PARISHIONERS VISIT LOURDES AGAIN

Several members of the Parish of Our Lady of Mercy have visited the shrine this year.    This view of it shows the crowds continually moving to and from the Grotto, which is on the right of the photo with the statue of Our Lady in the niche where Bernadette saw the apparitions.

It is difficult at times to fully comprehend the numbers who go to Lourdes.    This photo shows the congregation at an International Mass in the Underground Basilica.     The tiny brown rectangle in the middle of the photo is the altar, which is in the centre of the Basilica.    Although you cannot see them, there are as many people on the other side of that altar as there are on this side, and the whole seated congregation totals about a quarter of the number of visitors entering the Domaine each day during the summer season.

Much further down the Gave are the new Stations of the Cross, beautifully sculpted in white marble, which were  completed and installed earlier this year.