An Overcast View of the Shrine at Lourdes

The famous Grotto of Massabielle is barely visible in this view. At the bottom right of the church, on the plaza by the river, the crowd is standing in front of the Grotto. The white object you can see among the trees looks something like a Christmas tree made out of candles. To the left of it, under the church, is the hollow (not visible) in which Bernadette Soubirous saw the Blessed Mother in 1858. I will try to get a better photo when the sun comes out.

Let me say a little more about the procession. This past weekend was the French National Pilgrimage, and there were 30,000 people in this tiny town. It was electric. The Rosary Procession begins at dusk (about 9:00 PM here), and takes about an hour. The pilgrims march around a long elliptical esplanade, carrying candles with a white paper wind guard.

After the first decade of the Rosary, a large multinational choir leads the singing of the Lourdes Hymn, which the English-speaking world knows as "Immaculate Mary." Each language group takes a verse, and everyone sings "Ave, ave, ave Maria!" together. The most touching thing is that they all elevate their candles when they do so. It is such a simple gesture, but so powerful when so many people do it. After the other decades, other Marian hymns are sung, and there is an incredible spiritual warmth to the whole spectacle.

The older of the grandchildren may remember the Block Rosary from our childhood. During the Marian months of May and October, the people of the neighborhood would gather at someone's house after dinner, kneel down in the living room, and say the Rosary together. I can't explain how, but the candlelight procession has that same, homey, living-room feel to it, thousands of people and all.

And here comes everybody! Each decade is lead by turns by different language groups, often by children. The official Western European languages of Lourdes, then Eastern European languages, then Asian, then African languages. It is a powerful expression of the Church's universality. And what keeps the homey feel to it is that all of this is done in honor of the Blessed Mother, whose presence is palpable here.

I hope at least some of you get to see this some day, but I have prayed for all of you. Sunday I carried a candle in procession for you, and I left it to burn through the night at the Grotto.