{"id":694827,"date":"2021-06-28T14:28:59","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T12:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/?p=694827"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T14:07:27","slug":"an-angel-in-disguise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/","title":{"rendered":"An angel in disguise"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Rosaline:<\/b><\/span> \u201cMay, 2015. My husband <\/span>Tony and I<\/b><\/span> were on a Europe Tour. Both of us had retired from our professions and we had the time to relax, so we planned the entire itinerary on our own. Touring without a guide proved to be quite a challenge in every new country, but we took it in our stride, one day at a time. This story happened after two days in Paris\u2026 on our way to Lourdes, by train\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Muriel:<\/b><\/span> \u201cIt was a Saturday morning after a very tiring working week. I was about to meet my mum, my sister and my niece in Lourdes for a short week-end. Before getting there, I would get a rest on the TGV\u2026 what I thought just before the nice lady and her husband, sitting next to me, offered to share their breakfast.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Rosaline:<\/b><\/span> We had the great fortune to be travelling with Muriel. In the course of our conversation, we came to know about Muriel\u2019s dedication to Our Lady of Lourdes and the voluntary service she does there. We were highly impressed about what she does for the less fortunate ones. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Muriel:<\/b><\/span> When I was a little girl, I wanted to learn many languages to be able to speak with people from all over the world. When I started doing voluntary service in Lourdes with the \u2018Hospitalit\u00e9 Notre Dame de la Voie\u2019, I also loved it because Lourdes is so international! Later, I became a translator, and I still enjoy sharing experiences with people from other countries. So, meeting Rosaline and Tony was just great!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Rosaline:<\/b><\/span> The surprising thing is that, from the time we got acquainted with her, the issues we had, seemed to be taken care of in a jiffy, issues like how to go up to the church with all our luggage or where to keep them (since we were not spending the night at Lourdes), whether we could keep them at the train station, etc, just became a child\u2019s play, with Muriel around. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Muriel:<\/b><\/span> I was impressed at their Europe tour! They would spend less than half-day in Lourdes before reaching Toulouse then Barcelona\u2026 but they had two big heavy suitcases\u2026 where could they leave them in Lourdes for a couple of hours? After drawing a map of Lourdes and explaining what they could see in a short time, I asked the train steward to give me a clue\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Rosaline:<\/b><\/span> Muriel took it on herself to find solutions to our problems even though she was a total stranger to us. En-route, she called up the Station Master of Lourdes and found out whether there was any luggage storage facility at the train station. When she found out there wasn\u2019t any, she called up her sister, who was on her way to Lourdes from Perpignan. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Muriel:<\/b><\/span><\/span> \u2026 no possibility to store the luggage at the station\u2026 I really needed to help them. At that moment, I thought how lucky I was to go to Lourdes as often as I wanted whereas Rosaline and Tony may stop there only once in their lives\u2026 My phone call with my sister was quite amazing: \u201cWhen did you meet them?\u201d She asked. \u201c2 hours ago on the train!\u201d I answered. \u201cWell\u2026 we are going to Lourdes, aren\u2019t we? We\u2019ll wait for you three at the station.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Rosaline:<\/b><\/span> Muriel told us that her sister would keep our suitcases in her car, till we finish praying at the shrine. All this and more coming from a mere acquaintance touched our hearts immensely. We felt that Our Lady was already showering us with miracles, even before we reached her shrine. Words cannot express how we felt that day. When the train reached the station, there was Muriel\u2019s mom, Maryse, Magali, her sister, along with her daughter, Valentine, waiting to receive us \u2013 total strangers to them, but made to feel that we were their long lost friends. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Muriel:<\/b><\/span> My sister and I drove Rosaline and Tony to the Sanctuaire, while our Mum and Valentine made the way on foot. We showed our friends where we would wait for them to drive them back to the station. An hour later, we bumped into Rosaline and Tony ending the Way of the Cross. Like old friends, we took some pictures together! <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Rosaline and Anthony visiting and praying in Lourdes with Muriel's family.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Rosaline:<\/b><\/span> Before dropping us at the train station, Muriel and her family presented us with some souvenirs from Lourdes. Thus began a new friendship between Muriel and us, which still continues till today. Each time that she makes a visit to the shrine, she lights a candle for our intentions\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Muriel:<\/b><\/span> This only happens in Lourdes! Sometimes, when I tell people about that lovely afternoon, some of them hardly believe me\u2026 Every time I go to Lourdes, either on my own or with my family or my Hospitalit\u00e9, I send a picture to my friends in India and I light a candle for them\u2026 asking Our Lady of Lourdes to give them the opportunity to come back one day\u2026 When Roanna, Rosaline and Tony\u2019s daughter, had her baby girl, Kierstin, my Mum, my sister and I were in Lourdes and it was my birthday\u2026 can you believe it? So we bought a present there, took it to the Grotto and sent it to Australia where Roanna and her husband live.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

<\/a> Rosaline:<\/b><\/span> If the world had a lot of Muriels around, what a lovely place this world would be. I keep questioning myself, would I have done the same thing, if I were to have been in Muriel\u2019s shoes? Doubtful is the answer, but Muriel has taught me a lesson\u2026 always make a foreigner feel at home in your own country. Thanks Muriel, for demonstrating it to us. My eyes are now opened and I believe that it\u2019s never too late to learn. God bless Muriel, her family and all the volunteers who are helping out at Lourdes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

Muriel:<\/b><\/span> Every time I get some news from Rosaline and Tony, I thank Our Lady for this friendship which was born on a train and in Lourdes (do you remember that I am a volunteer with the \u2018Hospitalit\u00e9 Notre Dame de la Voie\u2019 funded by railway workers?). One day, we will meet again, for sure\u2026 Our Lady of Lourdes will help us again.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rosaline, Tony and Muriel<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>

19 November, 2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe journal of graces<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rosaline: \u201cMay, 2015. My husband Tony and I were on a Europe Tour. Both of us had retired from our professions and we had the time to relax, so we planned the entire itinerary on our own. Touring without a … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":694834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-694827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amazing-grace-en","category-en-ce-moment-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn angel in disguise<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"TV LOURDES\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/\",\"name\":\"An angel in disguise\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/grotte_mise-en-avant-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-28T12:28:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-29T14:07:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e15361338ccda7ff575e7807b7ff76\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/grotte_mise-en-avant-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/grotte_mise-en-avant-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1886},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An angel in disguise\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/\",\"name\":\"Soutenir le Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e15361338ccda7ff575e7807b7ff76\",\"name\":\"TV LOURDES\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99ad963db01f0c73acfee4d5f94ac178?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99ad963db01f0c73acfee4d5f94ac178?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"TV LOURDES\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/author\/tv-lourdes\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An angel in disguise","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"TV LOURDES","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/","name":"An angel in disguise","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/grotte_mise-en-avant-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-28T12:28:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-29T14:07:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e15361338ccda7ff575e7807b7ff76"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/grotte_mise-en-avant-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/grotte_mise-en-avant-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1886},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/an-angel-in-disguise\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An angel in disguise"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/","name":"Soutenir le Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00e15361338ccda7ff575e7807b7ff76","name":"TV LOURDES","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/preprod-lourdes.cawita.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99ad963db01f0c73acfee4d5f94ac178?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/99ad963db01f0c73acfee4d5f94ac178?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"TV LOURDES"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/author\/tv-lourdes\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694827"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1096611,"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694827\/revisions\/1096611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}