Lourdes & Our Catholic Family
I have spent the last week in beautiful hot weather on pilgrimage in Lourdes with the family. Mary reading through the in-flight safety Some people have asked me about the damage that was done by the recent floods . We were contacted by our hotel a week before departure as they couldn't honour our booking due to flood damage. Interestingly, we were able to get alternative accommodation without any problem. This made me wonder whether there were the usual number of pilgrims there for the time of year and indeed, the town was busy, but not as heaving, as I have seen it in the past. The damage is visible, the glass covering the spring in the Grotto has been damaged, the wall bordering le Gave is damaged, but the most visible sign is the bridge from the Domain to the Basilica Bernadette, which suffered a great deal of damage. Overall, the place looks surprisingly good and is 99% open for business. They've done a sterling job cleaning it up so well in such a short space o...