Here are some pictures from our recent pilgrimage to Lourdes and several other holy places in France. It was a spiritually uplifting week with a great group of "pilgrims."
(Click on images to enlarge.)
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| Our group in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Chartres |
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| One of the streets in Lourdes |
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| Our first Mass at the shrine |
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| Bernadette Soubirous |
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Relics of St. Bernadette
People congregating near the Grotto |
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The Grotto, where our Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette
Prayer intentions and flowers left in the Grotto
Through this opening on the floor of the Grotto, one can view the healing waters of Lourdes
The Rosary Basilica
Where one enters the baths
The underground Basilica of St. Pius X in Lourdes, which holds 20,000 people.
Every day at 5pm there is a special Blessing of the Sick ceremony in the underground basilica.
A few familiar faces were in the choir the day we attended the ceremony.
On the 27th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, I was the main celebrant and homilist at the 6:45am English Mass at the Grotto. What a great blessing! It was definitely the highlight of the pilgrimage for me. |
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The group gave me a beautiful Marian vestment for my anniversary.
Fr. Mahar and I preparing for Mass at the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal in Paris.
Fr. Mahar was the main celebrant that day.
The incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure
St. Vincent de Paul, who is buried in the church that bears his name in Paris
Les Buissonnets, the childhood home of St. Therese in Lisieux
The Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux
Celebrating Mass in the basilica
St. Therese
One of her habits
Yes, I was always eating (so what else is new?). And yes, there was always some good vino on the table.
No explanation needed for this picture.
Some people who hung around the hotel we stayed at in Paris
The spires of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Chartres.
They don't match!
One is a 349-foot plain Romanesque pyramid dating from the 1140s, while the other is a 377-foot early 16th-century Flamboyant Gothic spire on top of an older tower.
Three amigos
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