2012/05/15

aint' no mountain high enough (Lourdes)

not in Australia anyway. That little bump we call Mt Kosciuszko is only 2,228 metres tall. The foothills of the Pyrenees make it look tiny. And that was the surprise of the day as we drove to Lourdes. The scenery was the Pyrenees Alps. Awesome. Spectacular. We are definitely going to get to Alsace to photograph the mountains on that side too.










So, I got so excited and became all touristy and pulled the car over to take these photos. The bus behind me didn't think that was a good move and used his horn as he blew past. Glad I did though, in the afternoon the mountains were lost in cloud.

Lourdes
I was heading to Lourdes with mixed feelings. My time in Fatima (WYD last year) was not exactly the top of my list. The crowds at the Mass and the lack of reverence during the service made me wonder what Lourdes would be like. I was fearing another giant tacky religious attraction. But it wasn't like that at all - thankfully. 





The area around the Cathedral and the grotto and the fast flowing River Gave was quiet and peaceful, despite the large numbers of pilgrims. On first look the Basillica looks a little like a Disneyland prop with its spires, but it is amazing inside, on all levels.  Rarely have I been inside a tourist-attraction-church (and I've seen a few over the last few years) where such reverence was shown.




Many churches have painted ceilings and beautiful statues, this one had mosaics - tile mosiacs, that followed the life of Mary and Jesus. They were set out in three porticos around the main body of the church either side of, and behind the altar. They were exquisite works of art. For close up shots, call me.



The most dominant of all was the face of Mary on the ceiling of the Cathedral.
Is it just me, or does she look like Cate Blanchett?
I don't imagine it's real gold but you never know.
 


The outside has its spectacular features too, like the huge golden crown sitting on top of the Rosary Basilica roof. Behind the crown is the doorway to the Crypt of St Bernadette and then above that is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.



We lit a candle for our mums.



 In the crypt of St Bernadette, we lit a candle for our mothers - it was the day after mother's day in Australia. After looking through the Chapel we went upstairs to the Basilica and walked through there, looking at the stained glass windows and a number of different Chapels dedicated to the saints. 








All of the churches contained one similarity. In each of them, they had walls of plaques that people had obviously paid for, requesting prayers for themselves or for family members. The pillars were covered with them. In the Chapel near the crypt, there were a couple of pillars at the back that had not been covered in plaques. Enterprising people had written their own prayers on the fabric covering the pillars.








After consulting the map, Jayne navigated us around to the grotto. There are a number of stations where you are able to fill your bottles with Lourdes water. Then, many of the pilgrims join the queue to walk into the cave itself. The limestone has been worn smooth and black by so many hands rubbing along the rock.

The line for the walk was not that large, compared to the line of wheel chairs and hospital beds queued up for immersion in the pool just beyond the grotto.

The queue for the immersion pool.















And this is the perspective shot that shows the different levels of the churches and the grotto.

While we didn't go to the museum of miracles in the sanctuary precinct, we feel we may have witnessed a miracle anyway. We paused for  a late lunch after perusing the multitude of merchandise shops that surrounded the sanctuary.  A lady pushed a wheelchair bound lady past where we were sitting and, while wheelchairs were numerous and therefore not really notable, this incapacitated lady was, totally due to her attire.  She wore a pink ballet tutu and ballet shoes and would have been on the wrong side of 60 (or 70).  We both saw her as she was wheeled past and then continued with lunch.  Several minutes later, she came past us again, still in the company of her friend but this time walking as well as any able bodied person and still in her ballet gear (minus the shoes).  A miracle cure? Does removing a pair of ballet shoes allow someone to walk? Not even St Bernadette could help the fashion disaster that we witnessed. 

I thought it too rude t take photos when I first saw them. I regret it now, given the miracle that took place.

5 comments:

  1. I agree - don't ever think I'll call the Australian Alps mountains again - really are just "hills", and Australia is really flat! The escarpment out the back of Jeddah and Makkah rises to over 1800m - so only 400m short of Kozzie, it is part of a mountain range that runs the whole red sea coast of KSA - and that is one of its lowest points with it having an average height around 2200m. Nothing around here when the Caucasus mountains are not so far away.

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  2. Do you think Lourdes has street theatre? Good to hear that the experience was an improvement on WYD. Great photos, Brad.
    Del

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  3. Looks like Lourdes weather was far kinder to you guys - did you do the candle light procession?

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  4. No, we're just day trippers. Spent about 5 hours there.

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