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by MichaelJM
Nottingham, England
May 23, 2006
According to the "font of all knowledge" (our youngest), there have been 90 "verified cures" at Lourdes over the years, and this is all down to the kindliness of St. Bernadette. We parked at the top of the hill in a large visitor’s car park, and followed the multitude of tourists down the hill. We were staggered to see some of the most amazingly tatty souvenir shops that we’ve ever seen in our lives. They were selling cheap plastic effigies of St. Bernadette to hold holy water, to stand in "snow scene domes," act as pencil stands; a range of transfer beakers and plastic drinking vessels; some of the most grotesque postcards (one that sticks in the memory is one of Jesus on the cross who appeared to wink at you as you walked past the giant postcard) and much, much more. We passed by but were surprised to see those in holy orders purchasing some of the tat. Our first point of call was the house in which Bernadette was born, and where she lived happily for the first 10 years of her life with her parents, siblings, grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins--although we found it difficult to understand how this large family group fitted into this compact riverside residence. There are photographic displays showing life in Lourdes in the 1850s, and it is made very clear that Bernadette’s family were in the poorer echelons of this community. Indeed by 1854, the family were unable to pay the rent of this modest mill house and had to move to a smaller and cheaper mill-house; and by 1857, they were again evicted from their home and were forced to live in the prison (the equivalent of the English Work-house). We also visited the prison--a dank an oppressive environment that did not leave much to our imagination. This is definitely not somewhere that I would have wanted to stay for more than a few hours. At Bernadette’s first home, the ground floor is crammed with furniture and memorabilia, and the notices remind us that this was a multi-purpose room that serves as a kitchen, living, and dining room, and the focus for family prayer meetings in the evening. It would certainly be an intimate family home. The pace around this museum was dictated to us by the slow procession of tourists visiting the home. There is one route around, and no possible chance to dawdle to take in the exhibits as the hoards are behind, you wanting to move on. This was a visit to experience, as this woman is legendary for Christians and non-Christians alike.
From journal Landes - South-West France