This summer, the Archdiocese of Liverpool will be celebrating 100 years since its first official pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have made the journey over to the south of France every year, with the exception of during World War II and the Covid-19 pandemic.

But what should people expect from the centenary year pilgrimage? We speak to Fr Grant Maddock, trustee of the Liverpool Archdiocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage association and one of the lead organisers to find out more.

Fr Grant said: “Celebrating our centenary year is an incredible achievement, the pilgrimage is always a truly special occasion, but this year it has much more significance.

“This year we have a strong focus on living the pilgrimage through the lens of the assisted pilgrims, we have made some changes to make the pilgrimage much more varied for them. We wanted to do this to put them back at the heart of the pilgrimage.

“This year, the assisted pilgrims will have the opportunity to have an afternoon out to Hosanna House and have a picnic there. They will have time to sit on the far side of the grotto and have time for reflection and prayer there in a quiet surrounding. We are also planning a bespoke garden party for them.

“We are delighted that the jumbulance will be travelling to Lourdes with us this year, allowing more assisted pilgrims to join us.”

Even if you are not travelling to Lourdes in the summer, then there is an opportunity to join in with the centenary celebrations.

Fr Grant said: “The centenary celebrations are for the whole archdiocesan family and we want to reach wider than just those travelling to Lourdes with us.

“On Sunday 25 June at 5pm, there is a special Lourdes centenary Mass at the Cathedral and we will be welcoming pilgrims past and present to come together and celebrate this historic milestone.

“We are welcoming anyone who has been on the pilgrimage or has family or friends who have been to share with us their memories, whether it is photographs or stories, so we can really capture the history of the pilgrimage.

“We are also welcoming parishes that have a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes to film parishioners saying a decade of the rosary, which will then be shared across the archdiocese in the build up to the pilgrimage. This is to get the whole archdiocesan family involved in this historic year.”

The Lourdes pilgrimage will run from Friday 21 July – Friday 28 July.  If you or a member of your family would like to travel to Lourdes as an assisted pilgrim with the archdiocesan pilgrimage please contact Debbie at our Lourdes office on 07484911623. 

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