Thank you so much for choosing my husband and me to join you on the Lourdes Pilgrimage. It was a very beautiful and spiritually enriching experience for both of us. We are both at peace knowing that the Blessed Mother will lovingly care for us always. It was also great to meet so many wonderful people. Tom and I look forward to the reunion in July.
Photo Gallery - Lourdes 2011
Below are the links to the nearly 800 photos taken by Burns McLindon, the official photographer of the Lourdes Committee.
View Gallery 1
View Gallery 2
The Order of Malta Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Each May, nearly 4,000 Knights and Dames from all over the world travel to Lourdes to learn firsthand what belonging to the Order of Malta really means - devotion, service, and fellowship. Dressed in distinctive uniforms and ministering to the sick and disabled (referred to as “malades” in French), the members of the Order form an international community of faith and service.
Making the pilgrimage can be a profound religious experience. Linked as it is with hands-on service, the pilgrimage offers unique spiritual gifts to all. Knights, Dames, Auxiliary members and volunteers are assigned to small teams, assisting a different malade each day from early morning into the evening. The schedule is full, but rewarding, and there is time for reflection and relaxation. There are doctors and nurses on hand to assist the teams and the malades. In addition to being a tremendous spiritual experience, the pilgrimage can also be a very enjoyable time. You will meet and work with other Knights and Dames from the Federal Association, and from around the world.
There is a limit on the number of people who may participate on the pilgrimage. A set number of spaces are reserved for malades and their companions. After that priority will be given to Knights and Dames (and their family members), candidates and members of the Auxiliary. All other applications will be considered after these first two groups are established. These reservations will be made on a first-come, first-served basis and a stand-by list will be created. Our group stays in three hotels (the St. Sauveur, the Panorama, and the D’Angleterre) that are side-by-side and very close to the Domaine.
If you would like to sponsor a sick or disabled person as a prospective malade for this year's pilgrimage, please contact the office (click here) and request a Malade Application.
The Association charters a spacious 767 aircraft to fly directly from Baltimore to Lourdes. This is a two-aisle aircraft with 245 seats. Both flights are non-stop.
A valid passport is required, and must not expire less than six months from our departure date. N.B. The expiration date must be at least 6 months later than our date of departure (May 2, 2012)
About the Marian Shrine at Lourdes, France
In 1858, in a cave, named Massabielle, situated in Lourdes in the Pyrénées of southern France, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on eighteen occasions to Bernadette Soubirous, a very poor, 14-year-old girl. The first of the apparitions took place on February 11th and the last on July 16th.
The lady - wearing a white dress with a blue sash and with gold roses at her feet -asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision and told Bernadette to drink from a fountain in the Grotto, "Go, drink of the waters and bathe yourself there." Though no fountain was to be seen, when Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition a spring began to flow.
The Auxilary & Lourdes
The Auxiliary is a group of Catholics typically but not limited to post-university age ranging from 21-40 who share in the ideals of the Order of Malta. The Lourdes Pilgrimage has come to enjoy a large following among the younger set of the Order. Caring for and tending to the Malades can at times be physically demanding. The days are long and many volunteers may be navigating the carts through the cobble-stoned streets among thousands of fellow pilgrims, often for hours and subject to the elements - which can vary widely. Since the sole focus of each volunteer is to attend to the needs of the Malades - it does sometimes require youth, physical vigor, and enthusiasm. And, though every volunteer approaches their role with joy, the Auxiliary members fulfill this role especially well and bring to the pilgrimage a needed and unique charism. It is often this spiritual experience of self-giving and sacrifice that awakens in the Auxiliary members a calling to the mission of the Order and, at the least, makes them devotees of the Lourdes Pilgrimage.