Lourdes - France (Our experiences)
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Bernadette Soubirous was born on Monday January 7th 1844, the first child of
Francois and Louise. She was baptised in
the parish church of Lourdes. When Bernadette was only a few months old, her
mother had an accident and could not nurse her.
At this time it was usual to breast feed babies for at least two years. So
Bernadette went to live with her foster mother
in Bartres. She had six brothers and two sisters, five of the brothers died
before they were ten.
Her father was a miller. He ran the Boly Mill, but tended to give the product
away to the poor instead of selling it,
eventually the family were reduced to poverty and had to move into the cachot.
Lourdes is a small town situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Although the
town has just 17000 inhabitants,
5 million visitors go there each year. In the hotel trade, Lourdes is second
only to Paris in importance. There are several
narrow streets leading down to the Grotto. These are full of souvenir shops and
although these at first seem tacky and out
of character, they soon become an integral part of the visit to Lourdes. As in
most French towns there are numerous cafes
and bars which are open to all ages. The cafe we visited most was the Terrase,
where part of the bar was outside virtuall
overhanging the river Gave. Quite a number of the inhabitants of Lourdes are
Basques
The High Stations are open every day of the year. Between Easter and All Saints
from 6 AM to 7 PM, the rest of the year
between 8 AM and 5 PM. Anyone wishing to join a priest who will lead the making
of the Way of the Cross, should meet at 9 AM by the Statue of the Crowned
Virgin.
This is by far the most impressive way to make the Way of the Cross. Nearly one
mile in length (1600m.), the Way winds
upwards, climbing very steeply up the Mount of Espelugues, called mount
Calvary.