Caroline Trainor, who leads our team in Lourdes, shares what it is like to spend time in Lourdes in winter time:
We are often asked what is Lourdes like in the wintertime, does everything close down? Are there any pilgrims? Is it cold? Does it snow? Lots of questions!
The simple answer is that the Sanctuary is always open, it never officially closes down and there are always some pilgrims coming and going, obviously in small number than the height of the pilgrims season but they still come to the Grotto, even in the depths of the winter.
We often see groups of pilgrims entering the Sanctuary in the early morning, wrapped up and ready to brave the cold of the winter to go to Mass at the Grotto and spend some time in the Sanctuary or to follow in the footsteps of St Bernadette.
Many of them travel long distances from Asia, South America, USA and beyond to visit Lourdes and possibly other Shrines in France, Spain or Italy. It is always very impressive to think of the journey they have made to come here and the fact that it might be a ‘once off’ for them.
There are also times when there are different conferences going on within the Sanctuary which is the case at the moment with several hundred members of different religious communities gathered for a week of talks, exchanges and prayer.
There are times too when you have the Grotto almost to yourself, a privilege of course and always appreciated.
There is a winter timetable of masses, rosaries, eucharistic adoration, water gesture and every evening at 8.30pm there is the candlelight rosary at the Grotto which can be followed via the Sanctuary webcam.
And to answer the question does it snow? It doesn’t snow very often in Lourdes itself but the Pyrenees in the distance are beginning to be covered by the winter ‘coat’ of snow around November time and look beautiful in the distance.
It is amazing a times in the winter just to walk through Rosary Square to hear several different languages as a reminder that even in the heart of the winter Lourdes is still a crossroads of the world!
Find upcoming pilgrimages here: LOURDES
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