Peaceful Lourdes

Jan 18 2008 Kevin Pilley

Kevin Pilley takes the pilgrim's route to sublime serenity

The giant candles kept on arriving. Wheelchairs stacked up along the banks of the Gave river. Nuns and nurses kissed the ground. The queues for the baths lengthened.

A hunched-up old lady in a black shawl whispered to the wall, petitioning the rockface. "In your heart I place all my anguish and it is there that I gain strength and courage."

Pushed towards the famous Massabielle grotto, a frail hollow-cheeked man muttered: "Mary, you showed yourself to Bernadette in the crevice of the rock in the cold and grey of winter. You are the Immaculate Conception. Come to aid the sinners that we are. Guide us to the source of true life. Teach us to pray for all people."

Some of the faithful walked the steep, wooded "Way of the Cross" up on the hill of Esplugues above the Sanctuaries. Others held their hands under the stainless steel taps and sluiced their faces with holy water. Some were at prayer in the underground basilica. Some fed the ducks from the Bridge of Baths. Others sat in deep contemplation on benches and chairs, their eyes closed, listening to the outside Mass.

Welcome to Lourdes in the Hautes-Pyrenees in south west France, home to 15,000 residents and 25,000 visitors every day. They come as pilgrims to see a marble statue of the Virgin Mary in a rock ledge in a cave, and to be welcomed by the outstretched arms of the Basilica Rosarie.

Sixty-six masses are said each day in 40 places of worship within the 51-hectare sacred complex. In France, only Paris has more hotels than Lourdes.

Charter flights and trains bring in six million visitors each year. But they're not all Roman Catholics, the site is popular with everyone. Mary is venerated in the Koran and Muslims mix with Christians and other faiths.

"Everyone is welcome and expected here," said a young Irish priest. He was holding a two metre-high vigil candle. Around 750 tonnes of candles are burnt every year at Lourdes and there is a torchlight procession every night at 9pm from April to October in which thousands take part. "The candles represent God's presence," the priest added. "The flickering flame His illuminating light. The white candles signify a divine pillar of cloud. They are a test of faith as they are very heavy!"

This year sees the 150th anniversary of the first apparition, when, on February 11, 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous while she was collecting firewood.

There have been over 7,000 'cures' claimed by visitors to Lourdes, but only 68 are recognised by the Lourdes Medical Bureau - a group of doctors charged with investigating claims since 1905.

One famous case is that of Liverpudlian John Traynor, who was paralysed fighting in the Dardenelles but walked again after visiting Lourdes to take the waters. The last recorded miracle, involving Italian Anna Santianello in 1952, was only deemed "inexplicable" in 2005.

A teenage boy, helping a disabled girl look around, said: "You learn a lot from coming to Lourdes. You can't help be moved and touched. Whatever your beliefs, you feel belief."

Travel facts...

Kevin Pilley was a guest of the French Government Tourist Office, which offers further information to visitors at www.franceguide.com. For events in Lourdes in 2008, see www.lourdes2008.com

He flew easyJet, which flies into Toulouse from Bristol and Gatwick from £24.99 one-way (incl taxes), returns from £46.04. Bookings on www.easyJet.com

He stayed at the four-star luxe Grand Hotel de la Grotte at 66 Rue de la Grotte, 65100 Lourdes. Reservations and rates: 00 33 562 945 887