Lourdes
filled by Giulia
A visit to Lourdes is not only for believers and practitioners catholics ... the piety that reigns in the place attracts all those who want to immerse themselves in a highly spiritual place regardless of their faith . The best way to get prepared, however painstakingly , is by coach. (www.pellegrinaggisanti.com).The long hours of course help to leisurely approach to life and the story of Bernadette . By bus you have time to read, to watch movies and documentaries, to pray together with other pilgrims coordinated by spiritual guides religious but also secular , often very prepared . ( Before you leave, at home you can watch the movie Lourdes by Vittorio Messori , with Alessandro Gassman, Stefania Rocca and Angele Osinsky )
The holy city of Lourdes is as enclosed within the walls that separate it from the rest of the world: outside the are stalls and shops of images , rosaries and various objects depicting the life of the saint and the apparition of the Virgin Mary with more color and sound than the silence and peace which are served at the shrine area . Here first is the cave of Massabielle , the place of the apparitions. And here there is also the source that Our Lady instructed Bernadette asked her to wash and purify ...
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception or Better is the first built on the rock of the apparitions. Then there is the crypt , built over the cave and under the Upper Basilica . The Rosary Basilica was built later to meet the ever-increasing holdings of pilgrims. On the facade of which stand out the mosaics depicting biblical events .
The Basilica of St. Pius X, bold and colossal work of high technological value , it's all underground to avoid creating a strong environmental impact with a building so large .
The Church of St. Bernadette is also a modern building with a capacity of 5,000 people. It was consecrated in 1988. On either side there are numerous meeting rooms .
Particularly exciting is the way of the cross on the hill of the shrine. Those who wish can also join the International Eucharistic Procession afternoon . Do not miss the evening torchlight procession , Flambeaux , on the Esplanade of the Shrine.
You can then walk to the places of St. Bernadette :
the Cachot , a room used as a house , part of the city jail at the time, where Bernadette lived with his family during the apparitions , the Boly Mill , birthplace of Bernadette ;
Hospice , Convent where Bernadette was hosted after the apparitions and where it is prepared for First Communion and learned to read and write; parish church , of which only the remains of the original baptismal font where Bernadette was baptized .
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