"Our Lady of Lourdes: A Message of Grace, Hope and Joy"

September 12, 2007 Dear Friends in Christ:

As part of the ongoing “Year of Spirituality” here in the Archdiocese of Chicago, I have been writing and speaking more frequently about the basic practices that shape and define a Catholic way of life. Throughout the Church’s history, pilgrimage has been one of these practices. Whether to parishes or shrines in one’s own neighborhood or to holy places overseas, pilgrimages, journeys that are made for an intentionally spiritual purpose, form us as disciples of the Lord, deepen our unity with the Universal Church and express our faith in a public way that invites others to follow Christ. During 2008, groups from the Archdiocese of Chicago will travel as pilgrims to the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada and to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. I am writing to tell you about another major event next year, an Archdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes, France where we will join Catholics from all over the world in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette. This spiritual journey has been titled, “Our Lady of Lourdes: A Message of Grace, Hope and Joy.” About 200 pilgrims will travel with me to Lourdes, and I hope that the composition of the group will represent a cross-section of the Catholics of this Archdiocese. We will depart Chicago on August 2 and 3 and return on August 9 and 10, 2008. I would like pastors, parish pastoral councils, and parish ministers to nominate individuals, couples or families to go to Lourdes as representatives of their communities. Those who cannot afford to pay the entire cost of the trip will be assisted in meeting their travel expenses, to whatever extent is possible, by their local communities or by underwriting that is being secured by the Lourdes pilgrimage committee. If you would like to be considered as a pilgrim representative, please speak with your pastor. Those who are in need of physical healing are invited to come. Those who are not well enough to make the trip can ask to be “carried in spirit” to the healing waters of the Grotto by the travelers. Everyone will have the opportunity to participate in this healing event. While the pilgrims are praying in Lourdes, all will be invited to participate in a week-long “At Home Pilgrimage,” which will include reconciliation services, rosaries, Marian processions, and healing Masses at parishes and shrines throughout the Archdiocese. As an Archdiocese, we will seek freedom and healing from the sins of scandal, sexual abuse, racism, economic injustice and selfishness. We will pray in a particular way for the grace and courage to promote greater respect for all human life, to support vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and to defend and support Christian marriage and family life. At the end of the Lourdes Jubilee Year, on December 8, 2008, I will rededicate the Archdiocese to the patronage of Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception. With confidence in the loving intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, let us approach the waters of grace with joyful confidence and renew our discipleship to the Lord, trusting in His mercy. I look forward to celebrating the Lourdes Jubilee Year with you, either on pilgrimage or here in the Archdiocese. May Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, keep us free from sin. You are in my prayers each day, and I count on the support of yours. Sincerely yours in Christ, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. Archbishop of Chicago Pilgrimage Itinerary and Rates (pdf) Pilgrimage Registration Form (pdf) (Note: You will need Acrobat Reader to open and read the forms above. Click here to install.) For more information about the Pilgrimage, call 312-751-2010

The Archdiocesan pilgrimage and the Lourdes Jubilee

From February 11th to July 16th of 1858, Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, France saw eighteen apparitions of a lady who was wearing a white dress with a blue sash and had gold roses on her feet. On March 25th, when Bernadette asked her name, the lady answered in the local dialect “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Despite intense opposition by the civil authorities, the Grotto where the apparitions occurred became a holy shrine and a site of miraculous healings from the very beginning. On December 8, 2007, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes will begin its 150th jubilee year celebration. In honor of this occasion, the Archdiocese of Chicago has committed to go on pilgrimage to this holy place of reconciliation, healing, and grace. Our Cardinal Archbishop, Francis George, O.M.I., will lead a pilgrimage to Lourdes the first week of August 2008.

The Inclusive Pilgrimage to Lourdes

The travel arrangements will be handled by the Lourdes Pilgrimage Office, which is a nationally known Maryland based Catholic travel office that has coordinated pilgrimages to Lourdes and to other destinations for more than 50 years. Almost half of the spaces for the Lourdes pilgrimage will be held in reserve for pilgrims who will be nominated by their parishes or ministries to go as representatives of the entire Archdiocese. There will be a great effort made to allow individuals, couples, and families to join in the pilgrimage from every Vicariate, every race and ethnicity, every socioeconomic level, and every ministry. Those who are in need of physical healing and their caregivers will also be invited. Those pilgrims who cannot afford to pay all their travel expenses will receive some assistance from the parishes and/or ministries they will represent. The Lourdes Pilgrimage planning committee will also secure underwriting on behalf of these pilgrims for any expenses that cannot be covered by their local communities. The pilgrimage to Lourdes will be a true cross section of the Archdiocese.

The pilgrims who travel to Lourdes will be carrying the prayers of the whole community. Each parish will be invited to record their special prayers and petitions, which will be bound into a book and carried to Lourdes. The Cardinal Archbishop will present these petitions and intentions at the Grotto. Those people who are in need of healing from mental and physical illnesses, but who cannot travel themselves, will be given the opportunity to be “carried in spirit” to Lourdes by the travelers. Each pilgrim will be asked to pray for a specific person who is in need of healing.

The At Home Pilgrimage

All of the faithful are invited to participate in the pilgrimage. Obviously, only a tiny percentage of the Archdiocesan community will accompany the Cardinal to France. During the days of that journey to Lourdes, however, there will be an “At Home Pilgrimage” that will consist of Marian processions, healing Masses, reconciliation services, and Marian devotions at Basilicas and churches throughout the Archdiocese. As the Cardinal and the travelers pray at the Grotto in Lourdes, the local faith communities will join them in praying for healing and for grace. As an Archdiocese, we will pray for freedom and healing from the sins of scandal, racism, economic injustice, and selfishness. We will pray for the grace and courage to promote greater respect for life, to support vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and to promote and support Christian marriage and family life.

The Witness

The returning pilgrims will share their impressions of the pilgrimage and their experiences at the Shrine with their parishes and local communities through testimonies at Sunday Mass, articles in their parish bulletins, and articles in the Archdiocesan newspaper.

The Hope and the Vision

The Lourdes Jubilee year concludes on December 8, 2008. On that feast day, the Cardinal will rededicate the Archdiocese of Chicago to the Immaculate Conception. The Archdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes is a statement of faith and joyful hope. As a faith community, we seek reconciliation and healing. We entrust our lives to the loving care of our Mother Church and our Blessed Mother in heaven. Her prayers renew our courage and strength. She is the first and best disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ and she is His gift to us. She encourages us to approach the waters of grace with confidence. She shows us the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus. In a special way, this rededication to the Immaculate Conception, which we will confirm with our prayers, penance, and pilgrimage, will be part of the observance of the Archdiocesan Year of Spirituality. May Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, keep us free from sin.