July marks 50 years since the first Liverpool Youth Pilgrimage. To mark this anniversary, we spoke to Louise Crossey who played an integral role in establishing the first archdiocesan Lourdes youth pilgrimage.

“Working for the archdiocesan youth service for 14 years was a fabulous job. I’d been a teacher before, and I went back into teaching afterwards, but those years were incredibly special.  

“I remember being invited to a meeting with Fr Pat Harnett because the Lourdes pilgrimage needed more support and helpers to work with the sick. Someone suggested that young people could come to help, and from there it just grew.

“I went around parishes across the whole archdiocese - even the Isle of Man -  knocking on doors and asking parish priests to invite young people to come along. Most of them didn’t have much money to go (it wasn’t for free), so they raised it themselves through parish donations, sponsored walks and raffles. A high percentage of the young people had never even been out of the city, never mind the country. Most of them didn’t even have passports, though thankfully my dad worked for the passport office so I helped them get one sorted.

“The first youth pilgrimage had two coaches filled with young people, chaplains and leaders, around 100 people total. We all wore black t-shirts on the first trip, as they were the cheapest, but over time we switched to red and now of course we have the famous yellow shirts the youth still wear today.

“The highlight for me was definitely the effect it had on the young people and the kids, socially, educationally and spiritually – it surpassed our wildest dreams of what we could give to the young people. They could go to another country – for many of them, for the first time – socialise with youth from all different areas of the archdiocese – even learning a bit of French. Many of them had never mixed outside their own area before, and suddenly they were forming friendships with young people from all over the archdiocese and beyond.  

“The journey itself became part of the pilgrimage. It took two nights to get there and we stayed in hostels on the way. The young people were nervous and apprehensive at first, but by the end of the journey they had all amalgamated together. They swapped seats, sang songs, played bingo and became one group. I can still remember making sandwich lunches for them on the coach using the cheapest fillings we could get – pilchards and Spam- the kids didn’t have much money, so we provided everything.

“When we arrived in Lourdes, the young people lined the station waiting for the sick pilgrims to arrive, cheering them as they came in. That spirit of care and joy stayed with them throughout the week. The young people brought vitality and fun to the pilgrimage, and it was incredible to see how naturally they looked after the sick pilgrims.

“My role in Lourdes was coordinating the work in the hospital and the number of young people needed in transporting the sick people to the grotto and other services often three times a day. Getting the timings and the numbers of young people right was essential to things running smoothly. I also organised which wards the young people would visit for the nightly sing songs to entertain the pilgrims.

Overall, it was a huge responsibility, but the whole experience was enjoyable. It really widened the horizons of so many young people.

“Ever since that first pilgrimage in 1976, many things have changed. They have gone from two coaches to seven, from staying in accommodation out of the city and improving modes of travel.

“But the aim has always stayed the same. To give the young people an understanding of a living faith.

“Some of those young people even met their future husbands and wives on pilgrimage, and now their own children go to Lourdes. I’m still in touch with some of the young people we first took. Some went on to be coach leaders, priests, deacons and nurses.

“By the time I left, we were taking around 500 young people from places including Liverpool, Crosby, St Helens, Lancashire, Warrington, Knowsley, Wigan and the Isle of Man.

“I’m delighted that the pilgrimage is still going strong today. What started with just two coaches became something really special for generations of young people, and for so many of us it truly was the most incredible week of the year.”