Pete Martin - Fantafrica: Wandering and Wondering Across Africa

Prologue
France

Its out of season, so most of the shops and restaurants are locked up. The closed grey roller shutter doors provide Boulevard de la Grotte with a sense of dormancy. Only one or two stores remain open; a rundown caf, a tatty general store and a large shop selling religious wares, such as rosaries, as well as all manner of plastic bottles and containers to collect the grottos holy water in. Its getting cold too. Its been a bright winters day but, as the sun goes down in Lourdes, theres a chill in the air as would be expected for an early November evening at the foot of the Pyrenees. Beyond the small stone bridge, the sacred basilica is much smaller than I remember. There is some construction debris at the first statue and so I detour to the left along the pathway, which between Easter and October would be completely crowded with worshippers holding candles in procession and prayer.

The unsymmetrical, sweeping winged staircases provide a welcoming entrance to the church and the sanctuary of Lourdes. I will visit the various chapels in time, but first I walk under the arches to the right and along the river. Under the rock face on which the basilica has been built, there is a small open chapel; the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. I sit down and enjoy the peace of my surroundings.

A remote-controlled camera films mass as a priest plays to a distant audience rather than the one in front of him. His Spanish accent is strong, making him hard to understand, but the small congregation know when to stand, kneel or sit from years of experience. The murmured responses in Latin are all made at the right times. My eyes wander upwards to the statue of Our Lady shining under the spotlight.

This is the spot, in the grotto of Massabielle, where it is believed that in 1858 the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous a total of eighteen times. Much against her parents wishes, she was drawn to the grotto when out collecting fire wood and the apparitions she witnessed developed from silent personal prayer to visitations in front of large crowds. On the ninth visit, in front of three hundred onlookers, Bernadette followed the ladys instructions and after four attempts first tasted the healing waters of the spring.

Less than a week later, in front of a priest and a larger crowd, she guided her friend, Catherine Latapie, to bathe her dislocated arm in the waters and it subsequently regained its movement. A day later the lady of the apparition instructed Bernadette to build a chapel on this spot. When she informed the local parish priest, Dominique Peyramale, he wanted to be clear who the apparition was. He also demanded a test; to see the wild rose bush flower at the grotto in the middle of winter. For the next two days the vision was silent and for a further twenty days Bernadette stayed away from the grotto.

On the 25 th March 1858 Bernadette visited the site again and recounted, She extended her arms towards the ground, then joined them as though in prayer and said, Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou (I am the Immaculate Conception). Yet the rose bush that she stood on did not flower and Bernadette did not understand the words; the dogma had been declared as truth by the Pope only four years earlier, something that Bernadette was still unaware of.

Two weeks later the miracle of the candle occurred. A local doctor witnessed Bernadette holding the flame of her candle during the whole apparition without burns.