The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

By the time I reached my early seventies, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience the joys of travel. While reflecting on my travels, I realized that I hadn’t yet experienced a religious pilgrimage. As a member of the Catholic faith, I saw this as an opportunity to strengthen and enhance my spiritual life.

After leafing through a magazine about pilgrimage sites around the world, I learned that each year more than six million people travel from 170 different countries to visit Lourdes, a tiny village at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains of France. Lourdes is the place where 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous saw visions of the Virgin Mary in the mid-nineteenth century. Her story has been told in the movie The Song of Bernadette.

The following spring, I joined my sister, her husband and a group of 250 people traveling on the pilgrimage to Lourdes. Along with clergy and volunteers, sick or disabled people called Malades were hosted. The Catholic group’s motto is to uphold the faith and to serve the poor and the sick.

Mass in the Grotto. AP file photo by Bob Edme.

On a typical day, the Malades were assisted into carts to be transported to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, otherwise known as the Domaine, where all masses and activities are held. At the height of the season, from April to October, there are 52 masses celebrated each day. International masses are held in the underground basilica which accommodates 20,000 people.

The Domaine area covers several square miles around the Grotto, where Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette. There you can see the bubbling waters of the miraculous fountain under a glass cover. This is also the location of the baths and the fountain, where nine water taps dispense spring water for washing or drinking.

The baths are operated by a group of gentle, dedicated men and women who ensure a deeply spiritual experience. I waited in the cold, on hard benches for an hour, listening to hushed conversations of people from all over the world. (The wait on weekends can be three hours.)

When my turn came, I was asked what language I spoke, and then directed to the women’s dressing room where an English-speaking woman assisted in removing my clothes while covering me with a sheet. She led me to a private bath chamber where two more women helped me step into a marble tub, containing about two feet of very cold spring water. It is changed often, but many people use the same water, so is tested frequently by medical personnel and has never been known to cause disease.

As I entered the tub, I was requested to pray and kiss a statue of Our Lady. I asked to be completely immersed, so after sitting down, the women tipped me back and all the way in. (Our Lady only instructed Bernadette to wash in the water, but I wasn't going to travel all the way to Lourdes without having the full experience). No one hates cold water more than I do, but I only remember that the water seemed exhilarating. A small miracle! When I walked out, I was elated to see that the cold, dreary day had changed into a beautiful sunny day, matching my spirits perfectly.

One evening our group took part in a candlelight procession, along with thousands of pilgrims like ourselves. We carried lighted candles as a symbol of our faith. To see this procession from a higher vantage point is a spectacular sight.

The commercial section of town has about 300 hotels, along with a good variety of restaurants and shops. One evening, a few of us took a taxi to La Chataigneraie, a tiny family restaurant in the mountains, where we enjoyed a superb meal and a visit with the owners. The town shops sell numerous religious articles, including a varied selection of bottles for transporting the sacred spring water back home for friends and family.

Are there miracles? Most people travel to Lourdes for spiritual healing, while the sick and disabled go in hopes of finding courage to bear their suffering. Since the apparitions in 1858, thousands of cases have been examined and 67 miracles have been certified by medical experts and authenticated by the church.

When I returned to my California home, a friend told me that at age 14, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and given three years to live. On a trip to Lourdes, he was immersed in the healing waters and never again experienced symptoms of the disease. “My recovery strengthened my grandmother's faith in the church for which I am forever grateful,” he said.