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Going to Lourdes

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What is A Pilgrimage?

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Our Pilgrimage

Lourdes is a place of renewal, a place where our relationship with Christ is deepened. Making the journey means entering a space in which we can be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in ways that, perhaps, we would never have thought possible before. The experience of pilgrimage changes us as we spend time in quiet reflection; as we open ourselves to forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the healing in the Sacrament of the Sick; as we receive the Eucharist that is the summit of all prayer.

Each year we bring with us in mind and heart those who cannot travel with us for whatever reason; those who have been with us on previous pilgrimages and have now gone before us marked with the sign of faith; the needs of a world that is torn apart in so many ways. Each pilgrimage is a time of blessing for pilgrims, especially the sick and frail, for our Diocese and – because the power of prayer knows no bounds – for the wider world.

Our pilgrimage to Lourdes is one of the most significant pastoral events in our diocesan calendar each year. Pilgrims travel in response to the call of Our Blessed Mother to St Bernadette, coming to the Shrine to wash in the waters of the spring and to pray.

With every blessing,

50th Anniversary Pilgrimage

2024 will be a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage, and the 20th Anniversary of the Redshirts youth programme, both of which have helped so many people encounter God’s love through witnessing the pilgrimage vison of ‘Love in Action’. Our hope for 2024 is that new and former pilgrims may hear Our Lady’s invitation to ‘Come to Lourdes in Procession’, the anniversary celebrations will be open to the whole Diocesan family, and we want to reach wider than just those travelling to Lourdes with us. Further details of special anniversary events in the UK will be advertised in the coming months.

The Pilgrimage Office


The St Philip Howard Centre
4 Southgate Drive,
Crawley,
West Sussex
RH10 6RP