St. Ives Youth Theatre Blog
	Date:	7th June 2008
	Subject	Discovering Lourdes
	Contacts	For press enquiries about St. Ives Youth Theatre, please contact Ian Lloyd on 07803 088185. More information about the St Ives Youth Theatre is available on www.siyt.co.uk

Discovering Lourdes
On a quiet road in southern France, two teenage hitchhikers are attempting, unsuccessfully, to hitch a ride to the coast. Instead, they stumble on the town of Lourdes and are forced to spend a night there. They are stunned by the buzz of the place. They make enquiries at a local bar and are soon embroiled in the powerful story of Bernadette Soubirous, the 14 year old girl who is the source of the town’s success.

This is the story of ‘Vision’ – the musical story of Bernadette of Lourdes written by Dominic Hartley and Jonathan Smith – which is being staged by St. Ives Youth Theatre in mid-July.

For SIYT, there is more to staging a piece than just learning a script and belting out a few songs. As in the professional theatre, a clear understanding of the issues that motivated the writers to create their piece is seen as vital in preparation. For earlier productions, this quest for understanding has taken SIYT members to places as diverse as Auschwitz and Harrods, Dartmoor Prison and the Bank of England. In preparing for Vision, all roads inevitably lead to Lourdes.

A secular group of 10 teenagers and 2 adults from SIYT joined the Birmingham Arch-Diocese Pilgrimage to Lourdes during the last week in May.

What is this place ?
Lourdes has a population of about 15,000 people – exactly the same size at as Ely or St. Ives – but receives nearly 5 million visitors a year. Lourdes has over 270 hotels, second only to Paris in France. The town is in the south-west of France over looked by the peaks of the Pyrenees.

“Over 6 million people visit Lourdes each year, it’s a place where hope conquers desperation” - Laura
Sunday
After leaving St. Ives on Saturday morning, a 24 hour coach and ferry journey brought SIYT to the heart of the Pyrenees, arriving at the end of the military pilgrimage that had seen nearly 40,000 serviceman visit Lourdes from the US, Africa and all over Europe (including members of the Irish Navy and the Swiss Guard). Having toured the domain and sanctuaries, the group met a stagaire – a volunteer helping at the Hostel for Sick Pilgrims - before joining 30,000 for the Torchlight procession.

“You suddenly realise that you’re not alone” - Alex
Monday
Meeting with Dr. Patrick Theillier, the head of the Lourdes Medical Bureau – it is the official medical organisation within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, but is administrated and run only by doctors. Its most celebrated function is the medical investigation of apparent cures associated with the shrine of Lourdes.

About 35 claims each year are brought to the attention of the Lourdes Medical Bureau. Most of these are dismissed quickly but 3-5 each year are investigated more thoroughly by a panel of doctors. The Medical Bureau investigates the claim, by examining the patient, casenotes, and any test results. If further investigation is warranted, the case is passed to an international panel of about twenty experts in various medical disciplines and of different religious beliefs from around the world. This panel doesn’t pronounce a cure "miraculous" (this must be done by the Church) but determines whether a cure is "medically inexplicable". A full investigation takes a minimum of 5 years but may up to 10-12 years - to ensure that the cure is permanent.

Somewhat surprisingly, the medical bureau is not responsible for the direct medical care of pilgrims and visitors to Lourdes. This is the responsibility of general practitioners and hospital in Lourdes but many pilgrim groups include their own doctors and nurses, who take on the day-to-day medical care of their group.

“Quote required” - Bridie

At a penitential service on Monday afternoon, SIYT performed an improvised drama based upon the parable of the Prodigal Son to an enthusiastic congregation of over 2,000.

“You touched so many people this afternoon” Father Gerry Breen, Pilgrimage Director

The service ended with Confession which was taken by so many seriously ill pilgrims but conducted with incredible dignity. A real experience of how the sick are at the very heart of what happens at Lourdes. Another busy day ended with a discussion with Archbishop Vincent Nichols about his experiences of Lourdes as a priest and as a bishop.

“The miracle of Lourdes is that people can find inner peace at time when they are most desperate” - Tiffany

Tuesday
SIYT visited the mill where the Soubirous family lived and met Bernadette’s great-great-great niece. The group also visited the Cachot – a disused prison where the Soubirous’ took refuge – and sang “Blue” from Vision. The afternoon was spent at a party in one of the Hospitals in Lourdes.

“Many pilgrims are elderly & for some, Lourdes is a release from the dull lives they lead in care homes & hospitals” - Jordan

Wednesday
Attending mass is important to all Catholics; it is also special experience for people of different beliefs – especially when there are 54,000 attending in a huge underground basilica! The service was held in French and Latin with readings in many other languages. 4 SIYT members were asked to present gifts at the offertory – a huge honour but also something that speaks volumes about the inclusiveness at the heart of Lourdes.

“It was amazing.  There were so many people there, and they were taking it so seriously.  Because it meant so much to them, it then meant much more to those were not particular believers.” - Megan

A tour of the baths (which are simple stone troughs) followed – for many pilgrims the very heart of Lourdes and a very sacred place. Pilgrims queue for maybe an hour while a group of pilgrims or stagaires lead prayers. These groups change on a regular basis with a group from the Czech Republic leading prayers during the visit. SIYT took the opportunity to sing “Blue” to the pilgrims - one of the most poignant moments of the trip.

“It’s amazing – it’s the kind of place where the elderly respect the young and the young respect the elderly” - Jack

Thursday
Just when you think things can’t get more intense…… the chance to perform in front of an audience of 3,000 people. At a concert held in the Basilica of Pius X, SIYT were invited on stage by Jo Boyce and Mike Stanley of CJM Music. Singing “Just an Image” and “Blue”, SIYT received a rapturous reception – an experience never to be forgotten.

“To perform songs from VISION in front of 3,000 people, at Lourdes, during their 150th Anniversary….just amazing” - Allegra

SIYT met with a local hotelier, Patrick, in the afternoon. Lourdes brings over €2 billion a year into the local region – even though there are over 250 hotels in the immediate area, try find a room between Easter and end of August this year. Patrick was very frank, although his family earned their living from 6 modest hotels in the town, working in Lourdes was also about service – Patrick also regularly works as a stagaire in the baths, asked why he thought Lourdes was such a big deal, he said,

“The message to Bernadette was very simple and this has placed the sick, the disabled at the heart of Lourdes. They have been valued here from the beginning as they share the suffering of Christ which is something that all catholics believe is at the heart of their faith”

The final torchlight procession of the visit – but what a procession! Tens of thousands of people and so the queue to join was over an hour long. Obviously this meant another opportunity to sing “Blue” couldn’t be missed, but the lyrics were about to have more meaning for the group;

“There was an image of a small girl kneeling in the mud”

A midnight visit to the grotto where Bernadette received her 18 visions proved to be a moving experience. In contrast to the grandness of Rosary Square and the basilicas, the grotto is very simple and stark. At this time of night, the grotto was quiet with only 30 or so people there (many of whom were holding night vigils).

“The vibe was incredible, it was such a moving place, so peaceful, a place for reflection” - Matt

Friday
Lourdes has been called ‘the Disneyland of the Catholic Church’, anyone who has visited Lourdes will know that there in no shortage of ‘chintz and glintz’ on display. The group met the British owner of a shop in Lourdes, Jo. Her decision to live and work in Lourdes came from her mother’s recovery from cancer after visiting the shrine in her thirties. Jo said that they just had to come to Lourdes and running the shop providing the way to make a living.

The bars and cafes of the town seemed to dramatically different to home. At home, pubs seem either to be subdued with an atmosphere that excludes strangers or full of loud music and loud people on the pull.

“Everyone speaks to everyone – there’s no one excluded in Lourdes. It’s an unbelievable place to make friends” - Josh

In Lourdes, all visitors to the cafes are greeted by patron and customers alike. People seem to be genuinely interested in one another and especially the disabled. Where else would you expect a waiter to quickly move tables out of the way of a wheelchair user – without being asked. Friendships born here have a remarkable resilience.

“It was incredible, I bumped into people I’d not seen since I was last here in 1991. It was as though we’d seen one another yesterday”
Jonathan Salt

|Just time for one final mass and to buy a holographic picture of our lady of Lourdes, then back on the coach and home.

What Next ?
The purpose of the visit was to try to understand Lourdes. Were they successful ? One of the ways of answering that question will be the staging the Musical ‘VISION’ in St. Ives in July. Directed by Jonathan Salt, written by Dominic Hartley and Jonathan Smith, VISION’ gives us a modern take on this story. Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Really Useful Company has already showcased this upbeat show in the West End. ‘VISION’ is on in St. Ives from 16th – 19th July 2008, at 7.30pm, at Burgess Hall.  Full details and tickets available from www.siyt.co.uk.