Pilgrimage

Paddy, Val & Pam were torch bearers and walked alongside the statues. On either side were two ranks of the Guardians of Walsingham in their long, blue velvet capes. Fr Holdridge, Fr Kevin Smith and Mrs Betty Jarrett were amongst this august bunch. We set off in a very long procession around the Sanctuaries area and were joined by thousands of pilgrims, all with candles in little shades, and then returned to the steps outside the Basilica. The three of us carrying the torches thought we had finished as the statues were placed on their plinths, but not a bit of it, we were put into position by the “Officials” and there we had to stand with our torches for the next 50 minutes without moving!!!! But the sight from our position at the top of the steps, when everyone in the procession filled the area in front of us, was the most amazing thing we have ever seen, as everyone had candles and each time we sang ‘Ave Maria', they would all raise their candles in the air. To feel a part of all this was very emotional and you thought, well seeing all these thousands of people here, even the most ardent non-believer, (had they been present), would have thought there must be something in this “religion business”, they can't all be nutters!

The procession was made all the more special by the arrival of Cardinal Kasper who is president of the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian unity and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd Rowan Williams. After a wonderful day we made our way back to the hotel bar before making our way to our rooms.

Look out in next month's magazine for the conclusion of our pilgrimage.

The Priory Pilgrims

Pilgrimage to Lourdes – 22 nd to 26th September 2008

We have so much to tell everyone about this Pilgrimage, it is going to have to be “serialised”.

Where do we start? Well the 5 day weather forecasters all got it wrong, cloud and showers were expected, but our very own miracle was beautiful

sunshine and 5 warm days. First we must try and describe Lourdes , which is really a very large town and it is situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees , (and no one tells you beforehand that it is built on hills and trying to push wheelchairs around is very hard work!) We decided that Lourdes was definitely NOT wheelchair friendly! And yet, we have never seen so many wheelchairs all in one place.

On Monday 22 nd September a party of 21 people set off at 3.30 a.m. to Manchester Airport (this meant of course that we had to be up and about by 2.00 a.m. !!) On the flight out, somebody told the crew a certain Frank Underwood was 70 that day and it was announced to the whole plane, with much singing, cheering and clapping. We flew directly to Lourdes and on our arrival at the hotel had just enough time to put our luggage into our room before having the first of many meals. In the afternoon most people needed a rest, as we had been up so early!

Our first service was at the Basilica at 5.00 p.m. We were told there was a ramp for wheelchair entry – Oh yes, but they did not tell us it was a 5 minute uphill walk to get in! That was our first experience of the hills in Lourdes and by the end of the week our wheelchair “pushers” had found muscles they never knew they had! At this first Mass, Fr Philip Corbett was a Deacon and read the Gospel, after Ivy had read the first lesson. Following Mass, we were all handed our Jubilee Way medallions and the first of four stickers – we received one sticker for each of four stages we needed to do to complete the Jubilee Way. We then processed down a zigzag path (brakes on the wheelchairs!) to the Grotto, which is built into the rockface, with the Basilica rising above it, an amazing feat of architecture and building. At the end of this very long day we had to retire to the bar in the hotel for a quick nightcap.

It was whilst we were all sitting in the bar that we noticed George & Mark were missing. They were sharing a room and when they went in they found it was occupied by a BAT ! Of course they reported this to Reception and various means were tried to persuade this bat to fly away but to no avail, so a specialist had to be called in and poor George and Mark had to wait until they could go to bed. Of course, you can imagine when they came downstairs to tell us about this there were shrieks of laughter, much singing of the Batman theme and they were both renamed, Batman & Robin for the rest of the week!

Tuesday dawned and after a hearty breakfast our first Mass was in St Joseph 's Chapel. Afterwards we took part in Stations of the Cross, either taking the High route, (which meant you had to climb a mountain and achieved by some in our party), or the Low one, (which was aimed at the less able and supposed to be on the flat), but again they didn't tell you what the terrain was like and in both cases it was BAD. But that didn't detract from the solemnity of the occasion, and the settings for both Stations were amazing. On the high route the Stations were tableaux of life size figures and painted gold, and on the low route they were carved white marble and equally beautiful. After the Stations we all met again at lunch, which was 3 courses (diet begins next week!). In the afternoon we all decided to do the rest of the Jubilee Walk. The 4 places in the town we needed to walk to were where Bernadette was baptised, lived, made her first Holy Communion, and the grotto and we obtained a sticker to prove we had been to each place. Well, it was hot, it was a long walk, it was mostly uphill, we had 5 wheelchairs to push and hundreds of other people had the same idea, so it was crowded!. What a challenge! What a penance! Poor Fr Spicer, Fr Corbett and the other “pushers” had sweat pouring from them, but we did it and what a great sense of achievement we experienced at the end. Mind you, one little shop halfway round was completely bought out of all its water as we descended upon it, gasping for a drink. We had to hurry back to get to the Rosary Basilica for sung mass which started at 5.00 p.m. After mass we went back to the hotel and just had time for a quick wash and brush up before yet another 4 course meal!!

Tuesday night was the Big Occasion for us, as we took part in the Torchlight procession, which takes place every evening at 9.00 p.m. But this time it was even more special because the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham (having been transported all the way to Lourdes in a white van driven by Fr. North) was being paraded along with Our Lady of Lourdes. George and Mark were among the bearers of the statue and

In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 a.m.  regardless of their medical condition.  This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 a.m. Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 a.m. all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits. Just when the clock struck 11:00 , Willie Johnson, the part-time Sunday cleaner , entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.

Wednesday was another early start. After breakfast we needed to get to the Underground Basilica of St Pius X for Mass which started at 9.30 a.m. , but as this was an International Mass we needed to be in the “underground garage” as we all called the very amazing feat of engineering at least an hour beforehand to have any chance of getting a seat. It was rather like a football stadium with seats in the middle and standing room all round the sides. There were 25,000 people at this International Mass at which the Archbishop of Canterbury gave the address and everything was translated into various languages which appeared on huge screens. People were from all over the world and it seemed as if the procession of clergy and bishops in “pointy hats” would never end……. another awe-inspiring sight. Again, Worksop Priory pilgrims were involved as Frank & Andrew were 2 of the bearers for the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham and walked in this procession to the huge square altar in the middle of the building. Later they assisted 2 of the Bishops in the sprinkling by carrying the holy water. Those of us with cameras were trying to get the most out of our zoom lenses to capture the perfect picture, they seemed so far away in this huge place. It was amazing to witness so many people taking holy communion, as with everything at Lourdes the organisation is second to none. After the mass we made our way back to the hotel for lunch.

So to the afternoon, when we all split up to do our own thing, some went to the baths for immersion in the waters, some went to the Conference with the Archbishop and some just played truant and caught the funicular up the mountain to gaze at the view of Lourdes one way and the high Pyrenees the other, quite spectacular! Then it was quickly back to take part in the Blessed Sacrament Procession, with our Fr. Philip in prominent position carrying the Gospel.

To end this day, we had a Reception at our hotel for all the Anglican pilgrims and to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Kasper. We all had drinks and nibbles (some people had more drinks than others, but I won't say who, although one member of our group accosted the Archbishop and demanded to know when he was coming to the Priory and could we have some money to refurbish the Gatehouse and church hall!!) Hmmm! However, it was a very sociable and pleasant hour. It enabled us to meet with our fellow pilgrims, some of whom were staying at our hotel and to meet old friends like Fr Holdridge and Fr Kevin Smith and his Mum, Bishop Martin & Mrs Jarrett, Bishop Andrew Burnham, to name but a few…… After the reception there was of course our 4 course meal (yet more food!). Several of our party went out for a stroll and ended up sitting outside one of the bars watching the world go by.

Thursday morning we all gathered again in St Joseph 's chapel for the Liturgy of Reconciliation & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. During this service we had the laying on of hands and anointing with holy oils. It was again a very emotional service and presided over by the Archbishop. At the end we all walked to the Grotto to present our Pilgrimage Candle which was so big it had to be wheeled in. One of the amazing facts was that although there were so many thousands of people in Lourdes whenever we visited any of the shrines there was so much serenity.

In the afternoon, we had an optional excursion to Betharram, a small village about 10 km from Lourdes . The coach ride gave us an insight into the countyside and rural architecture of the area and concluded with Mass at the church where St. Bernadette had worshipped.

Thursday evening was our last night and many of us decided to go and watch the torchlight procession, this time from a different angle and we climbed up the Basilica steps as high as we could. What a sight! Once again we were overcome by the amount of people who were there and the spectacle of all those lights. Naturally for the last night we ended up in a local bar, well sitting outside actually, it was such a nice evening.

Friday morning, alarm clock on for 6.00 a.m, some bad heads, but hey we have one more service in St Joseph's Chapel at 7.00 a.m and the Bishop of Pontefract was presiding (he was the best looking Bishop there and some ladies amongst our group christened him the “Dishy Bishy”) So our last Mass, and after a quick breakfast it was time to pack our bags and await the coach for the airport. Another pleasant flight brought us back to Manchester and finally home to Worksop. An experience we shall all never forget, an opportunity to get to know people, to meet old friends and above all to celebrate our Faith with such joy and hope for the future.

The Priory Pilgrims