We arrived at the beautiful city of Paris. This is the first stop of our pilgrimage.
Airport Arrival area pa lang, syempre, picture-picture na! Hahaha!
With me at the arrival area are my kuya and ate-MOLians: Ate Mary, Ate Merle, Ate Nona, Ate Brenda and Kuya-Fr. Kiko.
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Our simple but functional home during our stay in Paris - Ibis Hotel at Bagnolet. It is a tiny room but this is really all you need if you are on tour/pilgrimage - a good bed to rest, a clean bathroom to use and enough food for your three meals. Hotels in Paris are expensive! But Ibis is an affordable hotel. You may check their website. They have a lot of hotels all over the world.
Check out the website of Ibis for more details or for booking purposes.
After settling in, we decided to go out and celebrate mass. We went out searching for a church but our group ended up in a closed one. So, we decided to have an impromptu prayer service in front of it. Afterwards, alam na, pictuce taking!
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I am always fascinated with the colors of autumn. So I took the opportunity to capture the surrounding through my lens.
I am grateful to have my kuya and ate-MOLians with me here in this pilgrimage like Kuya-Fr. Francis, Ate Gie, Ate Annette, Kuya Tony, etc. (The other pilgrim-MOLians will be mentioned in my succeeding blogs plus pics, syempre.) The journey's more meaningful because we share a common bond - our love for Mary, Mother of Life and for Father Marie Eugene, and our "going back to the Source of MOL - NDV Venasque.
After dinner, we had a short but sweet bus tour of the city. We didn't really visit the tourist spots Paris is known for. We are on a pilgrimage. So we just dropped by Eiffel tower and Arc de Triomphe.
The following day, we visited Sacre Cœur at Montmartre.
From Wikipedia...
"The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871[1] crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.[2]The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie. Construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919."
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All of us, NDV pilgrims, can't helped but be awed by the beauty and grandeur of the basilique.
With me here are Ms. Marina Tapang (NDV-Molian), Ate Mary, Ate Merle, Ate Nona, Fr. Gabo, Fr. Kiko and the rest of the Bus 2 pilgrims.
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Our next stop is at Rue de Bac at the Chapel of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal. Here, we celebrated mass with Fr. Francis Dizon as the main celebrant.
From Wikipedia...
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, France, is the chapel where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830 and requested the creation of the medal which came to be known as the Miraculous Medal. It is also the mother house of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.
The chapel, as a site of Marian apparition, is a Marian shrine and hence a site of heavy Roman Catholic pilgrimage.
The body of Saint Louise de Marillac and the heart of St Vincent de Paul, founders of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, are kept there. The incorrupt body of St Catherine Labouré, a member of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and a Marian visionary, also lies in a glass coffin at the side altar of the Chapel.
Only the tabernacle, which dates back to the seventeenth or eighteenth century, is unchanged since 1815; it comes from the building allocated in 1800 to the Daughters of Charity. It was then to be found in the chapel of the Sisters of Mercy installed there before the French Revolution. Saint Catherine Labouré said that it is in front of the tabernacle that the Blessed Virgin Mary prostrated in the night of July 18 to July 19, 1830 and above it that she was during the third apparition in December 1830. In 1850 an ivory crucifix was placed on top of it.
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Since it's November in Paris, we were told to expect cold weather. Well, hindi sya cold, in fairness. Kasi SUPER cold sya. As in! Hahaha! Di ba, mga ateng?
After the mass, we all went to lunch in a quaint brasserie near the chapel. Bon appetit!
After filling up our souls and then our stomach in that order, we headed now to Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral. I remember back in 1997 that this place was really packed with tourist. The scenario is still the same plus with a light rain that afternoon. Even though we were wet and cold, we stood in line just to enter the cathedral. The place is indeed magnificent in its decor and architecture.
From notredamecathedralparis.com
The Notre Dame Cathedral Paris or Notre Dame de Paris (Meaning 'Our Lady of Paris' in French) is a Gothic cathedral located in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France, It has its main entrance to the west. The island is on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité.
The Notre Dame Cathedral is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in the world.. The name Notre Dame means "Our Lady" in French, and is frequently used in the names of Catholic church buildings in Francophone countries.The Notre Dame Cathedral is the actual cathedral of the Catholic archdiocese of Paris: which is to say, it is the church which contains the official chair ("cathedra") of the Archbishop of Paris, Andre Cardinal Vingt-Trois.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame is probably best known for its relation to the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, made famous by the numerous cartoons and movies inspired by it. But it is the French Gothic Architecture that remains the biggest draw for visitors from around the world, an unrivaled, perfect example to this day.
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Inside the church, I just need to have a photo with my two great heroine saints - St. Therese of the Child Jesus and St. Joan of Arc.
Trivia:
In the Philippines, we have Luneta Park or the monument of Rizal as Point Zero in terms of measuring distances from one point to another. In France, it is in Notre Dame de Paris grounds where Point Zero starts. Check the marker, it says Point Zero (in English and French). Cool, huh!
My heart is full of happiness as I see again the city of Paris. I may have not explored it the way I want it but I am completely satisfied being here. Before we go back to our hotel, we walked a bit around the area of Notre Dame de Paris. On board the bus, we crossed the famous River Seine. The bridges are all illumined by lights giving our early night a melancholy air.
Another day was over. Everybody was tired but I bet they wanted more (of the city tour) hehehe! As we go back to our hotel, I cannot help but think of the rich history this city. Battles were won and defeated, famous and infamous men and women walked in the same pavements we have walked and most importantly, the Catholic faith thrived in this city. This is one thing that we should all be thankful for. Amidst the downfall and rise of France, the Catholic faith remained strong and steadfast.
City of lights and delight
Moonlight shines so bright
But look! There! Above!
The one True Light on the cross
Sublime, awe, splendor
-At 'yan ang sabi ni Manang!
November 2016