After 4 years of closure, the swimming pools of Lourdes reopen
5 of the 18 swimming pools in Lourdes have reopened for this 151st National Pilgrimage. They had all been closed in 2020 after Covid. The other 13 are still under construction to be brought up to standard. Our journalist on site recounts this edition marked by the reopening of the swimming pools.
Catherine Roy and Pierre Baillot d’Estivaux, retired Parisians, are regulars at the National. Since 1959, Pierre has not missed an edition. They chose the water gesture – inaugurated in 2020 after the appearance of the Covid epidemic, preferred then for health reasons. A beautiful gesture that continues and represents an alternative to those who hesitate to jump into the water of swimming pools. Catherine and Pierre testify to this with our journalist Romain Mazenod.
Louis Prachet, a 34-year-old from Lyon, experienced bathing in the pools of Lourdes for the first time. Having Down syndrome, he came out even happier than usual. He told our journalist Romain Mazenod about it.
Marie-Stéphane Berthe, a swimming pool professional for 35 years, explains the spiritual importance of this bathing gesture, an act of purification and conversion.
