Sunday was marked by two large-scale events: the International Mass in the morning and the Blessed Sacrament procession in the afternoon. The International Mass takes place in the huge underground basilica -- an amazing building; I'd be interested some time to find out a bit about how they constructed it. I know it was back in the 1950s, as it was built for the celebration of the centenary year in 1958. Apparently it's designed to hold twenty five thousand people, but today every spare space was filled and I heard it said we may have had as many as thirty thousand. It's certainly an extraordinary sight, looking along the length of the building when it's full of people, with the huge crowd that just seems to go on and on until you lose sight of it in the distance. They managed the logistics of it remarkably well, considering the number of people involved. When we came out at the end of Mass I was quite surprised to find that it was just eleven o'clock. I'd have expected it to take longer, though the Mass certainly didn't seem over-long. The procession of the concelebrants to the grotto for the Angelus took another half hour, but really it all went very smoothly.

I'd been invited for lunch at the chaplains' residence by Monsignor Bill Saunders, who is the overall director of our pilgrimage. We were joined by Frances (the chief nurse at the Catholic Association), Fr Simon Blakesley (our chaplain to the 'assisted pilgrims') and Canon Jim Cronin (our cathedral Dean). Jim was sitting opposite to me and his French is quite good, so he was able to have a conversation with the French bishop sitting next to him and across from me. With Jim's help, I was able to take part in the conversation, which was rather nice. Frances was on my left, with Bill next to her. She mentioned one thing that I must keep in mind, that we've been rather short of young helpers for the past few years. We must see if we can do something to encourage more of them to come - otherwise the ones who already come will get discouraged. Frances said that her son Paul will be arriving on Monday, to join the young helpers. He couldn't come with the rest of us on Friday because he's taking part in a motor-racing event at Silverstone. He has apparently had a keen interest in cars ever since he was a small child. I'm glad to say that at the Catholic Association meeting later in the day, Frances got a text to say that he'd had a safe race.

Later in the afternoon we had the Blessed Sacrament procession, which I (substituting for Archbishop Kevin) was due to lead. Being aware that things don't always go as expected, I wasn't counting on this beforehand, but I was pleased to find that it did actually happen as planned. I wasn't too sure of all the details of the ceremony, but we had a very good local MC and I was ably assisted by deacon Jim from the Cathedral and deacon Dan from Whitstable. To begin with, I went to the altar, while the Blessed Sacrament was brought. I was to give a short introduction after the opening greeting - which I'd been working out in my mind while we were waiting to process from the sacristy. The procession was led by the banners and then the assisted pilgrims went ahead of the pilgrims who were able to walk. The numbers were so great that I thought the succession of wheelchairs and invalid carriages would never end. Just when I thought that was all, another lot would emerge from some side-path and add themselves to the procession. The number of walking pilgrims was considerable, but they didn't seem to take so long to go past.

When I come to pick up the monstrance I found they hadn't been joking in the sacristy, when they'd said it was very heavy and I'd need the leather neck-strap they provided. The procession went across the bridge, across the Esplanade and past the Crowned Statue, continuing along the first part of the route of the Torchlight Procession, before going down one of the ramps to the Underground Basilica, where we had the concluding Benediction. I was impressed by the way this was organised and my eye was caught by one small detail. The servers are given bowls of burning charcoal to hold, which then have incense sprinkled upon them. They must have some rather clever system of insulation because otherwise the bowls would be far too hot to hold. Normally at Benediction, the blessing itself takes place right at the end, after the Tantum Ergo and immediately before the Blessed Sacrament is taken back to the tabernacle. It was done this way today, giving the blessing once in each of four directions, as the altar is central in the basilica. But before the Tantum Ergo there was an additional bit that I'd forgotten until reminded by the MC. I had to take the monstrance and follow the MC and a helper, down amongst the sick pilgrims, giving a separate blessing at each block of people. That took quite a long time and was really quite tiring. I started with some fairly modest sign-of-the-cross movements when I did the blessing, but I soon got into my stride and (bearing in mind the scale of the basilica) made much larger and (hopefully) more visible blessings. It was truly rather hard work and by the time I'd finished I felt as if I'd been doing a lot of arm exercises, but I think it was worth it. I've described the event in fairly prosaic terms, but I did find it a really moving experience and felt it quite a privilege.
 

On our pilgrimage programme, Monday is the day for excursions. We start with Masses for the various dioceses and groups fairly early in the day, around nine o'clock, to leave as much time as possible for whatever people want to do with the rest of the day. As usual, Portsmouth and Southwark had Mass at the upper basilica, together with any people from the Catholic Association, who weren't attached to a particular diocese.

After Mass I went along to the Accueil, to visit some of the assisted pilgrims. I got into conversation with a couple from Tunbridge Wells. The husband had suffered a stroke about a year or so ago. It has affected his speech, but he was still able to have a conversation without too much difficulty. He told me about some of his experiences in the army and about how he got into bookmaking as a career after he left. He became a Catholic relatively recently, with the deacon Kevin Dunne visiting him for instruction at home. I went on to see another chap, but before we'd been talking very long, we were interrupted by the arrival of lunch, so I didn't stay very long after that. I'd been hoping to get a recording with one of the assisted pilgrims, but this time it was obviously not to be.

Bishop Jacques of Lourdes kindly invites visiting bishops to join him for lunch on Mondays, so I walked up to his house along with Bishops Peter Doyle, Crispian Hollis and Declan Lang. Bishop Michael Evans had been booked to do a Confirmation at Hosanna House, so he wasn't coming with us this time. Today there was a greater proportion of English speakers at lunch, as we were joined by three Irish bishops. There were two French bishops apart from Bishop Jacques. One was the Bishop of Lisieux, who spoke only French. The other was the retired bishop of Nice, who now lives in Lourdes. He spoke Italian, so he and I were able to have a conversation quite easily. The chief English-language chaplain, Fr Martin Moran, was also there. He was able to translate between English and French where necessary, which was a great help at times when the conversation got stuck. With this mixture of people, we were rather better off than last year, when the table did divide rather into two exclusive English and French speaking halves. My Italian-speaking bishop was quite an interesting person to talk to and we had, amongst other things, a topic of conversation in the fact that my sister's family had lived in Provence for ten years. Not exactly the same area as Nice, but not so very far away.

During the afternoon I spent some time working out my homily for Tuesday morning's Mass at the Grotto. In the evening I went over to the Gallia Londres hotel for the Southwark clergy meal. Originally, of course, Archbishop Kevin was to have presided over this. Fr David Hutton (the Southwark pilgrimage director) had organised the details, so all I had to do was to turn up and give a (very short) speech of thanks at the end. They did us proud as regards the meal itself and I think it was a nice relaxed occasion for everyone and a nice way to round off the day.
 

This morning we processed from in front of the Rosary Basilica to the Grotto for our Pilgrimage Mass the theme of which was 'The Church in Mission with Mary'. Bishop Paul was the principal concelebrant and gave the homily. This afternoon Fr Wilfrid McGreal, OCarm, led our Penitential Service in the Basilica of St Pius X.
We also had our group photographs taken in front of the Rosary Basilica.

This morning we made the Stations of the Cross. Those of us with restricted mobility met on the Prairie on the opposite side of the River Gave to the Grotto. Here a beautiful set of the Stations by the sculptor Maria de Faykod has recently been installed to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Apparitions. Fr Simon Blakesley led this service and gave the homily.

Those of us who were able made the Stations of the Cross on Calvary. We were led by Fr John Twist, SJ, who also gave the homily. This Way of the Cross on the hillside which rises above the Basilica weaves along a steep wooded area for almost a mile. The sculptures are life-size.

This afternoon we passed through the Grotto and this evening we celebrated our Pilgrimage Mass in St Bernadette's Church organised by the children. The principal celebrant was Bishop Michael Evans of East Anglia and Fr Tony Rogers, the chaplain to Glanfield, gave the homily.

On the day of the last Apparition on 16th July 1858, Bernadette was unable to be in front of the Grotto of Massabielle, because the police had barricaded it. She went to the opposite bank of the River Gave and saw Our Lady in spite of the barriers: she later said, 'never had she looked so beautiful'. Almost on the exact spot where Bernadette prayed on that day, the modern Church of St Bernadette was opened in 1988. 

The past couple of days have gone by so quickly it has been difficult to find the time to keep up my reports to the website. I could just about manage it when I was at World Youth Day, but here in Lourdes it isn't only the events that are officially part of our pilgrimage programme, there are also various activities involving different groups, like the regular Evening Prayer put on by the Glanfield group, prayers with the young helpers and celebrations with groups such as Stonyhurst and the Carmelites. It's easy to see the truth in the advice given at the start, that we should feel free to choose what we go to and to drop out of one of the events, so to speak, if we felt we needed more time for private reflection and prayer. In a way, what the Glanfield group do with their children and young people is a good example of this. They came to the Mass at the Grotto on Tuesday and of course to the Mass they led on Wednesday, but combined this with their own activities such as a trip to one of the lakes or a visit to the zoo. In this way they got a programme that wasn't too much for the youngsters to cope with, while also sharing in some important events with the main body of pilgrims.

There's so much I could mention, but I'll just give some of the things that stand out from the past three days, as I look back on them on what is now our last afternoon in Lourdes. The Grotto Mass was a great experience, particularly for me as the chief celebrant. The weather was ideal: dry but not too hot and sunny. I felt somewhat precarious as I stood on the steps of a sort of little pulpit just underneath the statue of Our Lady. I was using my little personal organiser for my sermon notes and this caused a few amused comments afterwards. Quite a few were impressed by this use of technology. I replied that it helped to give a 'spurious impression of efficiency'! I loved it when some of the children brought up the drawings and posters they'd prepared - and I was amused to notice one of our 'special needs' youngsters giving a slightly intrusive photographer a good telling-off!

The Reconciliation Service was of course a key moment in our pilgrimage. We followed the same arrangement as last year, using an altar at the end of the underground basilica - and it was reckoned that this worked very well. It was led by Fr Wilfrid McGreal, the new Carmelite Provincial. Later in the afternoon he gave a talk on Carmelite spirituality, which was very good. It was simple enough to give an easy-to-remember overview. He spoke about three main themes and what they symbolise: Mount Carmel and the desert (hermits), Elijah (witness) and Our Lady (who 'pondered these things in her heart'). He went on to give a number of examples of how these themes worked out in practice at different stages of the history of the Carmelites and how they connect with various issues today (for example, in the lives of Edith Stein and Titus Brandsma and in the contemporary debate about respect for the natural world).

I particularly enjoyed the time I spent with the young helpers for a period of prayer and reflection in the Prairie, after the main business of the day was over. Having a drink with them in the bar of their hotel afterwards was also very welcome! Earlier in the evening I'd gone over to join in Evening Prayer with the Glanfield group. Last year we'd had this on the roof garden, but perhaps the venue had been changed for safety reasons. Today were were squeezed into a long and narrow meeting room. It was rather cramped but they managed fairly well. Four or five of the young helpers were playing musical instruments to accompany the songs - which were pretty lively, complete with actions. It was a very joyful occasion. People I spoke to afterwards said that they always come away feeling happy and uplifted.

I also remember vividly walking the Jubilee Way on Wednesday morning. This is a special feature for this year, where you visit four sites associated with the life of St Bernadette. With the International Mass taking place this morning, it seemed like an ideal time to do the walk. While many of the other pilgrims would be otherwise occupied, it would be easier to get into the places that you need to visit. I had been to the Grotto, so that left three places. First I went to the parish church where Bernadette was baptised. Then I visited the disused prison where Bernadette's family lived after they fell on hard times. While I happened to be passing near, I also looked
in at the place where Bernadette was born. We'd been past there on Saturday, during the walking tour, but there hadn't been time to go in. Finally I visited the hospital, where the sisters used also to run a school, where Bernadette prepared for and received her First Holy Communion.

The Mass organised by the children of the Glanfield group was very special. I was glad we'd made it a formal item in our programme this year, rather than just inviting as many people as possible to come. The Mass, like last year, was quite lively and spirited. Bishop Michael Evans, the main concelebrant, took it all in his stride and Fr Tony Rogers, the chaplain to Glanfield, preached in fine style. Part of the Mass involved sprinkling with holy water and there was some debate afterwards about whether Bishop Crispian or I gave people a more thorough wetting. My impression was that the non-Glanfield pilgrims responded positively to the celebration and didn't mind it being in a rather different style to our normal Masses.

This morning (Thursday) we had the last event that would involve everyone on our pilgrimage, since some would be leaving in the afternoon. This was the Mass with the Sacrament of the Sick, with Bishop Crispian presiding. It's always a moving occasion, where we come to the heart of what it means to be at Lourdes. The homily drew together very nicely the ways in which the different people who come on pilgrimage can share in the healing that Jesus brings: those coming from our parishes, the assisted pilgrims, the children and everyone. I'm looking forward to being alongside the sick pilgrims as they go through the baths - and I'm practising my party piece for the 'do' over at the Accueil this evening. I won't go into any details on this, but I'll leave it to your imagination!