Faith of our Fathers

October 12, 2025

With a long day of driving ahead, our day began earlier than usual. We met in the lobby at 6:30 a.m. to walk to Mass in St. Gabriel’s Chapel in Lourdes. Fr. Swink was the principal celebrant, and Fr. Ray gave the homily.

The readings for Sunday Mass perfectly matched our experience at Lourdes. In the first reading, Naaman the Syrian was miraculously healed when he plunged into the waters of the Jordan River. In the Gospel, Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give thanks. Fr. Ray encouraged us all—including the nine pilgrims from our group who experienced full immersion in the baths—to thank the Lord for the graces He had given us.

After returning to the hotel for breakfast, we checked out and boarded the bus for a few-hour trip to Toulouse to visit the relics of St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church.

Navigating the big city of Toulouse proved to be an adventure. The bus couldn’t park directly at the Church of the Jacobins, so we had to walk about twenty minutes through the busy city streets, trying to stay together as a group. Margaret’s trusty green-and-white umbrella once again proved essential for keeping everyone together.

St. Thomas is interred in the Church of the Jacobins, which now functions as a museum rather than an active place of worship. A prayerful atmosphere nonetheless filled the space as we asked the intercession of this great scholar and saint. Still, it was bittersweet to see that this extraordinary saint rests in a deconsecrated abbey where the sacraments are no longer celebrated. I couldn't help but think of Pope St. John XIII (whose feast was yesterday), who said that we must love our faith, not simply guard it as if we were a museum. The stop was very meaningful nonetheless.

After regrouping and making our way back to the bus, we began the drive out of bustling Toulouse toward rural Conques, the resting place of St. Faith’s relics. Although we had bagged lunches from our hotel, we stopped at a rest stop that gave us a hero's welcome.

Fr. Ray shared his excitement about visiting this ancient town of Conques, explaining that a fellow priest had once told him that Conques is the most beautiful village in all of France. As we approached, we could see why! Unlike many of the places we’ve visited, Conques is not a major tourist destination—it feels largely untouched by the modern world. Though it lies along the Camino de Santiago, Conques receives relatively few visitors otherwise.

When we entered the Abbey of St. Faith, it was immediately clear that this was not a museum but a living place of prayer. A choir of schoolchildren, apparently directed by one of the monks, filled the church with a hauntingly beautiful Latin Ave Maria. Signs at the entrance asked visitors to maintain silence. We approached the reliquary to venerate St. Faith.

One highlight for several of us was an unexpected encounter with an elderly French woman. She approached me with a warm smile and began speaking quickly in French. Using two of the only French phrases I know, I managed to say, “I don’t understand,” and “I don’t speak French well.” She soon invited her husband and a friend to join the conversation, though none spoke much English. Using Google Translate, I was able to explain that we were pilgrims from America. She was delighted! When Fr. Ray came over and explained our pilgrimage in French, her joy overflowed—she insisted on taking a photo with us. Fr. Ray then offered them a blessing in French.

We soon departed from Conques, agreeing that it was one of our favorite stops so far. As we wound our way through the narrow mountain roads of the Massif Central, we were all deeply grateful for our driver Didier’s skill and calm focus behind the wheel.

(We were less grateful, however, for a peculiar French rest stop bathroom that somehow had neither toilets nor sinks. No photos exist, but the memory will certainly stay with us nonetheless.)

Even more memorable were the breathtaking views of early autumn leaves glowing along the mountainsides.

After a long day of travel, we reached our lovely hotel in the small town of Issoire, where we enjoyed a late dinner and a warm welcome. The hotel staff were so friendly and excited to see us, explaining that we were the first group of Americans ever to stay with them.