Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”  Albert Pike

Between February and July of 1858, a fourteen-year old girl named Bernadette Soubirous saw apparitions of a “white-robed” lady 18 times in the small grotto called Massabiele, near the town of Lourdes. The lady would later reveal herself, “I am the Immaculate Conception”. It was Mary, the mother of Jesus. One day Our Lady told Bernadette to dig in the mud. As she did, a spring of water began to flow.

The next day it continued to grow larger and larger. Many miracles happened when people began to use this water. Since that time, four to six million pilgrims from around the world visit the shrine each year and more than 200 million pilgrims have come to Lourdes since 1860. Archbishop Beck Catholic College offers a special program for Students to answer the call to travel to Lourdes.

On July 17th, 40 students from the College visited Lourdes for 6 days. Trip Organiser Dave Postlewaite said “it was a unique experience and has been on offer to our young people for many years; in fact that was the 20th pilgrimage from the College. They made the 900 mile journey to this small town in southern France. This unique experience gave our students a chance to see a profoundly spiritual place that people from across the globe visit on a daily basis and we believe that an education at Beck is not just confined to the classroom.”