Pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes and the Shrines of Spain - Part Seven

Friday, September 15, 2023 - Our Lady of Sorrows

Day nine 

 Our Lady of Sorrows pray for us

Sorrowful Mary or Sorrow Mary (as she is known in Poland)

Pat took this picture at the Divine Mercy Centre in Lanark a few years ago

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Today a local expert will introduce pilgrims to this important Marian Shrine. You will see all the main sites and hear the story of how the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858

Photos from Pat 

Private Mass today in the St. Maximilian Kolbe Chapel. Beautiful.

The feast of our Lady of sorrows. In Lourdes. Perfect.

 I also took a few videos that my sister Maureen will edit and post when we get home.

Pilgrims

Getting ready for guided tour of Lourdes.

Le cachot. When the mill went bankrupt, Bernadette and her family moved to a one room cachot, or dungeon.

 

Pilgrims walking. As pilgrims do.

Our tour guide sister Christina. She was amazing. A holy and humble sister from India whose current job is to give guided tours. She's only been here for five months but her knowledge of Bernadette was huge. She interspersed her tour with beautiful prayers that brought tears to my eyes more than once.

The baptismal font where Bernadette was baptized.

Sister Christina and our Spanish tour guide Estefania.

Estefania is also wonderful. And she works like crazy. Our tour is 14 days long so she works those full 14 days. Then she gets one day off. Sort of. On that day she takes a seven-hour train ride home, and then goes the following day to her next tour. It's an intense life but she loves it and she is very good at it.

The Grotto

The spring still flows but they have put glass in front of it. 

You can see the glass in one of the pictures.

"As you walk past the grotto and touch the stone walls you feel how smooth the stone has become because of the millions of people who have also touched it.

While waiting in line, I once again read all the prayer intentions everyone back home gave me."Pat