I recently attended the Provincial Chapter of the French Passionists which was held at the Relais Nazareth, the new Passionist house in Lourdes. This is, of course, a Jubilee Year in Lourdes, so I was able to make my Jubilee pilgrimage before the Chapter opened. The arches shown below are acting as the Holy Doors for the Jubilee Year. There is also a special itinerary which brings the pilgrim to the Parish Church where Bernadette was baptised, the Hospice chapel in the town where she made her First Holy Communion, the Cachot where she lived, and the Grotto where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette.
There has been a lot of new building since my last visit to Lourdes, almost twenty years ago, but since most of you know more about that than I do, I will confine myself to some photos of the new Passionist house. The house is located near the cemetery where the Soubirous family are buried.
Go through the cemetery and, as you leave through the gate at the far end, turn right and then left: you will find yourself in the rue du Sacre Coeur (-I don’t know how to do accents with this programme).
The Relais Nazareth is located in the aforementioned and unaccented rue.
Having seen the doorbell, now have a look at the rest of the house as seen from the rue.
The Relais Nazareth is only about ten or fifteen minutes walk from the Grotto (downhill going and uphill coming back). It is in a quiet part of the town and is ideally suited for retreats. Here are the inner courtyard,…
…the view of the hills beyond,…
…and the entrance to the Chapel.
Here you can see the interior of the Chapel…
…and the conference room where the Chapter was held.
Laus Crucis 