On Monday 22nd September until Friday 26th September over 430 lay members of the Church of England along with over 60 clergy and 7 bishops made pilgrimage to the Grotto at Massabielle, Lourdes - one of the most popular Shrines in Europe.
From Tuesday evening until Thursday lunchtime we were joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury and some of his staff. The Pilgrimage was led by the Bishop of Whitby: the Rt Rev’d Robert Ladds SSC, Fr Graeme Rowlands SSC (Chaplain General of the Society of Mary), Fr Philip North CMP (Administrator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham) and Fr Noel Wynne (Administrator of the Roman Catholic Shrine at Walsingham).
The pilgrimage opened with a Mass & the Renewal of our Baptismal Promises in the Upper Basilica which sits on top of the cliff above the Grotto. The Bishop of Whitby was the Principal Celebrant and our own Bishop Andrew preached the Homily. After the Mass we all processed to the Grotto along the path that St Bernadette took the day she first saw Our Lady.
Late that evening Fr Victor Bullock and I decided to visit the Grotto expecting (at 11:30pm) to find it fairly empty and be able to say our prayers in peace. We discovered Exposition and Benediction taking place before hundreds of people of all nationalities. The sense of stillness and prayer was very moving and we found no difficulty in participating and in having our own space for personal prayer.
On the Tuesday morning we all met for Morning Prayer which was followed by a celebration of the Stations of the Cross - following the path up the large hill nearby and stopping for Scripture Readings and Prayers at each of the life-size Stations.
It being the 150th Anniversary of the Apparitions we followed the Jubilee way in the afternoon, visiting places associated with St Bernadette: The Grotto, where she saw Our Lady, the Parish Church and the font in which she was baptised, the Cachot (the disused prison cell she and her family were living in, due to poverty, at the time of the Apparitions), and the Hospital run by the Nuns who prepared her for her First Communion after the Apparitions.
In the early evening we gathered for the Mass in the Rosary Basilica (which sits at the foot of the cliff below the Upper Basilica). The Bishop of Blackburn was the Principal Celebrant and the Homilist was the Bishop In Europe.
At 9:00pm (and each evening) along with tens of thousands of pilgrims we gathered by the Grotto and processed from there along the Esplanade to the Piazza outside the Rosary Basilica for the recitation of the mysteries of the Rosary in the Torchlight Procession. On this evening we were joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Walter Kasper. All Bishops and Clergy present, including those of us from the CofE, ascended the steps outside the Basilica to join together in pronouncing the Blessing of the Pilgrims.
On the Wednesday at least 25,000 pilgrims gathered in the underground Basilica dedicated to St Pius X. This was the most moving occasion for us. All the Anglican Priests were dressed in Cotta and Stole and our Bishops were resplendent in purple cassocks, cottas and mozettas. Our Deacons led the priests in and one of our Deacons was fully vested in a Dalmatic and read the Gospel which was a first in Church of England / Roman Catholic relations. The Archbishop, vested in Cope and Mitre not Convocation dress, entered alongside Cardinal Kasper and preached the most wonderful Homily. Four Church of England Ordinands were serving at the altar. Water from the well at Walsingham was mixed with Lourdes water for the sprinkling in the Penitential Rite and an image of Our Lady of Walsingham was processed in flanked by our own Guardians of the Holy House. It seemed like a huge step on the way to the reunuion for which we have prayed, but then one realised that if the CofE proceeds to attempt to consecrate women as Bishops then this could be the first and only time such wonderful things could happen. As a result there was a mixture of uplifting and distressing emotions in this Mass. After this Mass we processed to the Grotto with the image of Our Lady of Walsingham for prayers and thousands of pilgrims were taking photographs of her.
Immediately after lunch I found time to go to the Grotto and pray for your intentions and light candles for you. A little later in the afternoon we attended an ecumenical conference where Cardinal Kasper and the Archbishop of Canterbury both gave lectures and answered questions. This was followed by the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament along with tens of thousands of Pilgrims. Again CofE clergy were properly attired and the Archbishop of Canterbury led us in falling to our knees before the Blessed Sacrament as we received Benediction. In the evening there was an ecumenical reception and an exchange of gifts. The day ended with the Torchlight Procession.
On the Thursday the Archbishop celebrated a said Mass at 7:00am in the Rosary Basilica and then after breakfast led a Liturgy of Reconciliation in St Joseph’s Chapel. There were penitential prayers followed by the Laying on of Hands and Anointing and it was very moving to see the Archbishop be the first to go forward to receive the Laying on of Hands from one of his priests and Anointing from another. The Archbishop then concluded the Liturgy with a Celebration of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. He then joined us for prayers, which he led, in the Grotto. Our huge pilgrimage candle was lit and the Archbishop then led us all by walking around the Grotto until he got to the point beneath the niche where our Lady appears (and her image is placed) whereupon he knelt and leant fully along the bare rock in prayer before kissing the rock and rising. He then spent time with us talking and signing autographs, before departing for Lambeth.
After Lunch we went by coach to Bartrez where Bernadette was sent when the family could not afford to feed her and where she helped on her Uncle’s farm tending the sheep. We then went to Betharram to the Passionist’s Shrine of Our Lady for our Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Richborough and where the Homilist was the Bishop of Whitby. The Torchlight Procession ended the day.
From Tuesday evening until Thursday lunchtime we were joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury and some of his staff. The Pilgrimage was led by the Bishop of Whitby: the Rt Rev’d Robert Ladds SSC, Fr Graeme Rowlands SSC (Chaplain General of the Society of Mary), Fr Philip North CMP (Administrator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham) and Fr Noel Wynne (Administrator of the Roman Catholic Shrine at Walsingham).
The pilgrimage opened with a Mass & the Renewal of our Baptismal Promises in the Upper Basilica which sits on top of the cliff above the Grotto. The Bishop of Whitby was the Principal Celebrant and our own Bishop Andrew preached the Homily. After the Mass we all processed to the Grotto along the path that St Bernadette took the day she first saw Our Lady.
Late that evening Fr Victor Bullock and I decided to visit the Grotto expecting (at 11:30pm) to find it fairly empty and be able to say our prayers in peace. We discovered Exposition and Benediction taking place before hundreds of people of all nationalities. The sense of stillness and prayer was very moving and we found no difficulty in participating and in having our own space for personal prayer.
On the Tuesday morning we all met for Morning Prayer which was followed by a celebration of the Stations of the Cross - following the path up the large hill nearby and stopping for Scripture Readings and Prayers at each of the life-size Stations.
It being the 150th Anniversary of the Apparitions we followed the Jubilee way in the afternoon, visiting places associated with St Bernadette: The Grotto, where she saw Our Lady, the Parish Church and the font in which she was baptised, the Cachot (the disused prison cell she and her family were living in, due to poverty, at the time of the Apparitions), and the Hospital run by the Nuns who prepared her for her First Communion after the Apparitions.
In the early evening we gathered for the Mass in the Rosary Basilica (which sits at the foot of the cliff below the Upper Basilica). The Bishop of Blackburn was the Principal Celebrant and the Homilist was the Bishop In Europe.
At 9:00pm (and each evening) along with tens of thousands of pilgrims we gathered by the Grotto and processed from there along the Esplanade to the Piazza outside the Rosary Basilica for the recitation of the mysteries of the Rosary in the Torchlight Procession. On this evening we were joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Walter Kasper. All Bishops and Clergy present, including those of us from the CofE, ascended the steps outside the Basilica to join together in pronouncing the Blessing of the Pilgrims.
On the Wednesday at least 25,000 pilgrims gathered in the underground Basilica dedicated to St Pius X. This was the most moving occasion for us. All the Anglican Priests were dressed in Cotta and Stole and our Bishops were resplendent in purple cassocks, cottas and mozettas. Our Deacons led the priests in and one of our Deacons was fully vested in a Dalmatic and read the Gospel which was a first in Church of England / Roman Catholic relations. The Archbishop, vested in Cope and Mitre not Convocation dress, entered alongside Cardinal Kasper and preached the most wonderful Homily. Four Church of England Ordinands were serving at the altar. Water from the well at Walsingham was mixed with Lourdes water for the sprinkling in the Penitential Rite and an image of Our Lady of Walsingham was processed in flanked by our own Guardians of the Holy House. It seemed like a huge step on the way to the reunuion for which we have prayed, but then one realised that if the CofE proceeds to attempt to consecrate women as Bishops then this could be the first and only time such wonderful things could happen. As a result there was a mixture of uplifting and distressing emotions in this Mass. After this Mass we processed to the Grotto with the image of Our Lady of Walsingham for prayers and thousands of pilgrims were taking photographs of her.
Immediately after lunch I found time to go to the Grotto and pray for your intentions and light candles for you. A little later in the afternoon we attended an ecumenical conference where Cardinal Kasper and the Archbishop of Canterbury both gave lectures and answered questions. This was followed by the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament along with tens of thousands of Pilgrims. Again CofE clergy were properly attired and the Archbishop of Canterbury led us in falling to our knees before the Blessed Sacrament as we received Benediction. In the evening there was an ecumenical reception and an exchange of gifts. The day ended with the Torchlight Procession.
On the Thursday the Archbishop celebrated a said Mass at 7:00am in the Rosary Basilica and then after breakfast led a Liturgy of Reconciliation in St Joseph’s Chapel. There were penitential prayers followed by the Laying on of Hands and Anointing and it was very moving to see the Archbishop be the first to go forward to receive the Laying on of Hands from one of his priests and Anointing from another. The Archbishop then concluded the Liturgy with a Celebration of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. He then joined us for prayers, which he led, in the Grotto. Our huge pilgrimage candle was lit and the Archbishop then led us all by walking around the Grotto until he got to the point beneath the niche where our Lady appears (and her image is placed) whereupon he knelt and leant fully along the bare rock in prayer before kissing the rock and rising. He then spent time with us talking and signing autographs, before departing for Lambeth.
After Lunch we went by coach to Bartrez where Bernadette was sent when the family could not afford to feed her and where she helped on her Uncle’s farm tending the sheep. We then went to Betharram to the Passionist’s Shrine of Our Lady for our Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Richborough and where the Homilist was the Bishop of Whitby. The Torchlight Procession ended the day.
Within living memory our shared experience of these days would have been unimaginable; are they now, with “experiments in ministry” (to quote the Archbishop) going to become irrelevant? I fear so, but hope that fidelity to that which has been revealed by Christ may prevail.
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