Lourdes!

Hey all! This is Allison, still on Eliott's account because she still doesn't have access to her Google! Woo!

Anyway, today I am writing about Lourdes! This city has a very interesting duality to it. One side is a religious hub of healing and prayer, and the other is a monetarily booming business area. Beginning with the religious hub portion of this dichotomous city, Lourdes is the place where Saint Bernadette saw Mary, mother of Jesus, in a Grotto, and had multiple encounters with the spirit of Mary. She foretold her of a spring that would heal (this is where holy water streams from) and for all to follow her son to heaven. Many come to this place to sit in the church and pray to Mary. They walk to the Grotto where Bernadette saw her and touch the wall of rock that has been worn down from decades of people running their hands along it, being present in that space. Some come to be healed and others come as part of a pilgrimage. Of those who come to be healed, some come on their own, others with various sects of the Order of Malta. The Order is a group that is dedicated to healing the sick. Their clothing is generally black, white, and red. Men where army-like uniforms and women dresses or skirts with a cloak.
A service happens every night in front of the church. People come with candles and buy some to place or hold as a procession carries a lit statue of Mary towards the front of the church
(below is a picture of the candles and the procession). Those in the front of this procession are some who come especially to be healed by the blessing and potentially the holy water that comes from the spring. The use of the holy water brings me closer to my next point. The spring is filtered through pipes that allow visitors to access it and fill bottles, glasses, and vials: if it can hold something, it can hold holy water. Many venders sell various sized bottles and jugs that visitors can fill. This in turn brings competition amongst venders for the business of the visitors. I have named this part of town "Religious Las Vegas." There are bright neon lights, people everywhere, and many businesses next to each other that are similar but maybe just so slightly different. This creates an area booming with business, aching to grab the attention of any passerby. At night, the streets are bustling and lit up, almost making it like Las Vegas streets. This forms two distinct spaces, one of sacred worship and the other of money and competition derived businesses (Wait, isn't greed a deadly sin????).
Overall, this city is the center of a very large religious practice that has formed a duality between religious and monetary values, creating an interesting cultural experience for visitors of this city.