June 22, 2011
 
Making a pilgrimage to Rome, the centre of Christendom and to Lourdes, the famous Marian Shrine, along with my family was a long-cherished dream of mine, which remained unfulfilled for a long time, considering the distance, the cost and my age. But it could not be delayed any longer. It is now or never, I thought and contacted my children - daughters Judy in Bangalore and Joyce in Doha, my son Claude Sandeep in Dubai and my priest son Fr Sudhir who is doing his studies in America.
 
All of them were enthusiastic. My wife Mary’s brother Fr Franklin Menezes, Rector of Morning Star Regional Seminary said he would also join us. Joyce and Fr Sudhir applied for the visa from their place and our applications were sent through the travel agent quite in advance and tickets and other bookings were made for the journey on May 3.

But our travel agent bungled in the submission of our applications and as a result, our papers were rejected. It was necessary to apply once again. We had to reschedule our tickets and bookings. I was told that it was almost impossible to get the rejected applications sanctioned again. But with help from friends and direct contact with the Consulate, our visas were sanctioned. The travel date was fixed for June 7 and all arrangements were made. In the meanwhile my son Sudhir who had his visa sanctioned said he could not postpone his travel as he had other commitments later in the month, and travelled to Rome on May 3. Joyce had to reschedule her flight and joined us in Rome on the June 8. Claude Sandeep could not make it because of leave problems.

My wife Mary, Judy, Fr Franklin and I started from Bangalore in the early hours of June 7 by Qatar Airways via Doha. It was a flight of 3 ½ hours to Doha and after some halt there, we were in Rome in the evening after a flight of 5 hours. Fr Eugene Lobo and Fr Victor Fernandes were there to receive us at the airport.
 

Accommodation and Food
 
In Rome, as in other Western cities, accommodation and food as every thing else, is very costly and travellers take the help of friends and relatives in the congregation houses or convents for accommodation. There also, a contribution of Euro 25 to 35 per day per person is expected to be made for the upkeep and maintenance of these facilities (one Euro is equivalent to Rs 65 ). This does not include food but a good kitchen with all facilities is made available to prepare your own food. Fr Eugene Lobo helped us by hosting us at the Jesuit residence.
 
We had brought our food articles like rice, coffee, tea milk powder, oats, sugar etc along with us. Vegetables and other things were bought from the local shops.
 

Papal Blessing
 
In Rome we were privileged to be in the St Peter’s Square for the public audience of the Pope on Wednesday and on Sunday noon for the Angelus and the Papal blessing. We visited the basilica and several other churches in the Vatican, went around inside the basilica, visited the museum and exhibition, the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, went up the Cupola and other interesting places. There is a continuous stream of visitors thronging the square.
 
We kept apart a day to visit the famous shrine of Assisi and visited several places connected with the life and work of St Francis Assisi and St Claire’s convent etc.
 

Memorable Moment
 
A memorable moment in Rome was when I met my neice (my cousin’s daughter) Sr Maria Rosa of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master congregation, who has been working at the Papal residence for the past 41 years.
 

To the Marian Shrine
 
On Thursday, June 9, we left for Lourdes, the Marian Shrine. We took a flight to Toulouse, (about 1 1/2 hours) in France and from there by train to Lourdes (about 2 1/2 hours). It was a beautiful experience to travel by train to Lourdes. The beautiful countryside is lush with greenery and fields of wheat and maize, surrounded by hills and that perhaps is the reason why the place is very cold.
 
In Lourdes we were hosted by Sr Marie Claudie of the Helpers Sisters Congregation. We prepared our own food as in Rome
 
At the shrine we first visited the Crypt which is the first church built in honour of the apparitions, then attended a French Mass in the church below the Crypt and still lower is the basilica – all built on the Masabiele Rock. We went inside around the basilica – all the mysteries of the Rosary are beautifully painted on the walls. Below the basilica we visited the Grotto on the rock at which Mother Mary appeared two St Bernadette to announce that she was the Immaculate Conception. We went below the grotto where the water seeps from the rock, and touched the water and applied it to our head and hands and legs.
 
In the evenings there is a Eucharistic procession followed by the procession of the sick people and later at night there is a candlelight procession at which the rosary is recited or sung in six different languages, which is indeed a beautiful sight.
 
There is also a facility to take a dip in the pond of Lourdes water for people with physical ailments and many cures have been reported.
 
We returned to Rome after a stay of two days in Lourdes and on the way back to Toulouse airport by car we enjoyed the beautiful sight of the Pyrennees mountains.
 

Remarkable
 
During my travel to Rome and Lourdes I was wonderstruck by the concern and courtesy shown to the elderly and the disabled persons by the airlines and the people in general in the western countries. I was a wheelchair passenger throughout the journey as I have difficulty in walking. From the time of check-in to the point of exit I was taken care of by a member of the staff of the airlines who helped me get into the plane. They took me in a special bus with arrangement to push the wheelchair up into the bus. At the aircraft they highlifted me with the wheelchair up to the entrance into the aircraft; the same thing was followed while getting down from the plane. In the trains also there is a special facility to help the disabled and the wheelchair persons into and out of the train. In the city buses, a steel plank is lowered to the edge of the foot path, the steps of the bus are lowered so that the passenger with the wheel chair is pushed into the bus without having to get down and the same method is followed while getting down. People are very courteous to the elderly and the disabled.
 
We returned to Bangalore on the June 15 via Doha.

 
A Dream Fulfilled
 
A long cherished dream was fulfilled with the travel to Rome and Lourdes. I thank God for granting me this favour and I am grateful to my wife Mary, daughters Judy and Joyce and my brother- in- law Fr Franklin for helping me to visit these places on a wheelchair.