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| Château Fort de Lourdes from Our Lady of Lourdes; Photo: Scott Stevens |
Our next stop was Lourdes. In my original, original itinerary, we were going from Chambord directly to the Pyrénées, where we were going to stay in a small town near lots of outdoor features, including waterfalls. But, when Scott asked to add the Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion tour, I had to cut a night and that inn had a two-night minimum. So, I opted to stay in Lourdes, which I had planned to use as a base for exploring the French Pyrénées.
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| Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes |
None of that worked out as planned. Instead of hurrying, Scott decided to meander this day, starting where we spent the night before, Bazas.
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| Bazas, France |
We started out near the hotel, trying to get a decent view of the Bazas Cathedral.
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| While we could see it, it was hard to get to |
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| A pretty steeple |
We circled it a few times and got some nice distant shots. It was too early to go in anyway.
Bazas Cathedral, now a French national monument, dates mainly from the 13th-14th Centuries and was built on the model of the great Gothic cathedrals of northern France. The west front has three levels: the first includes the three Gothic portals retaining part of their original 13th-Century sculpture; the second includes the rose window from 1537; and the third is a Neoclassical gable from 1723. The belfry on the north is part 11th Century.
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| It dominates town |
The interior was entirely rebuilt from 1583 to 1635 after the Huguenots badly damaged it in 1561 during the Wars of Religion. The cathedral is part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.
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| Interior; Photo: Portraits of History |
It's a shame we couldn't go in; when I looked it up later, I found that it has a stunning interior.
Still, we found it. This was what I was looking for in Wales – a castle in a field that we could just photograph. Wish granted!
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| A perfect castle |
Roquetaillade ("carved in the rock") is situated on a rocky spur under which are a series of caves inhabited by man since prehistoric times. Oral tradition says that Charlemagne, the first European Emperor, gathered an army here in the 8th Century and built a wooden castle. Over the next 400 years, there were periods of unrest and invasions and the castle evolved. In time, stone replaced wood and the fortifications were strengthened. Roquetaillade is mentioned for the first time as as a fortified village with a feudal system in archives from the 11th Century.
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| I wish we had gotten in; it has a larger castle behind it!!! Photo: Château de Roquetaillade |
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| Similar to Caernarfon and Beaumaris, which Caty and I visited in June |
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| Interior; Photo: Portraits of History |
When the feudal system died out, defense was no longer needed, the village was abandoned and the castle became a dwelling.
Never sold, the castle has been occupied by the same family for over 1,000 years.
It had a pullout right in front of it and faced a lovely vineyard. This was starting to look like the villages I wanted to see.
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| Vineyard |
Next, Scott decided that he wanted to see the ocean. So, we routed ourselves to Saint-Girons Plage on the Atlantic’s Bay of Biscay without knowing what we were going to see.
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| A nice, but pretty empty beach (season was over); Photo: Scott Stevens |
It turned out to be a tiny surfing/camping town with a deep sand beach, lots of seafood restaurants, campgrounds and cabins.
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| Typical surfing beach |
We stayed long enough to admire the (fairly violent) sea...
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| There were surfers, but they never surfed |
... and gathering storm clouds ...
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| This didn't bode well |
... and to have lunch ...
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| Are all photos of me eating? Photo: Scott Stevens |
Scott is (or up to now had been) constantly searching for oysters, believing that France is a good place for them. Years ago in Paris, he ordered some at an expensive restaurant that had oysters as its specialty. He was dismayed at how small, salty and briny they were.
On this trip, he tried a few times, including at Saint-Girons Plage. They were a bit bigger and a bit sweeter there, but he has now decided that he just doesn't like French oysters. I had delicious fish and chips. Not really a French dish, but so good.
On the Road
Then, we meandered some more, driving much of the route on smaller roads that passed through picturesque towns.
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| Pretty, pretty rural countryside and tiny towns |
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| And, of course, churches everywhere |
This put us into Lourdes later than I had planned, so we couldn’t really explore the Pyrénées that day. But, Lourdes was interesting enough to make up for it.
Lourdes
A little background first:
Prior to the mid-19th Century, Lourdes was best known for its Château fort that sits on a rocky escarpment in the center of town.
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| Château Fort de Lourdes |
Then, in 1858, a peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous claimed that a beautiful lady appeared to her in a remote grotto and identified herself as the Immaculate Conception.
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| Mary; Photo: Lourdes |
By 1859, thousands of pilgrims were visiting the “healing waters” of Lourdes.
A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was erected in 1864 and Bernadette was canonized for her virtuous life.
It was a “holy place” before this. An ancient “pagan” temple dedicated to the gods of water and three votive altars have been unearthed there.
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| The Esplanade |
In the 5th Century, the temple was replaced by an early Christian church that later burned down. From 732 to 778, Lourdes was occupied by Muslims.
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| Lourdes is now a center of Catholicism |
According to legend, when an Eagle dropped a huge trout at their leader’s feet, he took it as an omen and he surrendered the fort and converted to Christianity. He was baptized with the name Lorus, which was given to the town; that eventually became Lourdes.
The town went through the usual give and take between warring factions, including occupation by the English and conversion to Protestantism.
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| Statue at the Sanctuary |
In 1592, Lourdes was taken by the Catholic League and the faith was re-established. In 1607, Lourdes was incorporated into the Kingdom of France. More war and more exchange of ownership calmed down by the time Bernadette had her visions.
Located in the foothills of the Pyrénées, Lourdes lies at an elevation of 1,380 feet and is overlooked from the south by the peaks of Aneto (11,168 feet), Montaigu (7,674 feet) and Vignemal (10,820 feet). In town there are three summits reaching up to 3,281 feet, known as the Béout, the Petit Jer and the Grand Jer.
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| Lourdes sits on the edge of the Pyrénées |
We stayed at the Belfry & Spa by Ligne St Barth, which is a short (but slightly steep) walk to the pilgrimage site, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
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| The hotel and the view; Left photo: Scott Stevens |
The Sanctuary has three basilicas: the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Rosary Basilica and the Basilica of St. Pius X, respectively known as the upper, lower and underground basilicas.
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| Rosary (round arch) in the foreground; Immaculate Conception (spires) in back |
We walked around, mainly outside, just taking a few peeks inside where photography is forbidden.
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| Quite an odd sight |
We didn’t visit the Grotto or fountains that provide Lourdes water and baths for immersion.
However, we did see processions of nurses (perhaps nuns) pushing individuals seeking cures in three-wheeled carriages that look like humungous baby carriages.
Back to history: Three years after the apparitions, the church began modifying the area to make it more accessible to pilgrims.
The first church is now known as the "Crypt." In 1864, French sculptor Joseph-Hugues Fabisch was commissioned to create a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes based on Bernadette's descriptions. Although it has become an iconic symbol of Our Lady of Lourdes, it depicts a figure older and taller than Bernadette's description, more in keeping with orthodox and traditional representations of the Virgin Mary.
The Gothic Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as the "Upper Basilica," was consecrated in 1876.
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| Panoramic looks at the Upper Basilica |
The exterior is dominated by a 230-foot-tall spire and two lesser spires completed later in 1908. Above the entrance is a mosaic of Pope Pius IX.
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| Upper Basilica |
The Byzantine Rosary Basilica, known as the "Lower Basilica," was consecrated in 1901 and has a capacity of 1,500 worshipers.
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| Mosaics by the entrance to the Lower Basilica |
Its dome is surmounted by a dramatic gilded crown and cross, which were a gift from the people of Ireland in 1924.
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| Lower Basilica; Botton right photo: Scott Stevens |
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| I think the dome looks like something from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
The Basilica of St. Pius X, known as the "Underground Basilica," is the largest of the sanctuary's churches. Completed in 1958 in anticipation of enormous crowds for the centenary of the apparitions, it can accommodate 25,000 worshippers.
There are other churches in town that we didn’t visit.
I have been in at least one other pilgrimage site (Santiago de Compostela in Spain) but didn’t notice the degree of tourism (read as tackiness) as I saw here. The main thoroughfare is an endless row of souvenir shops selling jugs of "healing" water, rosaries and a mind-boggling assortment of Virgin Mary statues.
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| Lourdes has been called the "Disneyland of the Catholic Church" |
The Church distances itself from this commercialization; the stores and stalls are privately owned and hawkers are strictly forbidden inside the sanctuary.
After walking around during the afternoon, we had dinner at a paella restaurant (we were in France, but very close to Spain and there is a great deal of Spanish influence). I wasn’t in the mood for paella and instead had a tomato salad and my favorite tapa, patatas brava (fried potatoes in spicy red sauce). Good call, I found Scott's paella very fishy (he liked it). I am not sure what is happening, but my palate increasingly finds meat and seafood to be too strong. I steered clear of both for most of the trip.
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| Yes, I am eating again! Photos: Scott Stevens |
When we went back to our room, I did a little research and discovered that every night there is a candlelight procession at the Sanctuary. I should have known this before, but I hadn’t really planned to do much in Lourdes except sleep.
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| Music before the procession; Photo: Scott Stevens |
We decided to go. It had rained on and off during the day, but the skies had cleared and the forecast was good. Tired of lugging lots of gear, I decided to take just one camera and no rain gear except my jacket because the night was cool. Big mistake. It poured.
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| A wet evening; Photo: Scott Stevens |
The torchlight Marian Procession (Procession of Mary) takes place daily at 9:00 p.m. It is led by sick and disabled pilgrims followed by volunteers carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary.
We, being non-religious, did not participate. We watched as hundreds of people carrying lit candles snaked their way back and forth across the wide plaza praying the Rosary.
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| The procession |
I stood between two people who were also watching but were participating in the liturgy. The priests and volunteers said their parts in an astounding variety of languages. See it here.
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| Procession; Photo: Scott Stevens |
The people near me were responding in French and some eastern European language, perhaps Polish.
Pilgrims used to light candles near the Grotto. Now they have to cross the Gave de Pau river on a new bridge to reach the "chapels of light," where all candles are meant to be lighted.
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| Lots of candles and they do this every night! |
Around 800 tons of wax are burned annually in devotional candles. The candle burners are tended by a staff of feutiers, attendants whose job is to ensure candles are burned safely. In July 2022, four chapels were damaged by a fire caused by candles. I am quite surprised that I didn’t see anyone burn or ignite themselves.
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| I guess the rain took care of that |
The sanctuary of Lourdes is one of the most-visited Catholic shrines in the world, with around four million tourists coming every year.
Trip Dates: September 4-26, 2024
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