Parish OfficeTHE RECTOR’S PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES
I cannot say that I have always been a great enthusiast for the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. I had visited the town and the shrine as a tourist, but never until September had I journeyed there as a pilgrim. Now I had better confess from the start that at least part of my motive for going was to ‘keep an eye’ on the St Wilfrid’s statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, which was travelling to Lourdes at the request of the Guardians of the Shrine and of The Bishop of Whitby - and another bit of me wanted to know what was going on that involved our image of Our Lady. I might never have booked myself a place on the pilgrimage with the necessary flights and hotels and so on, but Fr Philip North, the Priest Administrator of the shrine invited me to share the driving of a white van to transport the statue and various other items of liturgical paraphernalia from Harrogate and Walsingham to Lourdes. I am so glad that I accepted the challenge! What follows is a kind of diary of the days of the pilgrimage:
Saturday September 20th
8.00 a.m. Pick up white van in Starbeck before returning to St Wilfrid’s to collect the Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, oasis for flowers and the carrying howder. Eat breakfast. Pick up bags. Set off to Walsingham.
4.00 p.m. Say evening prayers & go to Mass. Have supper. Join in benediction & procession.
9.00 p.m. Load up white van with boxes of ecclesiastical necessities & gallons of Walsingham Water from the Holy Well.
10.00 p.m. Planning session with Fr North & Mr Peter Macken, stiff whisky and bed.
Sunday 21st
2.30 a.m. Alarm goes off!
3.20 a.m. Very quick coffee with the other Fr White Van Man before setting off, picking up Peter and driving as far as Rochester where I swap seats with Fr Philip who drives us to Dover.
8.00 a.m. Aboard the ferry for a hearty ‘Full English’ with super-caffeinated coffee.
10.00 a.m. (local time) drive…and drive…and drive towards Souliac in the Dordogne region, stopping only for a sandwich.
8.30 p.m. Arrive at hotel in Souliac and taste best ever bottle of chilled white Bergerac. Mobile phone died. Excellent meal. Bed.
Monday 22nd
9.00 a.m. Depart Souliac after not-so-full un-English breakfast & head for Lourdes, arriving about midday. Unpack.
6.00 p.m. Concelebrate opening Mass with Bishop of Whitby and about 70 other Anglican clergy in the upper basilica of the shrine.
8.30 p.m. Excellent evening meal with other pilgrims in a Lourdes Restaurant & return to hotel after hair-raising moment when car seemed locked in multi-story overnight.
Tuesday 23rd
Quieter day but with Mass in Rosary Basilica at 5.00 p.m. Bishop of Blackburn celebrates & Bishop of Europe, Dr Geoffrey Rowell, preaches.
9.00 pm Torchlight procession with statues of Our Lady of Lourdes & Our Lady of Walsingham carried in procession. 20-25,000 pilgrims singing & praying in procession. Huge interest in our statue. Countless pilgrims want to touch or kiss the image. Our Lady besieged by paparazzi!
Wednesday 24th
9.30 a.m. International Mass with tens of thousands of pilgrims (500 Anglicans). Robe in cotta & stole. We are welcomed in every conceivable European language. Guardians carry in statue of Our Lady of Walsingham which is censed by Cardinal Kasper once he has censed the altar. He comes in side by side with Archbishop of Canterbury who wears splendid cope and mitre. Gospel read in 4 languages by 4 deacons; an Anglican reads in English. Servers are all Anglican Ordinands. Clever penitential rite: instead of absolution, cleansing mixed water from the wells of Walsingham & Lourdes is sprinkled over everyone – by the Anglican bishops. Memorable sermon by Dr Rowan Williams.
3.00 p.m. Ecumenical Conference. Archbishop of Canterbury & Cardinal Kasper make presentations on place of Mary in Christian theology. Profound agreement expressed. Some ecumenical questions asked & difficult issues aired.
5.00 p.m. Procession of Blessed Sacrament. Archbishop of Canterbury follows immediately behind sacrament and at the end joins in giving benediction to the sick.
6.30 p.m. Reception followed by dinner with Archbishop, Cardinal, Guardians of the Shrine OLW and officials of Society of Mary.
Thursday 25th
7.30 a.m. Dr Williams celebrates Mass for Anglicans (and stray Roman Catholics) in the Rosary Basilica.
9.00 a.m. Fr North leads liturgy of healing & anointing. Archbishop of Canterbury gives Benediction.
11.15 a.m. The Archbishop of Canterbury leads devotions in the Grotto, kisses the stone and leads the crowds in singing the Salve Regina (Latin hymn to Mary). An English Roman Catholic priest standing next to MCRS begins to weep with emotion, declaring it an ecumenical miracle.
Evening Dinner & Bed
Friday 26th
One day drive from Lourdes to Calais. Very tiring!
Saturday 27th
7.00 a.m. Leave hotel to board ferry at 8.00 a.m. Another wonderful English Breakfast! Drive to Walsingham via London (lunch with Fr Philip’s mum) and on to Harrogate. ‘Back to Church Sunday’ in the morning!
Read the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsigham's account of the Lourdes pilgrimage.
