Pilgrimage to Bordeaux - 3rd - 5th October 2003     On 3 October a party of Notre Dame School staff embarked on a mission to Bordeaux to visit the places associated with St Jeanne de Lestonnac our foundress. The party comprised teaching staff, members of the school senior management teams, Sisters of the Company of Mary Our Lady, administrative staff, governors and the school bursar.   We arrived late in the evening on the first day and were introduced to our guide Sr Francoise and our translator Sr Maria. On this occasion we were given an early opportunity to taste the local wine and to see the beautiful town of Bordeaux at night.   The Sisters invited us to join them in their community home during the first day of our journey and again we were offered generous hospitality including a special wine from the vineyards purportedly owned in the past by the Lestonnac family. It was a real privilege to be welcomed so warmly.   Over the next three days we visited several homes occupied by St Jeanne at different stages of her life. Particularly moving for us was the short silent walk to La Mothe, the site of St Jeanne's home as she formulated her plans to begin the Order. We took the time for a quiet period of reflection by the banks of the stream, a place where St Jeanne herself would have walked and prayed.   In addition we visited the foundation schools of the Company of Mary Our Lady, and were able to visit St Jeanne's tomb in the chapel of the high school. We visited the castle owned by Michel de Montaigne, the church frequented by the Lestonnac family, churches associated with the founding experience of St Jeanne and the parish that she lived in when her children were young. We were also able to see the first convent and school buildings, designed by St Jeanne herself. The magnitude of her vision and the energy she devoted to the project were certainly inspiring to us all.   "The weekend was both exhausting and exhilarating". "We went in search of St Jeanne and after three days it became apparent that we knew her all along and that we had her spirit in Cobham too. It was wonderfully interesting to place St Jeanne: her times, her life, her family".   "Even though we are all very familiar with the story of St Jeanne's life, this wonderful opportunity to walk in her footsteps strengthened our belief and helped us to understand her vocation. It was such an uplifting experience; it touched all our hearts".   "Before my trip to Bordeaux St Jeanne was someone that I'd heard about through the Sisters. After my visit to La Mothe I can truly say that I felt I had come to know St Jeanne. It was such a spiritual and emotional experience that I felt her presence there. The power of prayer was so strong that I felt privileged to be standing in the same place that she did 400 years ago and perhaps even share a tiny bit of what she had experienced. However, I know that I could never be as strong or do what she did but I will always remember that anything is possible through the power of prayer. This is the message I took home with me from the pilgrimage".