Lourdes

Hi everyone back home, it's Jess from the Huon Valley parish, as well as Edward and Katherine from the Launceston parish here telling you what we have been up to over the last 3 days in Lourdes.

After saying arrivederci to Italy, we travelled on to Lourdes. On our first night in Lourdes we had the opportunity to join in the candle light procession, with some of our flag bearers being asked to take flags up to the front stage with all the other national flags and pilgrims. We were in awe of the candles that light up the faces of thousands uniting in one faith, singing the rosary in multiple languages. On the second day in Lourdes we attended mass in Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Bascillica, said by Archbishop Adrian Doyle. After a guided tour we visited the grotto, this is the spot where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette. We ran our hands along the smooth walls of the grotto that millions of pilgrims have touched. That night we attended the premiere performance at the Bascillica called Un Femme de Marie, meaning a lady named mary. This was a story of Mary telling the Gospel to Bernadette. After a well deserved sleep, the three of us headed down to the healing baths of Lourdes with Rachelle. Unfortunately Rachelle had to go back to the group and an hour and a half later we had the wonderful experience of being bathed in the Lourdes water. On our way back to the group, we ran into some Argentenian and Brazilian pilgrims, and joined in singing and dancing with them. The whole morning was a wonderful experience and we all had something memorable to take home from Lourdes with us. After this we hoped on a bus to Loyola and visited the Bascillica of St Ignatius and the Holy House in which his family lived and where he established his faith. At the moment we are sitting in our hotel room at Burgos after having a brilliant dinner at Hotel Las Vegas! So arrivederci (until we meet again) from us all in Burgos, Spain