Loyola University Chicago

A Mission for Mom

How far would you travel for your mother? Of course you would travel any length, right? You would sacrifice that trip to Amsterdam or Prague to travel a total of 40 hours on a train alone just to pick something up for mom.

Maybe traveling any length for your mom is not such a simple commitment after all. However, no obstacle was too great to stop Santa Clara student Cheri Blatter from Los Angeles, Calif., in her mission for her mom.

Blatter comes from a very religious Catholic family of 11 children. Her mother is a spiritual woman with strong faith in God and the power of miracles. For as long as Blatter can remember, her mother has longed to go to La Grotte in Lourdes, France to collect holy water. Never foreseeing the opportunity to go herself, Blatter's mother asked her to make the pilgrimage for her.

But the reason her mother has always yearned to go to Lourdes has been to bring holy water back for those in need. Most recently her mother wanted holy water for two ill people in her parish. One of them is an 8-year-old girl who just went blind due to a serious illness. The other is a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Hearing the altruistic motives of her mother inspired Blatter to travel to Lourdes under any circumstances. Without the good-hearted inspiration of her mother always on her mind, Blatter says she never would have made it to Lourdes.

The actual journey to Lourdes was much harder than the decision to sacrifice the weekend. Blatter planned on leaving Friday night with a friend. An hour before departure her companion got sick and Blatter was left to travel alone. Somewhat distraught, Blatter headed for the bus stop only to wait there for an hour without any sign of a bus. Blatter then tried to catch a taxi, but time had run out and it was too late to make it to the train station. In utter disappointment, Blatter returned to the Rome Center feeling as if she had failed to fulfil her mother's dream. When Blatter woke up the next morning she was disgusted with her failed attempt and decided to give it another try, regardless of the school she would be missing.

She made the Saturday train and arrived in Lourdes at 8 a.m. Sunday. In pursuit of holy water, Blatter made her way through the streets of Lourdes jammed with souvenir stands selling empty Virgin-shaped water bottles, plastic rosary beads and an exorbitant amount of statuettes. After purchasing as many water bottles as she could physically transport, Blatter set out for La Grotte de Massabielle. This grotto is the sight of the 1858 apparitions of the Virgin Mary to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous. Soubirous, who later became a nun and canonized in 1933, claimed to have witnessed the appearance of Mary on 18 occasions. According to Blatter, on Mary's final visitation she told Soubirous to dig with her hands into the ground when she suddenly came upon a natural spring that erupted into baths of water.

The grotto is now the center of a religious complex housing hospitals, as well as, churches. The most renowned church is the concrete echo chamber known as the Basilique Pius X, built in 1958 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the visions. Five million worshippers intent on sharing the miracle of Lourdes visit La Grotte Massabielle each year.

Along with all of the other pilgrims, Blatter extended her empty water bottle into the water running down the side of caverns. While she was filling her three one-gallon jugs she became overwhelmed with the amount of faith that is captured in the grotto. As she watched the elderly, the sick and the disabled worship this sacred place she realized that the phenomenon of the grotto is that it is a symbol of hope. She feels that the miracle of the grotto is in the belief of its patrons.

It appears that the miracle is still alive, especially recently. It has only been within the last few years that Lourdes has become so heavily visited. With a population of only approximately 17,000 people, Lourdes has become the second-most-visited city in France. Perhaps this is due to the miraculous stories leaking out of Lourdes. Santa Clara student Katie Lillevand from San Fransisco, Calif., recalls the story of her father's law partner. He was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago and decided to go to Lourdes in hopes to be cured. "After surviving cancer for the last 10 years, he swears it is a result of his visit to the grotto and returns every year," said Lillevand. It is devotion of the believers that makes the grotto a thriving holy land.

The grotto is no longer a mystery to Blatter. "I never used to understand why my mom wanted to go to the grotto so badly, but now it is all clear. I honestly feel like this trip enhanced my spirituality immensely. This is definitely a place where seeing is believing," said Blatter.

Finally, mission accomplished, late Monday night Blatter entered the Rome Center gates with her jugs of holy water in hand. "Despite the hassle of getting there, Lourdes was definitely one of my most memorable trips this semester. Traveling for a cause is such an amazing feeling. Knowing I will be able to share the miracle of Lourdes with those in need made those three gallon jugs feel a lot lighter," said Blatter.