnants of the floating road to shore

Road into town from floating harbor

View back to the floating harbor

Warming up with a café

Today, Arromanches is pretty close to the same population it was prior to D-Day – a population of 431 people.  It has returned to a peaceful fishing village with a little twist of tourism added to it.  It was nice to stroll down the main street of town and pop into the local boulangerie (bakery)/patisserie (pastry shop) for take-out of quiche and a pastry.  Fellow pilgrims, Kathy and Brooke, joined us for lunch on a bench overlooking the shoreline of Gold Beach.  I couldn’t help but reflect on what a different scene this was 81 years ago.  We watched a fisherman bring his boat as close to shore as he could before letting down his anchor and wading up to the beach where his boat’s trailer waited for him.  Yep, still no permanent harbor to dock his boat at!

Streets of Arromanche

Oh, the delicious options to choose from!

Check out the fisherman bringing in his boat!

Having gained an understanding of how we were able to get equipment off ships and in the hands of soldiers, we were off to Omaha Beach, located to the west of Gold Beach.  This was another very somber scene of remembrance.  The weather fit the mood perfectly for this day.  There was a fairly thick cloud cover, combined with a light mist and bone chilling breeze.  Walking along the sandy beach, you could look up at the cliff-like hill that faced the soldiers once they made it across the massive expanse of beach.  Still existing today are the German bunkers, built into the cliff, from where gunfire rained down on the American soldiers attempting to take Omaha Beach.  It was such a trap, especially for the first assault, whose men were brutally gunned down.  As heart-wrenching of a scene as it was to take in, I’m glad this has been preserved and that I had the opportunity to go there.  It gave me a better appreciation for the bravery and sainthood of the Allied forces that lost their lives along the Normandy shoreline.  It also gave me more insight on the totality of the horror of D-Day.  On D-Day alone, it is estimated there were over 10,300 casualties (killed, wounded or missing) counting the Allies alone.  This doesn’t include the civilians or the Germans.  I can’t say I had ever given much thought to the thousands of innocent lives – the mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, teachers, store owners… civilians who lived here and lost their lives on this important day in history.  What I had to keep telling myself was that this tragic day was the beginning of the end of WWII.  

Our final stop before heading back to Lisieux was at the American Cemetery in Collevile-sur-Mer.  This cemetery has headstones, all perfectly aligned, of 9,387 soldiers who fell in combat.  For as far as you can see, headstones continue in all directions.  To grasp the enormity of all of this, you have to understand that this is only one of 27 cemeteries from WWII in Normandy alone.  Cemeteries such as this are throughout Europe.  This is sacrifice.  I can’t help but feel each marked grave represents a saint.  They led the fight that ended the Nazi reign.  They began the fight that led to the liberation of those who were in concentration camps.  They gave their lives so others would be able to live their lives free from tyranny.  Yes, they must be saints.

Next up!  Mont Saint-Michel