QUEENS VILLAGE — Dominique Pastrana went on the journey of a lifetime this July and came home as a changed person.
Pastrana, a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Queens Village, was one of a group of 38 people who went on the parish’s pilgrimage to France that included a stop in Lourdes — the site where the Blessed Mother appeared before St. Bernadette on 18 occasions between February and July 1858.
Pastrana said she experienced something profound while standing in the grotto where St. Bernadette encountered Mary, the mother of Jesus.
“It’s one thing to read about religious sites like Lourdes. But it’s another thing to actually be there,” she said. “It was very emotional for me because I was in a place where the Blessed Mother had been.”
Pastrana said she returned home from the pilgrimage with a deeper faith.
“I always grew up in church. But a lot of times, things were like a routine and a habit for me. But now, I find myself wanting to pray the rosary on a daily basis. And I really enjoy going to Mass,” she said.
The trip to Lourdes, which was part of the celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes Church’s 100th anniversary, was led by its pastor, Father Patrick Longalong.
The pilgrimage, which took place July 7-16, included stops at Rouen, Normandy, Mont Saint-Michel, Giverny, Lisieux, Normandy, Paris, and Nevers, where St. Bernadette is interred in a chapel of the Sister of Charity of Nevers, where she professed her vows in 1866. She died in 1879.
While the pilgrimage included many stops, Lourdes was the emotional center of the journey, said Father Longalong, who was making his first trip there. He recalled being moved by a tour of the grotto led by a nun who lived in the town.
“She explained to us the different apparitions and the messages that the Blessed Mother had given to St. Bernadette and also the instructions that the Blessed Mother gave to her in trying to find the spring,” he said.
Father Longalong was referring to the events of Feb. 25, 1858, when the Blessed Mother instructed St. Bernadette to drink water from a spring flowing below the rock on which she was standing. Since there was no spring, St. Bernadette dug into the dirt, and within a day, water began to flow. St. Bernadette drank it and washed in it, as did others. Before long, the spring waters earned a reputation for containing healing properties.
Today, Lourdes and its healing waters draw between four and six million pilgrims a year — many of whom suffer from illnesses and travel there hoping for a miracle cure.
Father Longalong found the story of the spring to be meaningful and “really powerful because it connected us to what St Bernadette did.”
The pilgrimage marked Joanne Rattansingh’s second time in Lourdes. She first went there 10 years ago to pray for a cure for a serious illness she had. While she did not disclose what the illness was, she said her health did improve.
“And I know that my faith in the Blessed Mother was instrumental,” she explained. “So I really wanted to go on the pilgrimage this year to tell her, ‘Thank you.’ ”
Rattansingh said her preparation for the trip was different than usual.
“A pilgrimage is not like a vacation. I think you need to prepare spiritually before you go,” she explained. “I made a checklist of things that I would like to improve upon, mainly to strengthen my fate.”
She said her faith was strengthened due to the pilgrimage and added, “I feel even closer to the Blessed Mother now.”