To celebrate her jubilee – the 175th anniversary of her birth and the 140th anniversary of her death – Saint Bernadette is visiting Spain
Route of the Relics in Spain (Since the first plans for this pilgrimage began to take shape, the requests have continued to pour in. Today we are up to 46 dioceses).
The pilgrimage calendar
Saint Bernadette in Vitoria (1st -2nd September)
The relics of St. Bernadette displayed in the Cathedral of Vitoria by the members of the Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes of San Sebastián.
In the Principality of Asturias
The relics were received in the church of La Pola Llaviana (Asturias).
Just love
In the year 1858, a woman dressed in white with a blue belt asked a sick and uneducated girl to convey a message. This message was not new, it was simply a reminder of the Gospel: a commission that the young Bernadette fulfilled when she said, “My job is to tell you, not to make you believe.”
Today, in 2019, Bernadette continues to transmit her message. At least that’s how we understand it, everyone who has had the chance to follow the journey of her relics first in Italy, Germany and now Spain. On the 9th -10th September, Asturias had the joy of welcoming Bernadette. She passed through Oviedo, Gijón, Avilés and Pola de Llaviana, calling us to remember her response to the Virgin’s request: to live the Gospel that Bernadette lives and reveals to us in a simple but prefect way: “Just love.”
May the Blessed Virgin and Bernadette help us live out the gospel and draw a little closer to the Lord every day!
María Gutiérrez Amieva
Diocese of Santander (5th-7th September)
Diocese of Astorga (19th-21st September)
The relics of St. Bernadette in El Barco de Valdeorras, Ponferrada and Astorga.
Valladolid (23th-25th September)
Saint Bernadette at the Cathedral of Salamanca, 25th to 27th September
Visit to the Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, in Salamanca
Torchlight procession inside the cathedral (Salamanca)
Bernadette welcomed to Salamanca as family
The inhabitants of Salamanca welcomed Bernadette into their city as a member of the family they often go to see and who, after many years of waiting, arrives to come and share in their daily life.
It was an occasion of celebration for all, adults, children, young and old alike. We wanted to be with Bernadette during her stay in our city.
There were many very moving moments during her stay:
Seeing her enter the door of the cathedral, our cathedral, was like seeing her arrive at our house after this long journey. The feeling was similar to the one we experience when we arrive in Lourdes and approach the Sanctuary. When, through the grey wire fence, we see the Virgin welcoming us into her home.
The torchlight procession inside the Cathedral was a unique moment. Wandering through all the chapels with her, it was as if we were going around all our friends and family, with candles to illuminate and heat this cold, dark route through our cathedral. If we closed our eyes, we could almost imagine that we were at the doors of the Rosary Basilica, we were only missing the sound of the water flowing.
We will treasure the memory of this visit in the depths of our hearts, until we can be with her once again. Because without this annual meeting, nothing would be the same !
I.M Juan Bravo
Farewell and departure for the next destination, Coria-Cáceres (27th-29th September)
1 av. Monseigneur Théas
