Scottish Catholic Observer

The Paisley Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage led by Fr David Boyd, the diocesan administrator, set out from Edinburgh Airport on Friday June 28 with a certain amount of concern about what to expect upon arrival in Lourdes.

The road in from Tarbes/Lourdes Airport showed no signs of any major upheaval. However as the coaches arrived in the vicinity of the Rue de Paradis and the Rue de Peyramal it was very evident that a major disaster had occurred. The Rue de Paradis was closed off and men were working to restore the road way. Hotels on either side of the Gave de Pau were boarded up and showed signs of serious destruction to the lower level of the buildings. Later our pilgrims were to see the extent of the damage to the arbris St Michel, the electrical substation serving the sanctuary and other buildings along the length of the Gave.

On entering the domaine, the Paisley pilgrims were astonished to see that things were almost normal as an enormous amount of work had been carried out at the sanctuary to recover from the flooding. The two major entry points to the sanctuary were opened and showed little sign of the floods, with the exception of a coating of sand on the pavements here and there. The front of the Rosary Basilica was clear and it was difficult to imagine that fish had been swimming in front of the basilica a few days before we arrived. The icons of Our Lady that had been in place under the arches leading to the grotto since the jubilee year had been removed because some had been damaged in the floods.

Arriving at the grotto, one wondered if one had imagined the scenes that had appeared on websites, newspapers and TV in the previous week, so well had the clearing up process been carried out. An enormous amount of hard work must have gone into achieving what appeared impossible the week before. True an area of approximately six feet had been cordoned off to prevent pilgrims going too close to the wall on the river side. Apart from that, access to the Grotto was available to all.

Approaching the area where the candelabra for pilgrims’ candles are, one noticed that glass panels around the area had been broken by the flooding. Here again efforts by the sanctuary staff and the many volunteers had ensured that pilgrims were able to come and go as they always have done to leave behind their candles with the accompanying prayers and thoughts.

Of course, rumours abounded everywhere and one was left wondering if the programme that had been agreed with the sanctuary in February could be fulfilled. On the first day of the pilgrimage, the Paisley pilgrims were able to carry out every part of their programme, including going to the baths which were opened for the first time on Friday June 28.

Because the underground Basilica of St Pius X was so badly affected by the flooding, and will not be opened for some time to come, the usual Sunday International Mass was cancelled. Paisley was accommodated in the Basilica of St Bernadette on the Carmel side for Mass and the pilgrimage was joined by our good friends of many years, the National Rosary Pilgrimage from the US. In the evening we were given the honour of leading the Marian torchlit procession in which the young lads of the diocese, flanked by lady helpers and pilgrims carrying torches, carried the statue of Our Lady with great aplomb. On entering the Rosary Square, we were met by 14 young girls from the Paisley Youth Group who each carried a special torch and were deployed by the sanctuary at each side of the square to enable the meander of pilgrims through the square to be carried out in a more orderly fashion. At the conclusion of the procession, they joined the others on the steps of the basilica for the final blessing.

The rest of the diocesan programme  proceeded as normal, with two exceptions: the Water Walk and the Way of the Cross for the Sick at the far end of the prairie. The Water Walk was totally destroyed as a result of the flooding and it was also too dangerous to cross over the pathways to the area of the stations for a group of pilgrims using wheelchairs, and so on. So these two parts of the programme were changed. Those who were to make the stations on the prairie gathered under the trees near the Accueil Notre Dame and did the Way of the Cross there. Pilgrims who did the High Stations encountered no problems.

Later on the final day of the pilgrimage, everyone was asked to go to the taps near the grotto to drink the water from the spring and to recite the Creed as a substitute for the Water Walk. Some of the pilgrims had already renewed their Baptismal vows during a visit to the parish church on the Sunday at the Baptismal font in which St Bernadette had been Baptised.

On the final morning of our pilgrimage after Mass in the Chapelle Notre Dame, the pilgrims who were returning home by plane said farewell to the youth group who were travelling home by coach. It was a time to say ‘cheerio’ but also a time to say ‘thanks’ for the wonderful input to the pilgrimage that the young people had given. They were tremendous in their participation at all the Liturgies, courteous and pleasant in their interaction with the senior members of the pilgrimage and above all brought a spirit of graciousness and cheer to the whole pilgrimage.

We all left Lourdes grateful for the blessings and graces received, but also full of admiration for all the tireless labour undertaken by Bishop Brouwet, Fr Brito the rector, the sanctuary staff and volunteers who had contributed so much to ensuring that within the space of a week every effort had been made to help pilgrims have the best pilgrimage possible in such difficult circumstances. Mention should also be made of the efforts of hoteliers, travel agents and others in Lourdes who had worked equally long and hard to ensure things were as normal as possible for all of us. One statement among others that will remain with me for a long time after this year’s pilgrimage was the greeting of a young Lourdaise: “Thank you for coming,” she said simply.