Pictures from Lourdes & Vivier

April 4

Today started off with us gathering at the shrine for 10:00 a.m. to begin our Way of the Cross in the mountain. The hardest part was getting to the first station. It is quite steep for westerners used to the plains of Saskatchewan. This was a prayerful time for all of us. You were remembered in our intentions. Guaranteed teenagers like adults around. The all followed us to an Italian outdoor restaurant were we had lunch! Free time and than we gathered
For the viewing of the movie Bernadette. This viewing helped to clarify details and make sense of all they had heard. One student put it this way. "She (Bernadette) had a harder life than I thought she did. Supper was followed by the Easter vigil in a large underground Church. Six of the student were in the offertory procession. The service was long as usual, but meaningful!! Then it was off to bed, but wouldn't you know it. The Easter bunny found us in Lourdes. Easter bunnies were resting on our pillows!


April 5

The day started quite normally although it was quite gloomy in the morning. This day was looked forward to by all of us. This was the day we would visit the Castle of Lourdes. Important things first!! First we went to visit the Cachot, Bernadette's house. There we saw how tiny the house was. It was quite shocking to see how 6 people were able to fit in to this one room in an old prison.

Following this we got to explore the castle for an hour and a half. We roamed about discovering fantastic sights. We saw some incredibly old graves, some dated back to 1753. Other highlights of the Castle were the tower and the gardens. Several of us went to the top of the tower to view the surrounding area. We then walked down to Bernadette's birthplace. Here we got first hand info on the size of the people by observing the length of the beds. They were short! We all saw the mill her father owned. A bit of free time and a lunch were enjoyed afterwards. The afternoon was spent visiting the Grottes de Betharam. It was here that we received an underground tour filled with magnificent stalactites and stalagmites. The history of these formations was really interesting.

After our return Braedan carried a 23 pound candle back to the hotel. On the candle we put the names of people we wanted to pray for.

Supper was delicious soup, Cornish pastry, roasted chicken, fries, an a delicious dessert. And of course French bread.

We then made our way to the Grotto with our candles and the big one. This one we lit and left burning. It was a beautiful Easter evening so we stayed for the Rosary. After the lighting of our candle we went to the front of the Basilica. Large number of people gathered to pray the Rosary in different languages. At the end the wheelchairs were moved to the front for the blessing of the sick. Quite impressive. This was our last night in Lourdes so bags needed to be packed and ready for an early departure Monday morning.