The lowdown on Lourdes (by kerouac2)

[Deleted]

Lourdes is not a very big city, with a population of less than 15,000. It is nevertheless the 3rd most important pilgrimage destination in the Catholic world after the Vatican and the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Mexico. It also boasts the second highest hotel capacity in France after Paris and ahead of Nice. However, a great number of them are closed from November to Easter. August 15th is the busiest day of the year. I did not expect it to be very busy when I dropped in on Monday afternoon after six and half hours on the train from Paris. There is no TGV line in the area and no immediate plans to build one, so the train speed is quite sedate for France.

The train station is the appropriate size for a small city.



The view is quite pleasant as you walk out of the station: palm trees and high mountains.

The car rental office was not open, even though it was supposed to open at 3pm. That is actually quite common in some of these small places -- one person handles both the airport office and the city office, and the hours are scheduled in terms of arrivals. My train from Paris arrived at 14:55, which is probably how they decided on the afternoon hours of the rail station office. Well, the person couldn't be far, so I would just get rid of my bags and come back a bit later.

I knew that my hotel for my brief visit was just a few steps from the station. No, not this one even though lots of people consider me to be a lost cause.



Ah, there it is a little bit down the street, the Lutetia.



For 35€ a night, I thought it looked quite nice. The room was nice too, with flat screen TV, free wifi and all sorts of stuff. Language was the only complication because it was run by an Italian family that barely spoke a word of French.



I checked in and immediately went back to rent my car -- the office was open -- and I just left the car in the station parking lot since I didn't need it until the next day. Off to explore the city!



This cinema shows exclusively Catholic movies with subtitles in different languages at different hours.



This is the main street that leads to the pilgrimage areas.

[Deleted]

Some souvenirs are more expensive than others.

The #1 item that is essential for pilgrims, however, is a container to take away the miraculous water from the spring. When my friends from Singapore brought their parents for a visit, I think they spent about 2 days in Paris and a week in Lourdes. Talking with the mother, I learned that the holy water actually lasts forever, because you just keep topping it up with normal water when necessary, and that water becomes holy as well. The main family use, I learned, was to drink a sip of it when feeling ill. It cures flu and the common cold overnight.

Finally, the religious domain came into view.

[Deleted]

Crossing the bridge to the protected area, I was reminded very strongly of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It was exactly the same obstacle course of beggars, gypsies and cripples to get to the temple complex and then a total relief to be inside. From the bridge, I could see that there was still a lot of damage from the huge floods over the past two years.

But the river was quite tranquil today.



Postal mail is clearly in sharp decline. I passed through Lourdes about 15 years ago and there were two additional mailboxes, one marked "Italy" and one marked "Ireland."



The church complex is still quite a long walk.



People having a religious episode probably see the scene like this.



Rather than walk up the esplanade, I decided that I should begin my devotions with a dive into the Saint Pius X Basilica, which is completely underground.



The first time I saw it as a little boy, it was the sight that impressed me the most of anything in Lourdes.



Are you impressed yet?





We're getting there. It can hold 25,000 worshippers and when it was built in 1958, it also seemed like a good idea to have a huge concrete bunker that could hold the entire population of the city in an emergency.





It flooded for the first time in June 2013 and filled with 4 metres of water. The organ was damaged beyond repair and has not been replaced yet.





At this particular time of day, the church was not filled to capacity.





The little side chapels convey a bit more warmth.

If truth be told, most people absolutely hate this place. Locals call it "the car park," it is almost impossible to heat, the acoustics are horrible and until the invention of big screens, people in the back had no idea what was going on. But it was the one and only way to create a basilica big enough for major events because the two other churches are tiny in comparison. Also -- and they are completely right about this -- it would have been disgraceful to remove the esplanade and build a huge new Church where the lawns and flowers are. And considering how most architecture was in the 1950's, it would certainly have been an appalling horror, so I think that it is great that it is underground. And as a little boy, I thought it was the most amazingly huge thing that I had ever seen apart from the Eiffel Tower.

And now it is time to go back out and appreciate the rest of the sunny afternoon.

[lagatta]

Is your toe better?

By the way, the setting is beautiful. But that lugubrious religious bric-a-brac! Do the various Portuguese, Italian and Sri Lankan businesses serve the needs of pilgrims from the relevant nationalities or language groups?

[Deleted]

Just across the way was the confession supermarket.





I was just wandering, but most of the people know exactly what they are doing and where they are going.





The river runs between the churches and grotto and the hospital and religious nursing homes. That's what made the floods such a problem.



A lot of the volunteers were taking a break before the 4 o'clock procession.









This bishop was willing to pose with anybody who recognised him. Probably Irish.





I will say to the credit of the Catholic Church that I have never seen candles sold with any verification of what people actually pay. It is always a complete honour system.



I know they're just trying to simplify things, but the exchange rates are a bit dishonourable!





There are about 30 push button fountains for people to fill up all of their water containers.









The signs are on the cliff on which the church is perched, just above the water fountains and the grotto.





The grotto is just a few steps away now.



These women were distributing wraps to anybody with bare shoulders.

It was only when I started listening to this priest that I understood that I had stumbled into Lourdes on the day of the nativity celebration of the Virgin Mary. The date was celebrated by the Eastern churches starting in the 5th century and extended to the Roman Catholic Church about 250 years later under Pope Sergius I, who was from Syria. And he died on September 8th, 701 so I guess it was not really an auspicious date for himself. I have to admit that this priest was an excellent speaker and he made a great case for the cult of the Virgin Mary, much more appealing than the fire and brimstone of certain Christian (and non Christian) ideologies. "What does Mary want you to do for her? Absolutely nothing! You are not here to serve her; she is here to serve you. She is a mother and just wants to help and protect you, just like your own mother did." -- etc. Hard not to subscribe to such a programme.

Zeus had definitely created a glorious afternoon, just the right temperature, too.



I finally queued up to get into the grotto because it would have seemed small-minded to look at all of this stuff without showing a minimum of respect. I did not take any photos inside. This place is too important to too many people.

[bixaorellana]

Oooooooo ~~ keep going, please!

Absolutely fascinated by this look at a place I've heard of all my life, but pretty much never gave any thought to. Well over 50 years ago I read "The Song of Bernadette" and whatever fragments left in my brain from that are all I know about Lourdes. My vague image of it as a polite place of processions and singing was quite blasted by the beach town atmosphere, but with religious stuff in place of the shells & t-shirts for sale. It's big!

I was thinking how boneheaded it was to build a giant underground church in a flood zone right about the time I came upon your caption, "It flooded for the first time in June 2013 and filled with 4 metres of water." But the builders must have know what they were doing if the place went 55 years without flooding.

From my scant recollection of the book mentioned above, I believe Lourdes is in the Pyrenees -- no? If so, palm trees?

[Deleted]

Thank you for the report, Keroauc. When I was a child living in Germany, our parish organised annual pilgramages to Lourdes and although I never went, someone brought me back a lovely Ste. Bernadette doll. She wore a very fancy peasant costume with a blue striped apron and, oddly, had creepy blue eyes that opened and closed. I gave all my european dolls to my friends daughter a few years back. They're probably still wrapped in paper in a box.

I was suprised to learn that Pope John Paul II was canonized as I had no inkling. I had to go onto Wiki to find out about the process. The whole story disturbed me slightly, as the rabid fandom of the man is baffling to me. Anyway, having read that today Ian Paisley had died, I found this anecdote truly amazing:

In 1988, when Pope John Paul II was delivering a speech to the European Parliament, Ian Paisley, the then-leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, shouted "I denounce you as the Antichrist!"and held up a red banner reading "Pope John Paul II ANTICHRIST". Archduke Otto of Austria, the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, snatched Paisley's banner and, along with other MEPs, helped eject him from the chamber. The Pope continued with his address after Paisley had been ejected.

And of course, considering the dwindling numbers of of European Catholics and the how the Church is a growth industry in other parts of the world, it's no suprise that there are Sri Lankan souvenir shops, it just never occurred to me. I find it really amusing, however. I wonder if, in another 2,000 years, Christianity will be looked upon as an Eastern religion and will be "rediscovered" by the West. Religions migrate, don't they?

[Deleted]

Leaving a candle at the grotto is very important. In view of the number of candles, obviously that is not possible, so there is a candle zone just a bit farther.





All of the big candles were used in processions, and there is clearly a "mine is bigger than yours" competition.















       

Beyond the candles are the holy baths. I read an article about this once and apparently everybody is wrapped up in sheets and then dipped.

[Deleted]

Luckily the site is huge, because so many places want a statue of their saint to be displayed.



I just wandered around a bit, waiting for the 4pm procession. Don't forget that I had just arrived in Lourdes at 14:55, went to the hotel and rented my car, and it wasn't even 4pm yet.

























I was unable to get a better picture of this woman who was dressed in 100% "Immaculate Conception."

















I wasn't the only person taking pictures.

[mich64]

Fascinating. I appreciate all the information and photos. I had little knowledge of Lourdes besides the fact that my mother-in-law treasures her bottle from there. She will be so happy to know that she can refill it. I remember how sad she was when the the last of it evaporated. She will be comforted by this information.

The underground Church is massive and something I never knew was there. I wonder if perhaps this place was the inspiration for those large convention like Churches that I have seen on television in the U.S.A.

I am not part of any organized religion but I do enjoy learning about the history of different faiths and like being educated when traveling so I would find this excursion very interesting.

[Deleted]

Still waiting... This woman had two attendants -- a sign language interpreter and her chair puller.



The church bell rang (it plays 'Ave Maria' instead of the Westminster chimes that most bell towers play, even in France), and the procession began.

[Deleted]

I wandered back to the church to admire the mosaics on the front.











The procession was still wending its way across the esplanade.











The crown is on top of the dome of the "middle" church.







I went into the "upper" church but a mass was in progress (surprise!) so I could not walk through it. Look at how tiny it is compared to the underground church.





There is no longer any room on any of the walls for new ex voto plaques.

[htmb]

I've often wondered what the town of Lourdes and the religious area looked like since I suppose I'd only seen photos of the grotto. After viewing your marvelous photos I certainly feel I have a much better idea of the place. I like the way you photographed the church mosaics, and also appreciate the photos taken from the higher elevation. Were you up on top of one of the churches when you took the last several pictures, Kerouac?

[fumobici]

Nice suite of photos thusfar. To me pilgrimage sites tend to be an unsettlingly ambiguous admixture of the sacred and profane. Lourdes appears to be no exception, it kind of feels in the photos like Assisi on steroids. It's not easy today to find oneself amid a large group of people sharing common and unabashedly supernatural beliefs in our secular modern countries. And one can't help wondering how that bomb shelter was financed as a church, there must have been some quite arcane political mechanizations going on behind that. And glad to see the moneychangers at the "temple" are doing a bang up, high margin business, might be a market for live doves too going begging.

[Deleted]

Okay, I'll take a break to reply to some questions.

Is your toe better?

My toe was cured already on Saturday as planned.

I believe Lourdes is in the Pyrenees -- no? If so, palm trees?

Let's say it is "surrounded" by the Pyrénées but still at a low altitude -- therefore in hot southwest France, with Spain just on the other side.

Religions migrate, don't they?

Yes, they do. The heart of Catholicism is now Africa and South America.

Were you up on top of one of the churches when you took the last several pictures?

Yes, I had climbed the stairs to the top of the middle church.

[bjd]

I'm still in Canada and having a bit of time and a computer handy, thought I would check Apias. It's usually slow to load because of all the photos.

Thanks for this report, Kerouac. I have done a book and DVD about Lourdes, live less than 2 hours by car away and have never been there. Your pictures fill in a lot of gaps - not that not picturing the place really bothered me. I find those very religious places rather uncomfortable because of the strong feelings there that I do not share. And the souvenir shops don't add anything.

Yes, Bixa - palm trees. Lourdes is in the south of France and not at a high altitude, eventhough you can see the Pyrenees easily.

[Deleted]

There were all sorts of places to walk and pray, but I did not feel an overwhelming need to do so.



The procession was disappearing, but I knew where to find them soon.







In the meantime, it was time to visit the middle church.



Oops, another mass was in progress. Surprise!





This Ukrainian chapel was the only place I lit a candle. I paid 0.50€ instead of the suggested 2.50€ because that is how my grandmother taught me to do it.



I made a request for something that is not possible, but isn't that what everybody does in Lourdes?



Back outside again...





The birthday girl was receiving lots of bouquets.



But Bernadette Soubirous is not forgotten either.

[Deleted]

And so I returned to the underground basilica.











Is there too much sexual tension to allow the priests and nuns to mix during a mass?





And then I walked away from the grounds to see the more obvious purpose of Lourdes again.







Actually, I wanted to see where the "normal" part of Lourdes was. Here is the normal parish church.











I really have to go and see the château one of these days.



There was a lull in activity as businesses began to close in the first street I had visited. But I would return for the 9pm procession.

[Deleted]

I briefly returned to my hotel (and probably made some inane posts here), took a shower, changed clothes and went out to dinner. I had a truly amazing biryani for 9€ but the best part was listening to the owner chatting with some of the Indian customers, Indian English being their common language, mostly. There were statements along the line of "if I don't see you tomorrow, I'll see you again next year" which really made it clear what an important part Lourdes plays in so many of the lives of these people. Actually in my own neighbourhood, I have regularly seen posters written entirely in Hindu or in Chinese with "Lourdes" written in Roman letters. But I had the impression that these particular Indian customers came to Lourdes from India every year.

Some shops were still open.







But the important thing for me was to rush back to catch the sunset.







mission accomplished



Birthday bouquets were still being left at the statue of the Virgin Mary.













The candlelight procession was getting organised.







The grotto was still busy. It should be mentioned that this place is open from 5 a.m. to midnight every day of the year.



The stones are of course shiny where they are touched by millions of people.

[Deleted]

The clock began to strike 9.









The harvest moon illuminated Lourdes in all its splendour.













What are these processions really like? It is probably time for you to watch the video showing both of them.

[htmb]

You've posted some really super sunset and night shots, and the video certainly adds a lot of dimension to the report.

[bixaorellana]

So interesting, so complete! I am unable to identify with the impulse that makes the faithful flock there, but your excellent pictures and reporting had me completely fascinated.

Besides the knockout sunset shots, you really got some wonderful people pictures -- ninth from the bottom of Reply #18, for instance -- wow. That fourth photo in #19 is a great shot & also made clear to me how the church was built over the grotto. I think Lourdes is one of those places where the vision directed the faithful to build a church, is it not? You are a real trouper to spend all day recording this!

I have to admit, during the video I kept bracing for the fireworks. Am I programmed, or what?  

[Deleted]

I am dazzled. Some questions and oberservations:

The church bells play Ave Maria - the Bach, Gounod or Schubert version?

Those pull chairs look very much like a modernized version of the Victorian bath chair . They certainly don't look efficient or very comfortable, for either sitter or puller. I guess traditions die hard.

Is it wrong of me to think the whole place has a Disney quality?

[htmb]

I have never been too interested in visiting Lourdes other than for historical reasons, but reading this report prompted me to look for the collection of essays I purchased a few years ago. The book was written by Robert Daley and is called Portraits of France. In one of the essays, Daley writes about visiting Lourdes in the month of November when the town was almost completely closed up tight. Now, rereading the essay, I was better able to picture the areas referenced in the book and found it made more sense to me.

Kerouac, if you were six when you first visited Lourdes, does that mean you were there at the time the underground basilica first opened?

[Deleted]

After circling the esplanade, the procession arrived back at the statue of the Virgin Mary.



I don't know if they were still going anywhere, well, I suppose back down into the Pius X basilica, but I felt that my presence was no longer necessary.



Although Boulevard de la Grotte at the front entrance had closed down hours ago, Place Monseigneur Laurence along the side entrance was looking like Las Vegas.

[Deleted]

There was a magic term to draw in Italian customers like moths to a flame.

       

       



Across this part of the river are most of the fancier hotels.





Not everybody was praying.



But most of the city was home for the night in front of their televisions.



My last view of Lourdes as I walked back to my hotel was the desperate attempt of the parish church to be noticed in spite of all of the other glitz.

And thus ends my report about my 16 hours in Lourdes.

[Deleted]

A great report K2. Some really stellar pics, most especially the exterior church shots and as mentioned some great people pics.

The mosaics are absolutely gorgeous.

The souvenirs more than a bit OTT.

Thanks for making the pilgrimage.

[Hospitalier]

The Church bells play the Lourdes Hymn, the chorus of which is "Ave, Ave, Ave Maria', hence the confusion with Ave Maria.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Hospitalier. I know the song you mean & now it's repeatedly running through my head.  

(  )

[lagatta]

Indeed, this thread wound its way into my dreams - or nightmares. There was a wax museum here decades ago with lots of lugubrious martyrdoms...

I find Lourdes far more OTT than Assisi. Assisi is such a beautiful Umbrian hilltown, despite the inevitable pilgrimage kitsch. I've never been to Lourdes. We have a miracle cure pilgramage place near Québec City, Ste-Anne de Beaupré.