The Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes is one of the biggest events in the diocese.   The pilgrimage began in 1949, when it went mostly overland.  The 1953 pilgrimage was aborted at Paris, but apart from that year, there have been pilgrimages from Dublin and Ireland every year since. The 2004 pilgrimage is the 54th Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to reach Lourdes.  No other diocesan event brings so many people together. The pilgrimage is a reflection of the Irish tradition of devotion to Our Blessed Lady which has developed over the years.  In fact, the Irish have the largest presence in Lourdes of any European nation per head of population.

The pilgrimage runs on two lungs: the ordinary pilgrims accommodated in hotels in the town; the sick pilgrims, originally accommodated in the old Accueil and, since 1997, in the new Accueil de Notre Dame.  The care of the sick pilgrims involves handmaids, brancardier, young people, doctors and nurses, all of whom come at their own expense. It is the sick pilgrims and their helpers that are at the centre of the pilgrimage.

Each year the pilgrimage begins with a mass in the grotto celebrated by the leader of the pilgrimage, traditionally the Archbishop of Dublin.  Each day all pilgrims attend the different ceremonies, the sick pilgrims being brought by the handmaids in brancardier.

The pilgrimage is carried out in a spirit of recollection and reconciliation throughout. While people might pray for physical miracles, the real miracles of Lourdes occur within the realms of the heart. Mgr. Stephen Greene sees the attitude of many reflected in an old-time prayer to Our Lady:

You won’t say you won’t
You can’t say you can’t
But you will, won’t you
 

Photographs:
© Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes
© Dublin Diocese Communications Office

Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes