Lourdes

Lourdes is a place that evokes many emotions both positive and negative. This was my first visit and though I have had opportunity to visit before have not done so because I felt it was a little to over the top. Though I enjoy visiting the Shrine of Our Lady Walsingham it is far more and English affair with plastic and tat kept to a minimum and emotions only reviled politely over a cup of tea with fellow pilgrims.

It all began back in 1858 when a young girl named Bernadette visited a cave by the river in the then small hill village of Lourdes and had a vision of the Virgin telling her that people will come here to seek healing. With in a very short space of time 1860 the church endorsed the vision and the miracles have continued ever since.

So first impressions of Lourdes is that its Disney Land for Catholics, the main church and complex has a uncanny similarity to the entrance of Disney Land with the church perched up on a hill just like the castle and long avenues leading to it. It certainly has a wow factor about it. However instead of Mickey mouse or Pluto to welcome you there are statues to Our Lady at which the faithful have left flowers or sanctuary candles. It’s also clearly a place that nuns come on holiday as I have never seen so many in one place. I thought at one point half of the convents in Europe must be empty. It’s some what disconcerting sitting in a café having a quite coffee to suddenly be surrounded by a gaggle of sisters eyeing this sinner suspiciously.

I should add that my experience of sisters in orders in the UK has been nothing but positive as they all no matter what there age seem to have a huge joy and affection for life and people.

On top of all this there are rows and rows of shops selling religious rubbish form glow in the dark Madonna’s to rosaries so large they could be used to anchor a large ship. Ironically many of these shops as well as selling religious artefacts also sell knives, crossbows and replica guns but nobody seems to get the disjunction between the two.

I have never really understood the obsession the Roman Catholic Church has with the Virgin Mary though being half Spanish I see this devotion played out in relationships between sons and mothers in Hispanic countries and Italy. Its not just Mary but female saints in particular seem to develop a far great sense of euphoria than the many male saints. However ask one of the faithful at Lourdes if these women are so important and contributed so much to the church why dose the church not allow women to be priests? At this point if an insult is not hurled you are looked at as if you are completely mad!

With all of this one almost feels like just moving on as faith has been turned into an amusement park and commodity but patience is the key and you just need to go along with the flow for a while and stop looking at the tat and start looking at the people. It soon becomes clear that you are surrounded by fellow Christians with a deep and sincere faith. It may be expressed in quite a different way than us Anglican are used to even those of us accustom to the more catholic side of the Church of England. Here people are either searching for an answer to life’s purpose, healing from some illness that medicine has failed to cure or have returned to give thanks because prayer has been answered and healing taken place. In a short five minuet stroll you can encounter people from all four corners of the globe and it reminds you that as a Christian you are part of a truly world wide family.

I attended as much of the program as I could in the time I had which included a huge service of Benediction in the massive underground Basilica which resembles a multi story car park, A Holy Communion in English led by a charming Priest form Canada but the most moving thing was the evening candle light procession with thousands of other Christians sing hymns and praising God and of course our Lady. Though a traveller in a strange place along way from home it was the first time on the trip that I actually felt that I belonged rather than just being an observer.

So my advice is don’t dismiss Lourdes it’s worth a visit but when you do ignore all the religious tat and nonsense instead look into the eyes of your fellow Christians and there truly God is to be encountered.