We began perhaps the most peaceful day of our pilgrimage so far with a 9 am departure from our hotel in Poitiers. From the hotel, we rode to a parish cemetery in an older part of Poitiers to visit Sr. Joesfa Menedez, known by many for her book "The Way of Divine Love". The raised marble and stone graves differ from this in America not only in their size but in the fact that many are the final resting places, not only of individuals, but of entire families. Amid the ornate and in many cases ancient graves and crypts, we found a final resting place slightly different than the others. It was not built of marble or adorned beyond a beautiful cross...not by its builders, anyway. This grave was covered in flowers and the arms of the cross that guarded it were draped in rosaries and medals. All these were gifts to Sister Josefa Menendez, a Spanish contemplative asked by Jesus to move to France, where she spent the last four years of her young life in the convent. We learned of her burning love for Christ in the eucharist and her obedience to him in everything. We gathered around her tomb and prayed a rosary together for an increased respect for Our Lord in the Eucharist and other intentions. Following our prayers, we spent time looking among the graves and praying for those departed souls. Before we knew it, it was time to get on the bus and head to our next destination. After a nearly four hour bus ride, we arrived in the city of Nevers, a city where modern architecture meets traditional, French architecture. There, behind the walls of a convent, lies the final resting place of Bernadette Soubirous This simply, weak young woman trusted and loved and believed, so much so that Our Lady appeared to her at Lourdes many times, eventually asking her to have a chapel built in the grotto at Massabielle and gifting her with a healing spring that is still an incredible site of pilgrimage to this day. Later in her short life, Bernadette traveled from Lourdes to Nevers, where she lived and died as a member of the sisters of Charity. Fr. Ray celebrated mass for us in the room where Bernadette made her vows (we were bumped from the main chapel by a group of Germans). Following mass, we walked the halls of the convent and its gardens. We saw the garden in which she found solitude, the infirmary where she took her last breath, and the chapel where she was originally buried. Finally, we entered the church on the convent grounds to behold a thirty-five year old sister, dressed in habit and laid inside a tomb of glass, her body still incorrupt after all these years. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully and like she would take a breath at any time. We stayed to venerate her body and for some quiet prayer. After another delicious dinner and desert, we turned in, preparing for 6:30am breakfast before departure in the morning. - Isabelle Pryor
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