Following in the Footsteps of the Saints, Part 7: Lourdes!

November 9-10, 2025

The view from our hotel room!

Our final destination of this pilgrimage took us to southern France via the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV).  The 520-mile trip from Paris to Lourdes took only two hours rather than the eight or nine hours a bus or car would need to take (not counting additional time to stop and stretch your legs).  This “Fast Train” truly was fast, as it reached speeds of 200 mph on the straight stretches.  What a fantastic mode of transportation!  Not only was it speedy, but also astoundingly smooth and quiet.  On top of that, one car down from us was the café, offering not only delicious espressos but also tasty pastries, sandwiches and other selections of light snacks.  I’m definitely a fan of this mode of public transportation!

All aboard!

I have to say, when we were first considering going on this pilgrimage, it was seeing Lourdes on the itinerary that grabbed my attention.  My grandmother had been to Lourdes in the 1960’s and returned home with pendants for each of her granddaughters.  These pendants have the image of Mary on one side and Bernadette’s apparition of the Immaculate Conception on the back side, covered with a stunning, clear blue crystal.  I’ve always treasured mine and wore in continuously until some of the blue crystal began to crack.  Lourdes has been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember and this was my chance!

Accommodations for our two nights in Lourdes were at the Grand Hôtel Gallia & Londres.  I wonder if this is where Grandma Blondell stayed!  Once our group had gotten settled into our rooms, we headed for Mass at Saint Gabriel Chapel.  Guess who our celebrant was.  Yes, once again we were blessed to have Fr. Chinna preside at Mass!  The walls in this chapel are lined with marble ex-voto plaques.  Each plaque was donated by a previous pilgrim who was expressing thanksgiving for a miracle they received after having prayed for help at Lourdes. What great witness to the power of prayers for intercession!

Saint Gabriel Chapel’s walls aren’t the only walls covered with ex-voto plaques.  Additionally, the walls in the corridor, the nave of the Crypt as well as the walls of the Upper Basilica are covered with them!  It’s breathtaking, knowing each of these thousands and thousands of plaques recognizes a pilgrim’s prayer for healing that was answered.  

Walls covered from floor to ceiling with thanks for prayers answered continued around every corner!

Following a group dinner at our hotel, we were blessed to be able to participate in the candlelight procession with all of the other pilgrims who had traveled from around the world to Lourdes.  The procession leads you to the grotto where Bernadette experienced 18 apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the course of six months.  This candlelight procession was such an incredible experience!  I can’t even imagine what this must look like on the anniversary dates of Bernadette’s apparitions.  As it was, I thought the crowd was immense!  

Dinner at our hotel, including octopus!

So, a little about St. Bernadette… Bernadette Soubirous, born in 1844, was the oldest of nine children.  Sadly, five of her siblings died in infancy or early childhood.  Her father was a miller in the small town (population of around 4,000 at the time) of Lourdes.  Economic conditions were extremely difficult.  France was experiencing poor harvests, bank crises, high food prices, and rising unemployment which were big factors leading to the 1848 French Revolution.  Bernadette’s family suffered the same economic struggles much of France did and ended up losing their home and business.  As a result, the family sought shelter in what had once been a former prison cell.  

This room is the entirety of the home Bernadette's family of six lived in.

It was on February 11, 1858 that Bernadette had her first apparition.  Bernadette, her sister, and a friend were out searching for firewood to warm their cold, damp “home” as well as to cook their food.  While searching for firewood, Bernadette heard the sound of the wind and saw the image of a lady standing in an alcove above her.  Bernadette fell on her knees and began praying the rosary.  At this, the lady smiled and joined Bernadette’s prayers.  And thus, it began!  Bernadette returned to the site time and time again, seeing this “lady”, as Bernadette called her, a total of 18 times.  Word spread and crowds reaching into the thousands began to process along with Bernadette to the grotto.  Although no one else saw the Blessed Virgin Mary, they did witness Bernadette fall to her knees and enter into a trance like state.  It was at this site that Bernadette was told to wash and drink from the water.  At the time, there was only a field of mud but, shortly after Bernadette “washed and drank” from the mud puddle, a spring emerged!  Not only that, but miraculous healings began to happen when other people washed and drank from the spring!  Over 7,000 miraculous healings have been claimed at this site!  Seventy-two of these healings have been thoroughly investigated and found to meet the church’s rigorous medical scrutiny and declared an official medical miracle.  The latest declaration was in April 2025.  

For me, the highlight of the candlelit procession was being one of the thousands of people who came together from around the world and faithfully walked together as one to the site where Bernadette encountered the “lady” who had revealed herself to Bernadette as ”The Immaculate Conception”.  Once we reached this holy place, we gathered close together and began praying the rosary.  An individual, standing where you could easily imagine Bernadette knelt and prayed, had a microphone and led us in the very prayers Bernadette had prayed with Mary.  After a few prayers, they handed the microphone to another individual who continued the rosary, only this time, in a different language. This pattern continued countless times with no one missing a beat!  It was such an incredible experience!  I’m certain that at some point during the rosary, we each heard it in our native tongue.  I’ve never experienced such a powerful feeling of world-wide unity.  I so pray for the entire world to come together and find this peace and love for each other.  What an incredible night!  Needless to say, I slept especially peacefully that night!

Outside of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes

St. Bernadette's Reliquary

Our final day in Lourdes began with Mass, this time in the Crypt of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes!  Going to Mass daily may sound repetitive, but truly, this was always something we all looked forward to.  For each Mass, we gathered with people we have become so close to.  On top of that, we gathered in absolutely incredible spaces. 

Mass in the Crypt

Another highpoint of the day was praying the Stations of the Cross.  Being located in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, Lourdes’ terrain is quite hilly!  The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is built literally on top of the grotto where Mary appeared.  The same hill continues its climb behind this sanctuary.  As you follow a trail through this rocky and wooded hillside, you find life size stations of the cross that were built in 1898.  As we followed along the scene of Christ’s Passion, unexpectedly, a flock of sheep crossed our path.  I suddenly became acutely aware that I was a member of Christ’s flock.  As a group, we were climbing the hill to Calgary, following the Innocent Lamb as He was being led to his slaughter.  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

Jonathon leads us in prayer at the 4th Station - "Jesus meets His Mother".

This entire pilgrimage was filled with so many powerful moments, but Lourdes had to be the site most densely packed with them.  After praying the Stations of the Cross, we once again gathered together back at the bottom of this hill, near the Grotto.  Adjacent to where Mary had told Bernadette to “wash and drink” from the spring water are the baths.  Miracles began to be attributed to the waters from this spring almost immediately after Bernadette’s first apparition.  Makeshift bathing pools were built in the 1850’s with continual improvements being made to the pools.  The large number of people wanting access to the water eventually led to the current baths being built in 1955.  These baths have been upgraded several times since then.  Over 350,000 people used these baths annually until 2020 when COVID hit.  Today, they’ve adapted the immersion bathing to what is called the “water gesture”.  The immersion bath would have been amazing, but I honestly found the simpler water gesture to be meaningful and emotional as well.  For this, we gathered in groups of four to six people in one of the 17 separate bath cubicles.  Standing beside one of the formerly used tubs, we washed and drank the healing spring water while praying together with one of the Sisters who volunteers there.  I don’t think anyone leaves there with a dry eye.  It’s more than physical cures that occur.  Many people experience spiritual healings!  Forgiveness, powerful feelings of peace and profound changes of heart are also common miracles experienced through the healing waters of Lourdes! 

Along the banks of Gave de Pau near the Grotto

Each door leads to a hallway where you find the immersion tub cubicles.

Eighteen water fountains line this wall for pilgrims to fill water bottles.  One fountain for each apparition!

The arch to the right of the sanctuary leads to the grotto.

Lunch on the streets of Lourdes

Mosaic of the 5th Sorrowful Mystery.  Note the sacrificial pelican above the arch.

The remainder of the day was filled with learning about the beautiful mosaics in and around the sanctuary, touring Bernadette’s two childhood homes (the Boly Mill, where she was born, and the Cachot, where her family found refuge when they became unhoused) and packing for our early morning departure.   The day officially wrapped up with a group dinner at Alexandra le Bon Sens. Delicious! 

The store fronts are all closed for the day.

On the walk back from dinner, I took a little side trip and found myself back at the grotto.  Only a few people remained from the evening’s candlelight procession.  In large part, the crowd had already dispersed.  It was peaceful and quiet.  It was incredible to spend a bit of time reflecting on this entire experience.  I would love to talk to Grandma Blondell about Lourdes.  I can imagine her standing beside the Grotto.  I can imagine her experiencing an immersion bath, walking the Stations of the Cross, touring Bernadette’s homes, shopping the little shops and drinking in the stunning beauty of the snowcapped Pyrenees Mountains.  I can’t thank Fr. Chinna enough for organizing the trip and giving St. Boniface this blessed experience.

Northern Lights welcomed us home!

Up Next:  El Salvador