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Based on a request from a large segment of our travelers, this pilgrimage now also will include a stop in Nevers, France, where St. Bernadette’s body lies incorrupt. The cost for this pilgrimage has not changed.

You will now arrive in Paris, France, then be transported to St. Gildard Convent, the mother house of the Sisters of Charity in Nevers, where you will view the incorrupt body of Saint Bernadette in a sealed coffin of gold and glass at the Chapel of Saint Bernadette.

Then it’s back to Paris for dinner and some nighttime sightseeing, with a full day in Paris to follow. After that, it’s five nights in Lourdes where you will visit the Grotto of Massabielle, the three basilicas at Lourdes, and several other places associated with Saint Bernadette’s life.

More Information is Just a Click or Call away

Click here for the complete itinerary; call Lois Fusco at Catholic Communications 413.452.0837 with questions; or click here to send us an email.

Spiritual Leadership Hails from Two Counties Within the Diocese

(Msgr. Homer Gosselin)

Our pilgrims will benefit from having exemplary spiritual guides. Monsignor Homer P. Gosselin who pastors Saint John the Baptist Parish in Ludlow (Hampden County) celebrates the fortieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood next year. He speaks and understands the French language.

Before he came to Saint Charles Parish in Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Reverend Peter A. Gregory, who celebrates his thirty-fifth anniversary in the priesthood this July, had been serving in Belgium for many years and made annual pilgrimages to Lourdes with the members of his congregation.

(Father Peter Gregory)

Your Participation Helps to Support Catholic Communications’ Many Outreach Programs

Your participation in this pilgrimage will help to support Catholic Communications’ Chalice of Salvation weekly Mass which is broadcast to 28,000 elderly and sick homebound within our diocese each week, as well as our award-winning biweekly newspaper, The Catholic Observer and our top-rated show in its time slot, Real to Reel. It is our mission to bring the hope and faith that is Lourdes to viewers and readers through our reporters’ accounts of this pilgrimage.

Bernadette is the Patron Saint of the Sick and the Poor

Bernadette was born in 1844 of very poor parents in the town of Lourdes, France, and spent most of her childhood and just about all of her adulthood in the convent in poor health. She lost much school time due to severe asthma attacks. Saint Bernadette died on April 16, 1879. That day is now her Feast Day. She is the patron saint of the sick and the poor.

The Blessed Virgin first appeared to Saint Bernadette when she was 14 years old. There were 18 apparitions in all. At the age of 22, Saint Bernadette became a Sister of Charity at Nevers. Her incorrupt body remains at the mother house in Nevers to this day.

©Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1933, Saint Bernadette was canonized, thus fulfilling the promise that the Blessed Mother had made to her in 1858: “I do not promise to bring you happiness in this world, but in the next.”

Pope Grants Plenary Indulgence for Lourdes Pilgrimage

This being the sesquicentennial of the Marian apparitions, Pope Benedict XVI has authorized a special indulgence to encourage renewed holiness. Those making the Catholic Communications pilgrimage will receive a plenary indulgence for their public devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes, provided they fulfill the normal requirements. Click here to read the full text of this story.

At each location the faithful should end their meditation by praying the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed and a special jubilee prayer to Mary.

150th Anniversary Year Celebrations Abound

This being a Jubilee Year of the Marian apparitions at Lourdes, a great deal is happening throughout the year, not the least of which will be a visit by Pope Benedict XVI from September 13 through 15.

According to Bishop Jacques Perrier, bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, the Jubilee Year should be a celebration of all who are associated with Lourdes throughout the world. Toward that goal, he instituted twelve “Missions” for the Church of the third Millenium, among them:
*the Church in Mission with the Sick
*the Church in Mission with People with Disability
*the Church in Mission with the Marginalized
*the Church in Mission with Young People
*the Church in Mission with Mary.

Click here to read more.

The Basilica of Saint Pius X Also Celebrates an Anniversary

Lourdes is, indeed, blessed to be celebrating two milestones in 2008. Earlier this year, members of the Association for the memory and spread of the works of engineer Eugene Freyssinet gathered at the last great building of the man who invented re-enforced concrete. The occasion was the Golden Jubilee of the construction of the Basilica of Saint Pius X, also known as the Underground Basilica. It was first conceived as a large shelter for pilgrims by then Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Monsignor Theas.

At the inauguration of the Basilica, the future Pope John XXIII, then Cardinal Roncalli, did not like the “spider” or star-like design of the bearing structures, but “moved by the communion of the faithful around him” declared himself “converted” to the architecture, which was the work of Pierre Vago.

A Respite for the Indigent Who Want to Visit Lourdes

For those on the fringe of society, there exists the Cite Saint-Pierre, a place of accommodating pilgrims who do not have the funds to pay for a hotel. It was started in 1955 at the request of Monsignor Theas so those with little to no financial means, like Saint Bernadette, still could make a pilgrimage to Lourdes. One must apply and be accepted for a stay at the Cite Saint-Pierre.

Resources Available to Prepare for Your Visit to Lourdes

Those travelers who like to be prepared might want to check out the official web site for the 150th anniversary: www.lourdes2008.com. It answers many questions such as how to obtain water from the Grotto, how to have a Mass said, how to have a candle burned, how to be bathed in the Baths, and much more. If you’re not computer savvy or you don’t own a personal computer, all it takes is a library card to get started online.

If you prefer to read a book, the Grotto Library in Lourdes recommends several, including The Spiritual Handbook of the Jubilee, Pilgrims Guide – 112 pages to help pilgrims make the most of their time in Lourdes both from a practical and spiritual sense.

With a little more time, there is a well written gem published by Magnificat USA LLC. The Wonders of Loudes is a more than 600-page tomb, but each chapter is a quick read about miracles that happened, although not all were recognized by the Catholic Church (only 67 cures at Lourdes have been recognized as miraculous); about the excitement of a young boy whose grandfather’s great-grandfather built the Baths there; about the two (soon to be three) Marian Congresses held at Lourdes;about past Jubilees, and so much more.

To read this treasure is to more fully understand the history of Lourdes, and it is a rich history! When you read this book, you will begin to comprehend the faith and hope that continue to bring so many people to Lourdes today. You cannot help but be moved by the stories recounted in this book, many taken directly from the Lourdes archives.

Perhaps Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado, said it best: “….a work like no other – a beautiful, grand, engaging and wonderfully comprehensive history of the Lourdes story that calls us back to the virtue of hope.…”

Oberammergau, Germany Passion Play 2010

Join Catholic Communications, diocesan Director of Vocations Father Gary Dailey, and Deacon Bill and Mary Toller for the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany from August 20 - 30, 2010.
Click here for details.