Arrival in Lourdes

After a more than a two year absence, we arrived in Lourdes on Monday 8/30. First thing that hits you is the amount of green in stark contrast to the dryness of California... then the immediate visible effects of our Covid 19 pandemic. The streets are relatively quiet, the Sanctuary of the Gotto, with but a fraction of pilgrims of what was the norm in prior yeas. Unchanged is the beauty of the Pyrenees mountains above you, the river Gave winding through the town, the magnificent Rosary Basilica, the Grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette, all in the shadow of the ancient castle/fort on the hill above. The pilgrims there in quiet prayer, fewer in numbers but carrying the same need of healing as ever before.