Momboisse Family Adventures: Lourdes, France
Sunday April 6, 2025 (evening)
We arrived at Hotel Moderne in Lourdes around 5:30pm. This will be our home for the next two nights.
Hotel Moderne Lourdes, France
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Dinner in the hotel dining room 7pm
Monday April 7, 2025
Pilgrims are up early at 7am for breakfast at the hotel. We have one full day in Lourdes and there is so much to see and experience.
Hotel Moderne dining room
Our day will open with Holy Mass at the Grotto, a short walk from our hotel. As we enter the Domaine, the area which surrounds the Grotto, I catch my breath. It is the same experience I had at Fatima and Garabandal. My soul is touched by the spiritual presence of the Our Blessed Mother. It was here on February 25, 1858 that she appeared to Bernadette and asked her to scrape the ground at the back of the Grotto and "Go to the spring drink and wash yourself." At that time there was no spring, but as Bernadette dug in the ground muddy water bubbled up and eventually ran strong and clear.
Lourdes, which is located in the heart of the Pyrenees, was a very small and rural town in 1858. Today however, the town has grown many times over. Every year more than 5 million pilgrims come to visit the sanctuary in search of healing, whether it be in body, mind or soul.
Grotto
Box for intentions
The Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette 18 times in 1858. The Grotto where she appeared is called the Massabielle, which in Bernadette's native language Bigourdan, means "old rock." It is a mass of rock about 88 feet high covered in ivy and blackened by smoke from the candles that burn day and night. The Grotto chapel area where we will have Mass this morning was completed in 1955. Inside the Grotto is the source of the spring that Bernadette uncovered February 25, 1858. It is covered by a plate of glass.
Mike and I prayerfully walk behind the Grotto altar, toughing the wet walls of the cave and stop for a moment at the origin of the spring before exiting by the candle tower.
Pilgrims make this walk in silence, each carrying their own cross as they offer it up to Our Lord. Each praying for some kind of healing of body, mind, or soul.
As Mass begins, a small group gathers filling in the wooden pews outside the Grotto. Fr. Thom is the only priest, so he celebrates Mass in English. In the picture below, fellow pilgrim Larry proclaims the days reading from the Book of the Prophet Daniel Chapter 13.
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Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879)
Bernadette was born on January 7, 1844 to Francois and Louise Soubirous in Lourdes. Francois was a miller and the family was very poor. The family moved many times and once lived in a former prison.
Bernadette's Family
On February 11, 1858 while gathering firewood near what is today the Grotto, Our Blessed Mother Mary holding a rosary in her hand appeared to Bernadette. Mary fingered the rosary as if praying but did not speak, and then disappeared. During the 3rd Apparition on February 18, 1858, Our Blessed Mother spoke asking for Bernadette to "Grace me with your presence here for two weeks."
Virgin in the Grotto
At the 9th Apparition on February 25, 1858, Our Blessed Mother asked Bernadette to "Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself." There was not spring in the area, but after digging in the ground a muddy spring appeared. At each subsequent apparition, more and more people gathered with Bernadette.
Crowned Virgin at night in the center of the Sanctuary
On March 12th the evening of the 12th Apparition, 1,500 people had gathered alongside Bernadette. Catherine Latapie came from a local village. She had a paralyzed arm and bathed in the waters of the Grotto. Her arm was cured and she is the first of many who received cures from the miraculous waters. During the 13th Apparition, Our Blessed Mother asked Bernadette to request of the parish priest that a chapel be built here. The Crypt, the first chapel to be built here opened in 1866.
On the day of the 16th Apparition March 25, Our Blessed Mother spoke in Bernadette's Bigourdan dialect, "Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou." In English, "I am the Immaculate Conception." Bernadette did not understand what this meant and shared it with the local priest, Father Peyramel. But father knew the meaning, as four years earlier in 1854, Pope Pius IX had proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Our Lady of Lourdes as the Immaculate Conception Virgilio Tojetti 1877
(Public Domain)
The title the Immaculate Conception means that Mary was preserved from original sin by an act of God's grace from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church and clearly explained here by former Protestant ministers who have now come home to the Church.
There were two more apparitions after that, with the final one on July 16, 1858. After a thorough investigation, the apparitions at Lourdes were approved by the Catholic Church in 1862. Bernadette entered and professed her vows to the Sisters of Notre Dame of Nevers. She died April 16, 1879 and was canonized a Saint in 1933.
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Alright, now back to our walking tour. Our guide begins by leading us around the Domaine, which spreads out on both sides of the Gave de Pau River and contains all of the sanctuaries, including the Grotto, Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, and the Basilica of St. Pius X. Though we are already inside the Domaine, I will start this tour as if we are entering the area for the first time. Most visitors will enter through the Porte Saint-Michel off Bd. Remi Sempe. Purses and backpacks are searched here and at each entrance to the Domaine.
Porte Saint-Michel Gate
On either side of the gate are statues of the Archangel Gabriel and Raphael. Just inside the gate is the Breton Calvary. Created in 1900 by Yves Hernot as a gift
to Lourdes from the diocese of Breton. In the background is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
Walking to the left of the Breton Calvary Monument and looking left we view a large expanse of grass. This is the "roof" of the underground Basilica of St. Pius X. In the distance notice the castle fort high on the hill.
Though this fort in Lourdes dates to Roman times, the oldest remains of the current structure date only to the 11th and 12th centuries. At one time it was used as a prison, as well as a military barracks. Currently it is the Museum of the Pyrenees, which documents the history of the mountains.
Entrance to Basilica of St. Pius X
A short walk down the esplanade brings us to the entrance to the underground Basilica of St. Pius X.
Main altar in center of basilica
Completed in 1958 and consecrated on the Feast of the Annunciation the same year, this modern oval shaped basilica can seat at least 5,000 and hold up to 25,000 pilgrims.
Around the walls are modern paintings on glass of the Stations of the Cross and Mysteries of the Rosary. A side altar contains relics of Pope Saint Pius X and Pope Saint John Paul II.
From the Basilica of St. Pius X we exited the area at the Porte Saint Joseph, walked up the hill along the Avenue Monseigneur Theas. To the left is the entrance for the Way of the Cross. This 1-mile path, which involves some difficult climbs and
descents, opened in 1912. It
takes visitors past 15 stations of life-sized cast iron statues.
Entrance to Stations of the Cross
Avenue Monseigneur Theas
Our group re-entered the Domaine area at the Porte de la Crypte. This map shows our walking tour for this portion of the tour.
In the picture below notice two entrances on your left. The lower one is the entrance to the Crypt and the upper to the Upper Basilica also known as the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
Before entering the the Crypt, take in the views from the upper entrance platform. First, shown below, is the golden crown which sits on the dome of the lower basilica, the Basilica of the Rosary.
In the two pictures below notice the bridges that cross the River Ousse. On the other side of the river are the Church of Saint Bernadette and Chapel of Light where pilgrims light candles.
Saint Bernadette's Church
We now enter the Crypt which is between the Upper and Lower Basilicas and is the original chapel built after Our Lady requested it. This chapel opened in 1866.
Exit the Crypt, and using the staircase outside enter the Upper Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
After the completion of the Crypt, it was determined that it was not large enough to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims. The Upper Basilica of the Immaculate Conception with its sanctuary directly over the Grotto opened in 1871. It is built with stone from Lourdes in the Gothic style.
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception can hold 2,000 people and contains 21 side altars and eighteen stained glass windows. Each representing one of the eighteen apparitions.
From the Upper Basilica we visit the Lower Basilica of the Rosary. The Luminous Mystery mosaics on the outside were created in 2009 by the controversial figure and former Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik.
The basilica dates from 1889 and built in the Romano-Byzantine style. The entrance to the church is shown in the picture above. Side chapels on the inside of the basilica are decorated with mosaics of the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries.
After touring the basilicas we took time for the Water Gesture, which may be performed near the Grotto where there are a number of spickets that dispense the miraculous water of Lourdes.
The source which sprang up when Bernadette dug in the earth on February 25, 1858 now flows at the rate of over 32,000 gallons a day. The water feeds the fountains near the Grotto. It is here that Mike and I filled up a bottle of water to take home and then each performed the Water Gesture.
We each washed our hands, forearms, and face in the miraculous water while at the same time offering our prayers and intentions for healing. This gesture is linked to the 9th apparition February 25, 1858 where Bernadette is instructed to "go and drink from the spring and wash yourself." After this apparition people came from far and near to wash in the waters. The first miraculous healing occurred shortly after the apparition.
Mike and I took the bridge by the Grotto over the river to the store to purchase candles. We lit them in the Candle Chapel. Here in the chapel millions of candles have been burning continuously since the 4th Apparition of the Our Blessed Mother Mary on February 19, 1858. On that day Bernadette prayed the rosary with a lit candle. Mary asked Bernadette to let the candle burn at the Grotto.
Our candle links this continuous chain of prayers to Our Lady of Lourdes as our prayer intentions rise with the smoke to heaven. The video below shows the Candle Chapel and is from the Lourdes Sanctuary site.
Now our tour guide leads our group out of the Domaine to visit a number of places where Bernadette and her family lived. You may see our 1-3/4 mile walking tour here. Starting from the Candle Chapel we cross over the river to the main Domaine grounds.
Walk the Esplanade, exit through Porte Saint-Michel Gate, cross over the bridge and into the narrow sides streets of Lourdes.
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| Signs on wall designating important sites |
We pass by the Moulin Gras (24 Quai Saint Jean) where the Soubirous family lived in 1859 and stop at the Boly Mill (12 Rue Bernadette Soubirous) the birthplace of Bernadette January 7, 1844.
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| Boly Mill at the time of Bernadette 1844 |
This water-mill was where Bernadette Soubirous lived for the first ten years of her life. It is now a museum.
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The first room inside the Boly Mill gives a history of the Soubirous family and of Lourdes.
The rest of the home, which was refurbished in 2012, has been set up to appear as it was in 1844. There is the room where Bernadette was born in 1844, a kitchen, and ancient water mill.
Water mill
From the Boly Mill we continue to the Maison Paternelle (2 Rue Bernadette Soubirous) where Bernadette’s parents lived after the apparitions. It was a gift to her parents by the parish of Lourdes and Father Peyramale.
The house still belongs to the Soubirous family and the museum is run by Bernadette's descendants. Inside, the historic house has been decorated with period furniture. There are also several relics of Saint Bernadette, such as her baptism dress, her handkerchief, and several letters, on display that have been preserved by the family.
As you walk past buildings that pertain to Bernadette's life you will also see metal markers in the ground. This will help you know you are on the right path.
Our next stop is Le Cachot (rue des Petits Fossés) where the Soubirous family lived after being displaced from the Boly Mill from 1856 to 1858.
In the Cachot, a former prison, the six person family shared one small room. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette left the Cachot to gather fire wood. It was on that day that Our Blessed Mother first appeared to Bernadette in the Grotto.
Finally we come to the cemetery where some of the Soubirous family are buried.
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Bernadette's body lies mostly incorrupt in the Main Chapel of the Convent of Saint Gildard in Nevers, France.
Picture of St. Bernadette in Nevers, France taken from a picture on the wall of the Cachot
We finish our walk back at the gate of the Domaine. Have lunch on our own at the Brasserie Salon de Saint Sauveur (9 Rue Sainte-Marie). And spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the town before meeting back up at 7pm for dinner at the hotel dining room.
After dinner we meet back at the Domaine for the 9pm Rosary Procession, which happens every night.
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All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted
All photos and videos by L.A. Momboisse unless otherwise noted
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