Day 7 update and Day 8 update 1

Yesterday, we left Burgos, Spain and hit the road. After about 2 hours, we arrived in Loyola, Spain. We went to Mass in a chapel right next to the room where Saint Ignatius of Loyola had his conversion.

We also passed through the Holy Doors of the Basilica, gaining a plenary indulgence.

Loyola had quite a different flavor from the other Spanish towns in terms of the music, the landscape and the culture. The pastures are greener, and the music has much more of a French sound to it. Even the church architecture was more of a Greystone and different look.

After Loyola, we made the long trip to Lourdes, France. Lourdes is the second Marian apparition site of our tour (Fatima).

One quick note. It took us more than 3 hours to get processed into Portugal but entering Spain and France was just like entering another state in the US. No one stamped, verified, or even look at, our passports. This is troubling to me. No border security at all.

I digress.

After arriving in Lourdes, we took part in a breathtaking candlelight procession that had easily tens of thousands of people. That was exhilarating and about all we did in Lourdes Sunday night.

Today, we had Mass, and a public rosary, at the grotto of apparitions.

The white statue is exactly where Our Blessed Mother appeared.

Below is a close up.

We were looking from the second row and, to our right can be seen the exact spot where Bernadette knelt

We were allowed to actually enter the grotto, touch the stone and pass directly underneath the statue which seems to be about 18 feet up. While inside the grotto, we saw the source of the miraculous spring.

10s of thousands of people have been miraculously cured by that incredible water. I drank some, blessed myself with it and filled 4 bottles. I will do more.

In the picture you see below are the 1st and 2nd Basilicas built at Lourdes, behind our tour guide.

The big one in the back was built because the smaller one could no longer handle the crowds.

The crowds continued to build and a 3rd, larger Basilica was built which is one of the largest in the world with a capacity of 20,000 people.

Incredibly, this largest Basilica is completely underground!

Something so vast and magnificent would have been totally alien to Bernadette who grew up in abject poverty, as did her whole family. When the apparitions took place, the entire family lived in this single room.

In a cruel irony skeptics began to seize on the notoriety and claimed that money was the obvious motivation since the family obviously made millions from it.

One problem. They didn't.

The last name Soubirous was a common name in 19th century Lourdes, France and other families were only too willing to profit from the confusion. Even the very hotel we have been staying in, The Grand Hotel Moderne Soubirous has absolutely no connection to Saint Bernadette Soubirous. We would not have know that if the local guide Sophia- born and raised in Lourdes- hadn't told us.

Much more to come from Lourdes, today and tomorrow.