Notes from the Lourdes Authorities
Report by the English-speaking Chaplain in Lourdes
Fr Liam Griffin OMI
Fr Liam is the English speaking Chaplain at the Shrine. You will know him by sight as the man who makes the introductions at the International Mass. He is very helpful behind the scenes throughout the year as pilgrimages come and go. He had a large part to play in getting us everything when we prepared for our 50th celebrations.
Each November he travels to the UK to make a report to the Association of Pilgrimage Directors of Great Britain.
The Following is a summary of some of the points in his report that may be of interest for you.
Perpetual Adoration
The Lourdes Authorities are concerned that this is not working. It has stopped being a popular practice and the Blessed Sacrament is often alone during the night. This poses a security problem.
Part of the problem is that many of the pilgrimages are ageing and workers need their sleep and so the tradition of perpetual adoration, which was begun in the Year of the Eucharist, may now be stopped.
The Chaplains have discussed how to make it more attractive but they cannot agree. They have a problem which is that Lourdes is supposed to bring people to Christ through Mary, however through the night people walk right past Jesus to visit the Grotto.
The Chaplains are particularly aware that this is the practice of many young people.
The Association pointed out that many young people value the experience of some quiet time at night at the Grotto and that this time of quiet was now restricted by the 11pm Mass and the fact that St Joseph’s Gate is closed at midnight.
The Association undertook to mention the concerns of the Chaplains to group leaders and also write a letter to the Lourdes Authorities requesting that
St Joseph’s Gate be kept open until 1am thus allowing more people to visit both the Grotto and the Blessed Sacrament more easily for longer.
Pilgrimage Numbers
Fr Liam reported that 6million people visited Lourdes in 2003 which means that numbers are stable.
Numbers of pilgrims from Great Britain increased considerably while there was a decline in numbers from Italy and France.
More and more pilgrims are travelling individually, that is not with an organised Pilgrimage. Interestingly, even those pilgrims who travel at the same time as their Diocesan Group but make their way there by other means are classed as individual pilgrims.
It is therefore very important to register all of your smaller groups such as school and parish groups with the main Pilgrimage.
Toilets in the Domain
There has been a plan in recent years to pull down the toilets near the baths on the Prairie. It was felt that this was a necessary step to stop sleazy behaviour in the Domain. Happily this problem seems to have been addressed satisfactorily and the loos will stay for the time being.
Fr Liam also reported that the Authorities were aware of problems with the cleanliness of the loos outside the St Bernadette Centre. These are the most accessible in the Domain and therefore get most use.
Over the past year there has been a problem with retaining staff for this kind of work, but the problem has now been addressed.
Toilet facilities at St Michael’s Gate have been renovated and extended.
Mass Cards
It is possible that some people in your group are asked to have a Mass said in Lourdes and bring a card back. The only place to do this is in the Domain. Some Hotels are now selling pre-stamped Mass cards, these have nothing to do with the Sanctuary of Lourdes. Bishop Perrier is tackling this problem and it should all be dealt with by the beginning of the season but if you see them do not buy them!
Notes for School Group Leaders
Travel Agent For The Main Pilgrimage
The Pilgrimage Organising Committee has appointed La Maison du Pelerin as the carrier for the Lourdes Pilgrimage. They are a Lourdes based company. Their sole agents in England are Bowen Travel based in Birmingham. They can be contacted on www.bowenstravel.co.uk
There are growing concerns and pressures on the Committee regarding the travel arrangements for the Pilgrimage. Some of these are to do with coach travel. You can read about these concerns elsewhere.
Lourdes Music Day
All ages and talents, singers and musicians, or supporters of Lourdes are welcome to the traditional pre Lourdes practice.
Contact Father John Paul Leonard on 01642 597750 or Mary Lombard for more information.
Insurance
Please make sure that your insurers are aware that the young people sometimes swim in a lake where there are no life guards and no properly marked swimming area and visit the mountains. Although supervised by staff, these would be classed as ‘hazardous activities’ and require correct insurance cover. Parents should be made aware of these activities and give specific permission for their children to take part.
The DfES publish guidelines for all school trips; you will have had to take them on board in planning and risk assessing your pilgrimage this year. Could you please notify us of any way in which you feel that our arrangements fall short of the new requirements. Thanks.
Medical Matters
Please complete a copy of enclosed medical form for each member of your party who has a medical condition which might need to be treated by our accompanying doctors. Return to Pilgrimage Office as instructed on form. If this form is not completed it is impossible for our pilgrimage doctors to offer assistance. You should consult a French GP, contacting them through Hotel reception. Please take the time to fill these forms in.
Pilgrimage Medical Director, Dr John O’Neill, writes, ‘If you or anyone you are responsible for, are currently suffering from a medical condition or disability requiring medical treatment, the information provided by completing the medical form will help should the condition require treatment in Lourdes. Our Doctors will only be able to treat those pilgrims who have completed this form.
Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults
We will continue to follow the procedure we adopted last year as part of making the Hospital ward a more secure environment for the sick pilgrims and the young people who help to care for them.
This means that we will require a complete list of ALL adult helpers travelling with each group. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL UNDER 18’s CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE
ADULTS AND MUST BE SUPERVISED.
Copies of these lists will be left on the Hospital Ward. Any person not listed WILL NOT be allowed to remove sick pilgrims from the ward under any circumstances.
We MUST INSIST THAT YOU ALL COMPLETE THE FORM.
CRB checks are needed for all group leaders who are not teachers. To access a CRB check for a helper specifically for the Lourdes Pilgrimage you must contact either Rev John Steel or Ann Brown at The Curial Office on 01642 850505 and ask for a CRB application form for a Lourdes Helper.
We MUST, MUST, MUST have all of this in place BEFORE WE GO.
Affiliation
The Lourdes Committee is working towards affiliating all those pilgrims who get to Lourdes by ways other than the official flight from Teesside. This will allow us to have many more official pilgrims in Lourdes. I know that, because of the way our Pilgrimage works this may seem a bit silly, but it would help us solve some very tricky problems and present ourselves as a much more closely co-operative group of people.
One of the interesting problems that the Organising Committee has had to face over the years is how we are viewed as a Pilgrimage by the different departments in Lourdes.
Many of the calculations made by them regarding the size of our Pilgrimage take as their starting point either the number of registered sick pilgrims we take or the number of people on the official flight. These numbers often ignore the vast numbers of pilgrims who make their way there by coach or train.
These calculations affect the venues that are considered for our use when we submit our needs each November. Not only the churches that are considered for our use but also the allocation of hospital space and the like. Interestingly, the only calculation made by the Lourdes Authorities, which actually takes our entire number into account, is the one made when Mr Monnory levies the 3-euro tax per pilgrim each year. The Lourdes Committee pays this.
Another problem that we have been asked to address is more subtle. In 2003 the Diocesan Trustee carried out a risk assessment on the entire Pilgrimage. One of the risks identified was one which dealt with people’s perceptions.
In reality only those pilgrims who travel on the Teesside flight and book with the Official carrier are part of the Official Pilgrimage.
The Diocese assumes that all other pilgrims who join us in Lourdes are travelling with respectable carriers and have ensured that they are insured to the correct level. The Diocese also assumes that these carriers are themselves bonded and insured as travel agents should be.
At the same time it is probably fair to say that most pilgrims who travel to Lourdes as part of a coach group assume that they are part of the Official Pilgrimage.
The easiest way to close this gap, ensure that safe cover of all and give us as many ‘official’ pilgrims in Lourdes as possible is to affiliate all of the coach operators and provide an affiliation process for individual pilgrims once they are in Lourdes.
After speaking with other Pilgrimage Directors to find out what their dioceses do we have adopted the model used by Birmingham.
A nominal fee will be paid by all coach operators for each pilgrim they carry. In return they will be able to advertise their services as ‘affiliated to the Middlesbrough Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes.’ Each pilgrim they carry will receive the same pilgrimage literature given to those pilgrims on the Teesside flight. This will mean that for the first time we will be able to ensure all pilgrims have the same information.
Funding Available
The Duchess of Leeds Assumption Fund is again making grants to young women in the north of England. If you are planning a period of voluntary work with a Christian community, either home or abroad; If you are starting a course which will enhance your understanding of the Christian faith; If you are taking part in Christian projects or pilgrimages the Duchess may be able to help you.
To qualify you must be female, over 18 but less than 25 years old and residing in one of the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, Middlesbrough or Leeds.
For further details write to:
The Management Committee,
Duchess of Leeds Assumption Fund,
28 Hexham Avenue,
Walker,
Newcastle on Tyne
NE6 3AL
Sanctuary Photographic Library
The Photographic Library forms part of the promotion service of the Sanctuary of Lourdes. They can provide, usually free of charge, a selection of images either on CD-Rom or by email, for your displays and publications. I know we all have our own photos but if you want a really good photo of the Grotto or of the Rosary Basilica for example this is the place to go. Email your requests to phototheque@lourdes-france.com
Way Of The Cross For The Sick
A new set of the Stations of the Cross has been commissioned to be unveiled in 2005 to celebrate the theme for that year, ‘The Sick and Those Who Serve Them.’ Sculptor Madame Maria-Zsuzsa de Faykod has already completed a set of full sized mock-ups and one of the actual stations carved in marble.
These Stations will be permanently placed on the Procession Esplanade turning each procession there into the Via Crucis.
All of the pilgrimages from England, Scotland and Wales will be coming together to finance one of these stations.
Lourdes Youth Service
Fr Yves Chalvet OMI is the Youth Chaplain for Lourdes. Sadly most of the activities he runs with the Lourdes Youth Service do not begin until mid June each year so we miss most of them.
One of the best things that he organises is an International Mass for young people which takes place in the St Bernadette Basilica throughout the month of July.
For more information contact the Lourdes Youth Service direct at sjeunes@lourdes-france.com
The Lourdes Youth Service are also on the look out for young people who wish to live a community life with them for a few weeks during the year, helping out and providing a welcome for pilgrims.
Obviously this is for older young people and may suit some of those you know who are keen but can’t get make the Pilgrimage because of exams. Check out http://www.lourdes-france.org/gb/gbsb0071.htm
