Pilgrimage to Lourdes

The English Pilgrimage: August 12-16
for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
and the Visit of Archbishop Lefebvre to Lourdes
Reported by Susan Horton

WHEN THE IDEA of a Lourdes pilgrimage was first envisaged it was thought that not many would go, and twenty places only were reserved. However, when news of the fact that His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre would be there during our chosen dates, which included the Feast of the Assumption, bookings came in almost daily, and in the end sixty-two people left England for Lourdes.

Our spiritual leader, Father Denis Marchal, traveled with the group, accompanied by much luggage, as he was being transferred to the Priory of St. Pius X in Lourdes.

On arrival at Lourdes Airport, we found coaches waiting to take pilgrims to their hotels, one special coach being for the traditionalist group, suitably labeled. A drive of about twenty-five minutes brought us to our hotel, where, after allocation of rooms, Madame Jeanette, the proprietress, kindly offered to drive Father Marchal, and all his luggage, to the Society of St. Pius X Priory. Time for us to unpack, freshen up, and go down into the bar to purchase a welcome cup of tea, coffee, or cold drink. Soon after, a telephone call to the hotel informed us that Mass would be offered in the Priory Chapel at 6:00 p.m.

The hotel at which we stayed is not far from the Chapel, providing you are prepared to climb perhaps one hundred steps! As we had a very nice lady in a wheelchair, it was decided to take the long way round thus avoiding the upward steps—and a very long way it seemed, especially with so much traffic to be avoided. (For future visits, the men with our group, who took turns pushing the chair, said they would lift it up the steps. The lady herself was most cooperative, and walked as much as she could.)

At the Chapel we found that a Mass was already in progress, the congregation being a group of young people—Scouts, Guides and others. The Chapel was full, and many were kneeling outside on the concrete, in the hot sun. We did the same, watching the Mass through the open window. Father Francois Pozzetto, Superior of the Society in Lourdes, preached a special sermon, and then announced he would meet the group the following morning, to brief them regarding the visit of Archbishop Lefebvre.

After the Consecration, the young congregation began to sing, softly and slowly, the O Salutaris Hostia. This, and the devout way in which they received Holy Communion, made that Mass unforgettable. As they were leaving the Chapel, we filed in, and Father Marchal made his way to the altar to begin his first Mass in the Society Chapel of Lourdes.

Later, dinner was a time for greeting old friends, and meeting new, and then the Manchester contingent arrived, including two baby sisters of ten and twenty-two months—then we really did feel we were a group.

The late evening in Lourdes, after the Torchlight Procession, finds many watching at the Grotto, in the darkness—the only illumination being from the burning candles. We stood there, gazing at the statue of Our Lady in the niche, the very spot where she appeared to Bernadette 127 years ago. In the stillness people knelt, or stood. How many prayers, from all nationalities, are offered up at the Shrine? A silent but continuous line of people process around the Grotto, kissing and touching the well-worn rock, under her statue. A basket at the back is for petitions, thrown in as you pass. These are left for a while, and then burnt unopened.

On Tuesday morning, a stalwart (from the U.S.A. but at present resident in England), knocked various doors at 6:00 a.m., as some wanted to attend the 7:15 a.m. Mass at the Chapel. It is good to walk over St. Michael's Bridge, and past the rushing River Gave, so early in the morning. Later, it was time to meet at the Statue of the Crowned Virgin in the Domaine (the usual meeting place for pilgrims), for the group photograph. Benches had been arranged at various heights, and one person was knocked off the top bench, when our priest, ever enthusiastic, missed his footing and fell off the one below. However, all lived to say "cheese." Stations of the Cross followed, led by Father Marchal, and then another visit to the Grotto, before proceeding to the Chapel for Mass at 11:00 a.m.

In the afternoon, most of us joined a walking tour of the town, led by an excellent Lourdes courier, Solange. We visited first the Cachot, the tiny cell which was not considered fit for prisoners, and yet was allocated to Bernadette's family—two adults, four children—when Monsieur Soubirous, the father, lost all his money. He had once run the prosperous Boly Mill, but through allowing too much credit to customers, ended up penniless. On hearing that it was possible to arrange a Mass at the Cachot, Father Marchal disappeared, and eventually caught up with us with the news that he had arranged a Mass for 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning. We were also shown the parish church, built near the site of the original of Bernadette's day, and containing the font used for her baptism, which had been transferred from the old church. On the wall above the font is a replica on stone of the entry of her birth and baptism, from the old parish records. Apart from these two features and one or two side chapels, the church is now very modern.

Leaving there we made our way to the chapel where Bernadette made her First Holy Communion at the age of fourteen years. Here the relic was venerated. Our walk took us to the Boly Mill where Bernadette was born, and to the Maison Paternelle, the house offered to the family and which they reluctantly accepted, after Bernadette had gone to live with the Sisters of Nevers, in Lourdes. She herself never lived at the Maison Paternelle, but did go there to say farewell to her family, before leaving Lourdes for the Convent at Nevers, where she spent the rest of her life.

During the walk we passed posters advertising the visit of Archbishop Lefebvre, and giving details of the ceremonies to be held on the Feast of the Assumption. The next day we saw that every poster was covered with a notice advertising a concert, and on top of each a very offensive notice regarding Monseigneur Lefebvre's visit. Some of us went round tearing down the notices, and apparently several of the young people covered the rest of the town doing the same thing.

During that afternoon there was an optional excursion to Gavarnie, in the mountains. In the evening, it being the Vigil of the Assumption, there began an all-night Vigil of Silence, at the Priory Chapel, in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Many people came for various periods through the night, and confessions were heard in the Priory, with another priest hearing in the garden.

On Thursday, the Feast Day, the English group went by coach to the venue for the ceremonies, the meadow at L'Abri de l'Amitié, where an altar had been erected in front of a half-finished building. As the previous owners had run out of funds and were unable to complete the building, they have passed it over to the Society.

At 10:00 a.m. the procession made its way up the slope to the altar, where the Archbishop offered Pontifical Mass, and preached a sermon on Our Lady and St. Bernadette, the events at Lourdes, and the Faith. After Mass, His Grace met the people, and was pleased to see so many from England. He accepted a copy of our group photograph, which appeared to give him much pleasure. We were delighted to have the opportunity to talk with him. The clergy then drove to the Priory for lunch. We ate our packed lunches in the field, found time to chat, and to visit the stall at the entrance of the meadow, where books and piety goods were on sale.

The afternoon ceremonies began with Vespers of the Assumption, followed by the Renewal of the Vow of Louis XIII—a vow which had been promised yearly after a desired child had been born. Then began the long procession, with four young men carrying a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Small altar boys led the way, along roads and stony paths, while the rosary was recited and hymns sung, interspersed with Christus Vincit. (This brought back memories of the wonderful day of celebration of the Archbishop's Golden Jubilee as a priest, held in Paris in 1979.) It was reported that 2,000 joined in the procession, and Archbishop Lefebvre walked all the way. What a privilege to walk, to honor Our Lady, knowing that the Archbishop was taking part in the same procession. Arriving back at the meadow we knelt for Benediction, which closed the ceremonies. We were told later that officials from the Grotto had come to watch. They surely must have been impressed. Later that day the Archbishop made a private visit to the Grotto, accompanied by priests of the Society. Many people seeing him, knelt for his blessing.

Friday morning, on our last day, we were up early for the Mass at the Cachot, as arranged by Father Marchal. As soon as the door opened we entered, to find the "altar" already set—for the Novus Ordo. It was decided to do nothing until Father arrived. Two ladies, not of our group, came in to attend Mass. Great was their astonishment when Father Marchal and a French seminarian arrived, pushed back the table, and took candlesticks, chalice, and altar cards out of a large suitcase, and placed these on the altar, along with a crucifix. While this was happening, we recited the Our Father, Hail Mary and the Glory Be to the Father. The altar being ready for the Tridentine Mass, Father Marchal announced that a Latin Mass would be said, according to the permission given by Pope John Paul II. The two ladies were hemmed in, unable to leave. Indeed, one of them remained to the end, and received Holy Communion. The other, as soon as the people got up to go to the altar railing for Holy Communion, made her exit, and this was followed by the arrival of a nun, who proceeded to open the half-closed door. By then the Mass was finished, and although black looks were given as we filed out, Father was merely told that he had overrun his time by fifteen minutes, making late starts for others through the morning and, also, that for another time, the door must be kept open, as it is the original door, and could be damaged by closing. The nun was smiling as she bade Father good-bye.

Our last breakfast together. A delay of planes gave us time for an extra visit to Our Lady at the Grotto, or to the Society Chapel. All too soon we boarded the coach for our drive back to Lourdes Airport—sad that a wonderful pilgrimage had come to a close, and also that Father Marchal would not be returning with us. However, as we promised him, and Our Lady—God willing—we will be back!