Today is day 7 in our Marian pilgrimage and weather in Burgos, Spain was mostly cloudy and cold at 12'C. After breakfast, we walked to the Burgos Cathedral for a private mass at one of the 17 chapels inside the church. The gothic designed Cathedral is beautiful, vast, massive and magnificent dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was built around the 13th century and the the 3rd largest cathedral in Spain.
We arrived yesterday at Burgos very late in the night and completed dinner only around 11 pm. For some sleep-deprived pilgrims, going back to the hotel while the rest toured Burgos was needed. It was a long walk back to the hotel and we looked behind us and there was company. Rose joked that we are the "Walking back to the hotel tour group", as there were quite a few of us who decided to walk slowly back to the hotel. We had a sumptuous lunch in a roadside eatery. We had the chance to taste again an authentic paella together with meatballs, fish and ice cream.
Immediately we departed for the Tower house of St . Ignatius. It was actually more of a castle with a basilica built in his honor. There was diorama inside where we went though the stages of the life of St. Ignatius. He was born Inigo de Loyola in 1491, became a knight and wounded in a battle. It took him long to recuperate and it was during this long period of healing that he read books on the lives of saints. He became so inspired that he wanted to live the same lives they did and soon led to his conversion. He went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and later with a group of friends founded the Society of Jesus and also changed his name to Ignatius.
This was really a bonus to Butch as he did not expect to visit this shrine of St. Ignatius. He always admired the Jesuits and if he ever would have been a priest, he would have chosen the Society of. Jesus. In fact, whenever he had difficulty sleeping at night or waking up in the middle of the night, he will take out his kindle and it will be either the bible or the book of St . Ignatius on the spiritual exercises that will put him back to sleep.
After that short visit in the Tower house, we left on a 3 hour drive to Lourdes. Finally, we arrived safely at Hotel Alba in Lourdes. This is the other major highlight of this trip. There is supposed to be a candle light procession late in the night but it was too late to join .
We are truly blessed to have made it here and like in Fatima, it is not a coincidence that we are here. Our lady of Lourdes has called on us and again, there must be a special purpose and reason for being here.
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