Three days were set aside for the 26th meeting of Catholic journalists - the Catholic Media Federation's International Day of Saint Francis de Sales, named after the patron of journalists whose feast it is on January 24. The event was organised to run from Wednesday 25 through to Friday 27 January.
Gad Elmaleh, the famous Jewish comedian on his way to conversion, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin - the Vatican's Secretary of State - were the featured speakers.
Although desolate and bitingly cold at this time of year, Lourdes was as fitting a chosen location as any. Even in the fog and under gloomy skies, the tiny Pyrenean town, with its castle, sanctuary and neo-gothic basilica, has a dignified charm and a powerful spiritual magnetism.
