Roncesvalles

Soon after booking into the Albergue, the senior priest from the community came to visit the newly arrived pilgrims. He invited us for a short tour of the church, and to mass after supper. The beauty of the building is clear from the photographs. The whole place washed you with spiritual blessings from prayers and the presence of pilgrims across the generations.

We were shown the sacristy with its modern and older vestments. The Latin and Spanish ones would have made my Curate and others I know drool with appreciation...

The chapter house had its own particular history and often hosts small concerts. The echo is almost unbelievable. The priest asked if anyone wanted to sing something, then he looked at me, Padre, what about you... unable to resist, on the night before Lent, I burst into an Alleluia and found myself doing a duet with the priest, the echo went on for a while. Everyone was in silence for a moment after.

The snow outside was about a foot deep, the big drifts from falls off of the roof.

Later at Mass there was a blessing for the pilgrims from the 91 year old concelebrating priest. Mass ended with the church in total darkness apart from the light on Our Lady of Orreaga as we sang "Salve Regina"

How wonderful and humbling to be in such a holy place. As a companion put it "We are truly blessed"

Thank God for pilgrims over the years without this experience could never have taken place.
Laus Deo.