Today is Sunday, October 19th. This will be a long post.

We arrived back in the US Friday evening after a 11 hour return flight. It wasn't until about 19 miles from Wheaton that complete exhaustion struck both of us. Fortunately, my step-son was driving, otherwise, we would be in the Kansas River. We unpacked Saturday and had breakfast, watched a few football games and then went to our parish Sunday Mass—on Saturday night—and gave two bottle's of Lourdes water, one to Fr. Pat, our parish priest and Katie, our sister-in-law. We crashed again fairly early last night, still trying to recuperate from the trip. I'm not sure if our weariness is from jet lag or if it is from just not getting eight hours of sleep each night while we were there. We averaged five to six hours each night, and I think not having enough sleep just caught up to us. I caught a slight chest cold on the last day, and I'm better now.

So now that I have all my pictures in one place and a device that I can upload them with (my computer), I will try to upload them now. I had not been able to add pictures to the blog since last Monday, so this may be tedious for you and me.

First, Fatima.

 This is the Basilica Of Fatima, which was built in the 1920's and holds the remains of the three seer's. It is being remodeled for the 100th anniversary  of the apparitions in 2018.

This looks from the old Basilica to the new Basilica of St. John Paul II that can hold 13,000 worshipers. Normally, celebration Masses are held outdoors. The square can hold over a million pilgrims. They were readying the square for Mass the next Monday, Oct 13th, which is the 97th anniversary of the "Miracle of the Sun." The building to the right is the Pavilion of the Apparition, where Masses and devotions are celebrated.

 Six years after Pope John Paul II offered Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Berlin wall fell and communism in Russia ceased to exist. One of the secrets of Fatima was that Russia would be the cause of much evil in the world. It has been said that the Consecration of Russia was not complete, but let the facts show that Russia is not Communist. Has Russia fully converted? No, they have not.

 This is the Pavilion that represents the actual spot where Mary Appeared to the three seer's, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. 

Lavon and I am standing in front of Fransisco's bedroom window where he died. Francisco is the only seer that has been canonized as a Saint. His sister, Jacinta, is still being considered. His cousin, Lucia, died in 2004 and is also being considered. Lucia was still getting personal visits from Mary while she was a nun in Spain. She was able to answer questions about the three "messages" that Mary gave to the three seer's, well after the other two seer's deaths. She told Pope John Paul II that the Consecration of Russia was not complete, before she and he died.

 The seer's were not just visited by Mary, prior to her apparitions, an angel visited them three times to prepare them for Mary's apparitions. One such apparition, the angel gave the three seer's Holy Communion. That is pictured above. The location of two of the angels' apparition's and one of Mary to the seer's, is a wooded area about a mile from their homes where they used to tend sheep for their families. The site now is a large area that has olive tree's, cork tree's and holmeoak's. Many of which were there when the apparitions took place.

This is our Mass at the Pavillion of Mary. The statue of Mary marks the spot where most of the apparitions took place, one took place in the woods above. Pictured is Archbishop Nauman and Michael Probaric our cantor.

The grave of St. Franciso Marta, the only canonized saint of the three seer's. Lucia Santos and Jacinta Marto are expected to be canonized later.


St. James Cathedral in Santiago De Compostela, Spain

Cathedral of St. James the Greater. This is the place where the relics of St James (brother of Jesus) the Greater are kept. St. James was the first Apostle to be Martyred for the faith. He died in Jerusalem in 44 AD, after he went to Galicia (northern Spain) to teach the Word and establish the Church. His bones were brought back to Spain and the Cathedral was built for him. His relics are located in an open tomb beneath the main altar. The bricks that line his tomb are dated from the 1st century, so not only did his followers bring St. James back, they also brought back part of his original tomb. A chapel originated in the third century but was abandoned after the Roman persecution of Spanish Catholics. In the 11th century, the current cathedral was built. It consists of five spires. The above picture is not the main entrance, it is one of the other entrances. This picture is the clock tower.  It is a very large church.

 Saying Mass in one of the chapels. Arch Bishop Nauman Fr. Reilly, Deacon George (rear) and Michael again.

 This is a large statue of St. James above the main altar in the Cathedral. The relics of the saint are under the altar on the next floor down.

The geezer and Lavon standing outside of the many fountains in the many squares that are enclosed in Old Town.

On the Road to Lourdes

 The bus traveled from Lisbon to Fatima and then from Fatima to Lourdes. We had a night stopover in Santiago, Spain at a very nice Four Star, but on the way, we stopped at several gas stations along, what we call, turnpikes. The eateries are amazing. They offer local food, wine, mixed drinks, all types of coffee. They have no disposables, food is served on dishes and drinks in glasses, coffee in real cups. The European's feel that food should be enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere. There is very little litter on the roads because of these decisions not to use paper products.

The bus turning around on a large carousel in front of the hotel. This  was one of the first times it was used.

This ferry was preparing to leave for England. It is very large and can hold 18 wheelers and large motor homes. It takes 23 hours to get to South Hampton or Birmingham, England from Spain. We talked to a couple of Welsh travelers who brought their car/camper down from England and were vacationing on the Iberian peninsula for two months.

Here are our two tour guides: Elena and Lionel. Both were fantastic. Lionel was on our bus.

 On the way to Lourdes

We were warned ahead of our leaving Santiago, that they would have a surprise for us on the way to Lourdes. Once we reached the Burgandy region of France, the bus pulled into a delightful winery of Chateau LaFitte. The sun was warm and the sky was beautiful. 

 These are actual wine vines that are allowed to grow on the facade of the house. What beautiful colors.

 The old geezer and the Queen with Archbishop Nauman. The Archbishop is about 6'6". And a wonderful leader.

Here are the owners and Leslie, one of the diocesan leaders that came with us. Unfortunately, I didn't get their name. They are definitely not called LaFitte. They purchased the winery in the 1980's. The original house is about 600 years old. Two wonderful people.

 The winery only presses white's. One is sweet/dry, the others are two levels of dry. We bought one sweet.

 The back of the house, showing many grapes.

 A poor macro picture that shows the grapes. They are quite small. I guess I was expecting grapes similar to what we have as table grapes here in the US. They are as big as our cranberries.

 This was another surprise. Down the hill from the winery, we had lunch at this restaurant. What great food!

 Here is the appetizer! We thought lunch was over after this plate, but the best was yet to come. Medallions of Beef and home made ice cream! YES!

The street in front of the restaurant, looking towards the winery.

Lourdes

The Basilica of Lourdes. There is actually three basilica's in this one building. The Basilica of St. Pius, the lower part of the picture, and the main basilica, with the spires. The chapels, pictured below, where we had our first Mass in the afternoon we arrived, are located to the left of the main basilica. All of the basilica's are built above the grotto of the Apparition which is down the hill on the right of the Basilica's. They are very large places to worship and can hold several thousand pilgrims.

 This is one of the small chapels. We had Mass there on our first day at about 1700.

This is the Grotto of the Apparitions. We were there the next morning at about 0700. It was a very moving place for everyone.

 This is a picture from across the river looking at the grotto in relation to the church. Back in the day, the river actually came within feet of the grotto. The planners of the basilica pushed the river back by building flood walls on both sides of the river. In 2012, Lourdes had a very bad flood and ruined many hotels, some of which still have not been repaired. The flood waters partially covered the area's around the grotto. The area which I stand to take this picture has another large basilica, hospitalier hotels, chapels and an Adoration Chapel. The Hospitalier Hotel has room for over 1000 sick. The very sick can stay at the Hospitalier for nearly nothing and have helpers take them all over the area for healing masses, annointments and baths. The reason for the hotels for the sick, is that Lourdes is famous for healing 64 people that have been verified as miracles. Many other thousands have been healed but never been investigated. We have one in our group that had her hearing in her left ear restored at Fatima. She did not have need for her hearing aid after leaving Fatima. The baths of Lourdes are located to the right of the grotto. It is where the miracles occurred after either the baths were taken or after washing themselves with the Water of Lourdes.

Another picture of the grotto in relation to the Basilica's. The area in front of the grotto has nearly 24 hour television broadcasting on the Lourdes website. 

In one of the apparitions of Mary, She asked Bernadette to dig a hole in the ground and rub the mud that was there on her face. The people who were there said that Bernadette was certified insane when she did this. Soon after Bernadette dug the hole with her hands, a small spring developed. Today, although the picture is fuzzy, the actual spring is located behind the curved glass enclosure. The speed of the water coming out of the spring, is comparable to a tub faucet left on full blast. The water feeds a series of faucets, which are to the left and away from the actual grotto itself. The water is also carried in pipes to the baths. We brought  several containers of water home with us. We gave one to our parish priest Fr. Pat and to a sister in law. Lavon took a dip in the baths and she said she really felt grace after the immersion. The water is cold, but Lavon said she was not cold when she got out, or was she very wet. She said her dip was a spiritual event.

Our Lady of Lourdes.

Comment on Lourdes. Of all the places we both visited, Lourdes was the most comfortable. Even though there were thousands of pilgrims present, we felt we were the only ones there. If we ever return to Europe, we would definitely go back to Lourdes. They say that to get the full effect of Lourdes, that you must be there four day's. We were there only a day and a half, I can't imagine what we would feel if we went there for a week. We really liked Lourdes, Even though our hotel room was compared to an upgrade from a youth hostel, and the food was marginal, we persevered and felt at home there, despite the accommodations. Since Lourdes is in the Pyrenee's, the shrine is only really busy from April to October. I think that a winter visit in the snow would be wonderful.

A sample of the housing on the hills overlooking the Shrine of Lourdes. As you can tell, the area is very hilly. The houses are built on granite and aren't going anywhere soon.

 These are not my pictures, Bernadette's body is in a chapel located in a small convent in northern France. As you can see, she is incorrupt. To be fair, her skin is covered with wax to protect it from decomposing, but she is intact and her corpus is over 180 years old.

Another view of the Reliquary.

On the road again. We got up at 0230 to catch a plane to Paris from Pau, France, then on to Rome arriving early afternoon. We visited St. Paul's Outside the Wall basilica and had Mass. This is the courtyard with the basilica in the background. The basilica is called "outside the wall" because it is outside the original wall of Rome that protected Rome from the invading hordes following the rise of the Roman Empire.

 On the holy door that is only opened once every 25 years, is a relief of St Peter and St. Paul's meeting in Rome. Both Apostle's were eventually martyred in Rome and churches were built in their names.

 One of the side chapels in the Basilica.

The relics of St. Paul behind the screen.

 St. Mary Maggiori. The interior of the Basilica

Another view of one of the Chapels

The chapel where we had Mass the next morning. It is the Chapel of the Assumption. You can see how ornate the artwork is, the color of the marble and fresco's.

Another view.

 Fr. Reilly celebrating Mass. We actually traveled in two groups from Lourdes to Rome. Ours was the early group and we had Mass early in the afternoon. The Bishop said Mass for the other group later that afternoon.

 One of the rarest opportunities to see relics of St. Terese' of the Child Jesus was when we visited Mary Maggiori. The reliquary of her and her two parents are shown in this picture. St. Terese is in the larger reliquary just off the floor. Her parents, who are being considered for canonizaion, are located midway in the picture in the smaller box. St. Terese is a Doctor of the Church and died very young with TB. It seems that young women saints always die a miserable death. Bernadette and Terese both had TB. Bernadette also died of bone cancer and was in constant horrible pain until she died. Both died in their mid 30's.

 This is a relic of the Manger of Jesus. I have to really commend early Christians who had the ability to save important items such as this and the Veil of Veronica. Of course, there are many who say that these relics are not real, and I can understand their reluctance to accept the reality, Veneration of the relics of early Christendom are not Dogma and do not have to be believed in order to be a Catholic. Relics, pictures, statues, tapestry's, etc., are just to remind us of Jesus, God, Mary and the Saints and nothing more. But important relics and reminders can be important to "ponder" the "Great Mystery" just as Mary did in her life with Jesus.

 A shot of the Main altar of Sacrifice in the Basilica

Another shot of St. Terese' Relics.

 The next stop is St. John Lateran. Originally, the basilica was dedicated to St. John Baptist, but change to the Evangelist St. John. It is the official church of the Bishop of Rome who is the current Pope. The pope has 60 days from his election to come to St. John Lateran to say his first Mass. Many popes have been buried in this basilica. Many tombs were destroyed in the two fires that engulfed the basilica in the 12th century.  One of the tomb's that was saved is Constantine I who made Christianity legal after overthrowing the Roman's. From that point forward the Roman Empire was called the Holy Roman Empire. His tomb is now in the Vatican Museum along with his mother, St. Helen.

 One of the side altars' ceiling.

 The relic of the Table of the Original Eucharist.

 One of the many tombs of the pope's.

 A scary pope's tomb. Skulls and crossbones. Yikes!

 Michaelangelo's Statue of Moses.

 The mounted police  outside of the Basilica with a long mean-looking sword!

Riccardo degli Anniballi Tomb. He was one of the original designers of the Basilica

Two Hombre's waiting for Pope Frank's arrival in Vatican Square. Go Cat's!

0700 in the square going to Mass in the Crypt of the Pope's underneath the altar of St. Peter.

 The ArchBishop Celebrating Mass at the Tomb of St. Peter's behind the glass in front.

 A closer picture of the Tomb. The glass is multi-angled to discourage flash photography. I actually sneaked this photo without a flash.

The Tomb of St. Pius the X. He canonized St. Terese of the Child Jesus

 Michaelangelo's The Pieta. The Vatican placed the statue, which is quite large, behind bullet-proof glass to protect it. Several years ago the security people witnessed thieves trying to chip off a piece of marble for their own use.

The tomb of Pope St. John Paul II

St. John XXIII. Both he and PJPII were canonized the same day. P Paul the VI is to be beatified next Monday, the 21st. Beatification is one step below sainthood.

In the Vatican Museum, The tomb of Constatine the I. His mother is across the aisle.

Finally, our going away meal at a fancy restaurant in Rome. It was the SECOND night we were fed veal and spinach. Needless to say a lot of us went home hungry. Except, we did get some gelato (Italian Ice craam) on the way back from the restaurant.

Thoughts on Rome. Rome is essentially the dirtiest city I have ever seen. There is much trash on the ground and graffiti painted on the walls. Traffic is horrible. But, it is still a remarkable place to visit. If I were to do it again, I would probably go in the winter months. For one thing, air conditioning is virtually nonexistent. It wouldn't be bad if they would add ceiling fans in the hotel rooms. Hotel rooms are mostly less than the quality of the standard Motel 6's in the USA. The US ought to be proud of our hotel space. The people are wonderful though. They are friendly and often accommodating IF they speak english. If they don't, it's fun to try to tell them what you want! The hotel people, though, are often un-accommodating and refused to fix the WiFi that was broken on our floor. Often, rooms' water or electricity would go off for no reason. Italy has one of the highest energy rates in Europe. They have to import everything: power from France; gas and oil from Russia, to name a few. They all drive small cars and drive them clumsily, although few cars have dents and very few people die on the roads. Annoying mopeds often crowd the sidewalks and street CORNERS, making it difficult to get around. We really doubt that we would go back to Rome. For one thing it is very expensive to live there. 5€ for a Coke! Yikes! We would, though, consider taking a tour of the Missions of Italy.

All in all, this was a great trip that we will always treasure. 

We will continue our travel adventures after the first of the year. We are planning to go skiing in February. Stay tuned.