Lourdes 5 day itinerary - For Group Leaders

Introduction

“I saw the trees were calm and not moving... I raised my head and looked at the grotto. I saw a lady dressed in white; she wore a white dress, a white veil, a blue sash and a yellow rose on each foot – the colour of the chain of her rosary; the beads of her rosary were white... The Lady took the rosary she held in her hands and made the sign of the Cross. I tried a second time to make the sign of the Cross; the great shock I felt disappeared, I knelt down and said the rosary in the Lady’s presence.” On 11th February 1858, an unknown girl in a remote French village claimed to have seen a “beautiful lady” while collecting firewood from a grotto in the village refuse area. Amidst increasing interest in the girl, Bernadette Soubirous continued to receive apparitions from the lady who revealed herself as the “Immaculate Conception”, with a message of prayer and penance for the world, asking to have a chapel built there and calling the faithful to come in procession and to wash and drink at the spring. Today some 5 million people from 130 countries around the world respond to this call. Every pilgrim who returns from Lourdes does so renewed and refreshed, and changed in some way.

Basic Itinerary

DAY ONE - MONDAY

London - Pau or Biarritz - Lourdes

Travel from Stansted to Pau or Biarritz by scheduled flight. On arrival transfer by coach to our hotel (Hotel Stella Matutina) in Lourdes for a four-night stay. After dinner there will be an informal walk to the Grotto.

DAY TWO - TUESDAY

Lourdes

This morning we celebrate Mass followed by a visit to the baths. In the afternoon there will be a guided walking tour visiting the places associated with Bernadette Soubirous. After dinner we are welcome to take part in the Torchlight Procession.

DAY THREE - WEDNESDAY

Lourdes

This morning we will attend the International Mass in the underground Basilica. In the afternoon there will be some free time before we take part in the Blessed Sacrament Procession and in the evening we participate in the Torchlight Procession.

DAY FOUR - THURSDAY

Lourdes, Bartres and Gavarnie

This morning we will travel to the small village of Bartres. Here we will celebrate Mass in the Church of St John the Baptist where Bernadette prepared for her First Holy Communion. This afternoon there will be the opportunity to go on an optional excursion to the scenic Pyrenean village of Gavarnie (£16 per person): Gavarnie was the last village in France in the Middle Ages on the old Pilgrim route to the tomb of St James at Santiago de Compostela.

DAY FIVE - FRIDAY

Lourdes - Pau or Biarritz - London

This morning Mass will be celebrated in the Grotto. After breakfast we will leave the hotel and transfer to Biarritz or Pau airport for our return flight to Stansted.

Five days

Terms of Payment:

Deposits of £120 (plus the travel insurance premium if the cover we offer is required) per person on booking, balance payable two months before the departure date.

THIS TRIP INCLUDES:

Return scheduled flights on: Ryanair, Stansted - Pau or Biarritz; easyJet, Gatwick - Toulouse. U.K. and France departure taxes. All touring and transfers as per the itinerary. Accommodation in shared twin-bedded rooms with private facilities at the Hotel Stella Matutina (3-star) (or similar), Lourdes. Mass will be celebrated each day. Services of a Pax Travel Tour Manager. Meal plan: 4 breakfasts and 4 dinners.

EXTRAS:

Travel insurance at £24 per person. Single room (limited availability) supplement of £72 for the 4 nights. Drinks and souvenirs. Refreshments on board the aircraft. Transport within the U.K. Optional trip to Gavarnie at £16 per person. “The Lourdes Pilgrim” guidebook at £5.