From the Sanctuary, we continued on with another tour in the footsteps of the visionary, Saint Bernadette. To get to know the saint, we visited her birthplace, the house where she grew up, and her neighbourhood.
It was a short walk to the aptly named 2 rue Bernadette Soubirous, but in those few steps, we saw up close how bad the devastation was in Lourdes. Debris from the floods still littered the sidewalks. Damaged and unsalvageable belongings were still sitting in bins. Signs that said, “Closed for Repair” in French were still posted on some business establishments doors and windows.
As we crossed the bridge over the Le Gave du Pau, we saw and felt the powerful rush of the waters that nearly incapacitated this city for days. It was different looking at remnants of the calamity from the bus window the day before and actually walking amidst the casualties that day. But on a happy note, it was uplifting to see how this place was slowly rising from the wreck. Two days after re-opening city, townsfolks and pilgrims alike were reviving the jovial atmosphere.
I got to know more about Saint Bernadette during this tour. Though I read her life story when I was a young girl and watched several versions of the movie about the apparitions of Lourdes, there is nothing like stepping on the grounds she used to thread on, touching the objects she used to own, and seeing how her daily life would have unfolded by visiting the places she frequented.
We started off at her house, also known as Moulin de Boly (Boly Water Mill), where she lived with her parents for ten years. They recreated the kitchen and her bedroom, and they refurbished the ancient water mill with its grindstone.
Next, we went to Le Cachot (dungeon or jail), where her family was obliged to move when her father faced unemployment. It was from that place and that life of scarcity that Bernadette would go to the Massabeille cave to collect bones and dry wood and where she would see Our Lady.
We also visited her parish church, Église Paroissiale du Sacre-coeur (Parish Church of the Sacred Heart), which houses her baptismal font and the tomb of Abbot Peyramale, the priest of Lourdes at the time of the apparitions. Then we headed to the Ancien Presbytere (Old Presbytery), where Bernadette knocked on the door, introduced herself to Abbot Peyramale, and delivered Our Lady’s message about her identity - “Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou” (“I am the Immaculate Conception”). This was in the Occitan dialect that was spoken in that region.
Our last stop was the house of Bernadette’s father called the Lacade Water Mill or La Maison Paternelle de Bernadette, where her parents lived after the visions. This was a gift from the abbot. Bernadette, at that time, already joined the Sisters of Charity at their convent in Nevers.
The tour ended on that note and we began our trek back to the Sanctuary.
Photo Credits:
catholic.org, unitalislourdes.it, Jean-noël Lafargue (Wikimedia), en.lourdes-infotourisme.com
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