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When I was 14, I went on pilgrimage with the équipes Saint-Michel and this is where I met
a person with autism who was prone to self-harm. And something drew me to him. At the end
of the pilgrimage he gave me his hand and I felt something special through this hand.
I said to myself, “next year I’ll do what the fox and the Little Prince did,
I’ll get to know him and I’ll look after him and spend a month and a half of my holidays with him.
And that is what I did. I went to his family and helped his mother to look after him.
When it was time for the pilgrimage to Lourdes, the person who was due to accompany him cancelled
at the last minute. And I came here to Lourdes with him. He was hitting himself again and again,
which scared all the people on pilgrimage with us. At some point, the pilgrimage
doctor said to me, “Laurent, go to bed, I’ll look after him”, which is what he did. However
he lost him ! So he immediately came and woke me, he said, “Laurent, he’s missing!” His mother
had entrusted him to me : I was somewhat panicked. And we went looking for him. I was near
the Grotto and I said, “Mary help us to find him if you want me to really believe!!!”
And I found him opposite the Grotto, in the Prairie. There were
lots of people around him trying to restrain him because he was hitting his head against the ground.
I put him back in his wheelchair, and thanking the people I quickly left. Then I found myself
in front of the Grotto and he started to calm down, and stopped hitting himself.
I thanked Mary for that, and also because I had become aware of the friendship I had
for him. This is my first real, sincere friendship and
I thanked Mary for that. This was the first time I had a personal faith experience
and this helped me, and still helps me in my daily life.