History

Until the war years  National Pilgrimages, organised by a National Pilgramage Committee regurlarly travelled from Scotland to Lourdes.  During the was years it was impossible for Scottish Pilgrims to travel in Europe and instead they gathered at Carfin. It was at the 7th Lourdes Pilgrimage to Carfin on the 20th of July 1947 that the possibility of restarting pilgrimages was considered, but with difficulties of transport and food it was dismissed.

On the 25th of February 1948 meeting of the Pilgrimage Committee, Mr McGregor reported on the establishment of a branch of the Lourdes Hospitalite in Glasgow.

The headquarters and meeting place of the new organisation would be Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Cardonald. The branch would be responsible for the care of the sick to, at and from, Lourdes during pilgrimages. The branch would be subject to the Diocesan Pigrimage Committee which would appoint the Doctors and Nurses.

The Pilgrimage Committee agreed that the 1948 pigrimage, led by Archbishop Campbell would take place from Sunday 11th to Sunday 18th July. The newly formed Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite were allotted 100 places.

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ARTICLE 1

Before the inception of the Hospitalite de Notre Dame de Lourdes Glasgow Archdiocesan Branch.

Next year, 2008, will see the celebration of two Lourdes anniversaries. The first is the 150th anniversary since Our Lady appeared, a total of 18 times in 1858, to a young girl called Bernadette Soubirous in a Grotto in Lourdes, a little town in France that nestles at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains.

The second is the 60th Anniversary since the inception of the Hospitalite de Notre Dame de Lourdes Glasgow Archdiocesan Branch (GLH). This is an organisation, formed in 1948, dedicated to caring for sick pilgrims whilst travelling to and from and during their stay in Lourdes. Over the next few months the GLH would like to share with you how we began, also our experiences of our numerous pilgrimages over these 60 years and of caring for the sick.

Pilgrims have been going to Lourdes since before Lourdes was proclaimed to be a Marian shrine and before Bernadette was elevated to Sainthood. In faith sick and able bodied travel to Lourdes either as individuals, as families or in groups all with the express desire to answer Our Lady’s request to Bernadette to “"…… come here in procession ……"

A Scottish National Pilgrimage went to Lourdes in 1912. The pilgrimage, amongst the first to be arranged by the Scottish National Pilgrimage Committee included a total of 1,000 pilgrims, sick and able bodied, with their Bishops who came from all parts of Scotland but mainly from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Motherwell. Banners from this pilgrimage still exist today, for example the one belonging to St Peter’s, Partick. Thereafter pilgrimages took place every few years, with a break during the first and second world wars, unlike today, when Pilgrimages take place annually.

The Scottish National Pilgrimage Committee were keen to promote National Pilgrimages, as opposed to individual and Parish pilgrimages, however the Bishops felt that such a big pilgrimage may not be for everyone as “small parties are attractive to many people”. Archbishop MacKintosh subsequently wrote that “a Priest or Priests in continuing with the practice or running a private pilgrimage was against the General Law of the Church”. (cf Cod IC Can 139) Organising National Pilgrimages gradually changed, with the inception of the Dioceses in 1948, when Diocese began to arrange their own individual pilgrimages, though occasionally going to Lourdes together on a joint Dioceses pilgrimage, this was until 1976 since which time Diocese have gone separately to Lourdes.

National Pilgrimages involved trains leaving from Glasgow and Edinburgh, meeting up at a rail junction, thereafter pilgrims travelled together, over a two day period to Lourdes which included a cross channel crossing and catching a further train from Calais to Lourdes. Today, air travel means we can be in Lourdes within hours of leaving Glasgow.

Some memorable early pilgrimages, recalled by Monsignor Desmond Maguire of St. Joseph’s, Tollcross, the son of Robert Maguire one of the founding members of the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite include the pilgrimage of 1930 during which the St. Margaret of Scotland memorial was inaugurated; a joint army pilgrimage, for Britain and Germany, which was organised about1935 for those who had fought in the 1914 – 1918 war where the average age of the pilgrim was 30 – 40 years; an “experimental” pilgrimage in 1935 by sea where a ship, the TSS Athenia, sailed from Scotland to France; and the sad pilgrimage which ended in some pilgrims contracting cholera and becoming extremely ill, some even dying whilst in Lourdes, because they had drank water at a railway station en route to Lourdes, as they didn’t speak French they didn’t realise that the water was not for drinking.

Before the inception of the GLH, there was no dedicated or organised group to assist the National Pilgrimage Committee in organising and managing pilgrimages and “suitable invalids” had to take along their own attendants to look after them. These were mostly family members and volunteers with no medical qualifications but who were happy to give of their time and to pay their own expenses for the trip to ensure that the sick got to Lourdes. There were also a few doctors and nurses who were recruited, some were paid for by their Parishes. Money was also donated by Scottish Catholics to care for the sick, but the total number of carers, both qualified and unqualified, was deemed to be insufficient as documented in the Pilgrimage Committee Minutes of 22nd September, 1927 by the Medical Officer who also reported that the journey from Glasgow to Lourdes, which meant that the sick, particularly “acute consumptives” had to sit for two days in train carriages and on a boat “was a barbarity” and that more assistance was required when sick pilgrims were leaving the train to go to their hotels.

The same minutes record that the ratio of sick for the pilgrimage was too high at 12% and that French Priests had suggested that the total sick should be 5% and never at any cost should it exceed 7%. This was in the days when sick pilgrims stayed in long wards and only had use of a bed and chair, no hot water and limited sanitary provision. Today sick pilgrims stay in modern, purpose built, accommodation, however with modernisation comes the limiting of how many sick we can accommodate which has fallen from about 100 to 60.

The same minutes further record that Canon McDonald, in his report, was moved to ask “who was in charge of the sick” and that placing of sick in the hotels “was carried out very well – but then the confusion began”. The latter statement refers to the fact that the sick, as well as residing in the hospital, were also distributed in a number of hotels in Lourdes with no real means of knowing exactly who and where they were.

Since 1948 with the formation of the Dioceses, the resurrection of the Pilgrimage Committee, which had been interrupted by the 1940-1945 war and the formation of the GLH we have seen a much more co-ordinated and organised approach to taking sick pilgrims to Lourdes.

ARTICLE 2

 Formation of The Hospitalite de Notre Dame de Lourdes Glasgow Archdiocesan Branch. At a meeting of the Diocesan Pilgrimage Committee held on 25th February, 1948 Mr. McGregor reported “the establishment of a branch of the Lourdes Hospitalite.” “ The Branch would be responsible for the care of the sick to, at and from Lourdes during the Pilgrimages. The Branch would be subject to the Diocesan Pilgrimage Committee.” This simple statement heralded what was the beginning of the present day Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite which was formally founded on 8th March, 1948. Today, nearly 60 years later, our membership are privileged to still be fulfilling and carrying on the role of caring for the sick who wish to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes. The Pilgrimage Committee is responsible for all matters relating to the Diocesan Pilgrimage but, working closely with the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite, they have given us the responsibility for all matters relating to sick pilgrims, including assisting the Pilgrimage Doctor in the process of selection of sick pilgrims. The archive records show that some of the founding members of the Hospitalite were Robert Maguire who was an ex Army Captain; Lawyer Alex McGregor ; school teacher Annie Ward and head teacher James Toner. Messrs Maguire; McGregor and Toner, as well as being members of the Hospitalite also attended Pilgrimage Committee meetings and they worked closely with Father Tom Brady who was a member of the Diocesan Pilgrimage Committee and was responsible for organising many of the early pilgrimages. The tradition of Hospitalite members attending Pilgrimage Committee meetings continues to this day and ensures that not only do we go as members of the one Diocesan Pilgrimage but also that the needs of the sick, as well as those of able bodied pilgrims, are taken into consideration. As well as paying for their own travel and accommodation costs, which our membership continue to do today, our founders would have had a more difficult task than us in taking sick pilgrims to Lourdes – there were long, non-stop, train and boat journeys during which, Monsignor Maguire of St. Joseph’s Tollcross recalls, “the ladies would continually say their rosary”; there were sick who had to be transported on stretchers – archives record 13 stretcher cases in 1939 and 20 in 1951; there was difficulty in providing meals whilst travelling and we also had to provide a supply of cooked meats, etc. as the sick pilgrims had a poor appetite for French food. After their long journey and when they arrived in Lourdes the accommodation conditions for the sick were difficult and sparse – long and cramped male / female wards with little in the way of privacy or storage; lack of hot water; poor sanitary provision; no bath / shower provision. Although, in the early years, the travel may have been long and accommodation was basic neither of these deterred sick pilgrims from going to Lourdes, they simply saw it all as part of their pilgrimage. In the early years the hours that members of the Hospitalite worked were longer than we do today, there were also many more jobs that had to done than we currently have to do today, the reduction in hours and jobs is because of improved accommodation and the increase of our membership. The formation of the St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group also assisted as they took on the responsibility for transporting sick pilgrims around Lourdes during the pilgrimage, they also assist us with various duties within the accommodation. We are most fortunate to have amongst our membership experienced, long serving members who have been, and are still, actively serving the sick in Lourdes since the early years of our formation and although in the early years the hours were long and the work was hard if you were to ask them how they feel about that they say “we love Lourdes and just love going to Lourdes”. Today, the number of sick pilgrims that we take to Lourdes depends on the amount of beds that we are allocated by the Lourdes Authorities, which is usually limited to a maximum of 60. In early pilgrimages the records show that it was common place to have anything from 80 to over 100 sick pilgrims to care for. Also, in the beginning, although we were fortunate to have Doctors who happily gave of their time and support in Lourdes, we only had a matron and a few nurses to assist the Hospitalite, we therefore had to enlist the help of volunteers who had nursing experience to provide assistance to the sick, most of these early volunteers became long serving members and supporters of the Hospitalite. Today we are fortunate to have amongst our membership dedicated Doctors, matron and nurses who return annually to Lourdes and with, Lady Helpers and Brancardier, work together with the assistance of members of the St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group, to ensure that sick pilgrims are not only well cared for but that their experience of Lourdes is a Holy and happy one. The activities of the Hospitalite are not confined to one week in July at Lourdes at the annual Pilgrimage – we have events occurring throughout the year and our annual calendar includes arranging the Anointing Mass; Pre Pilgrimage Mass; Lourdes Reunion Mass; Lourdes Hospitalite Requiem Mass and a Lourdes Hospitalite Medal Mass. We also have monthly committee meetings, an AGM and General meetings. We also have a Lourdes Preparation Day which helps the members to both practically and spiritually prepare themselves for Lourdes. Another long serving member is Teresa Torsney, our current President, who says that "Lourdes to me, is a unique and wonderful experience which is difficult to express in words, it is something very personal to each individual. The feeling and experience you get on your first visit to Lourdes never leaves you, no matter how many times you go. I was first introduced to the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite along with my late mother on one of our early visits to Lourdes when we were invited by the late May Martin, a founder member of the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite, to help with the Glasgow Sick Pilgrims in the Accueil Notre Dame and we found it a very fulfilling and rewarding experience, We later joined the Hospitalite considering it a privilege to give service to the Glasgow Sick Pilgrims each year in Lourdes. From a personal point of view, being a member of the Hospitalite is a very important part of my life and I have gained so much from it. I will always be grateful to May Martin for that first introduction. I consider it an honor to serve as President of the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite."

ARTICLE 3

ORGANISING OUR PILGRIMAGE

Saturday 8th December 2007 marks the official beginning of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary year during which we will celebrate Our Lady’s appearing to St Bernadette at Lourdes in 1848. A group of our volunteer members will be making the journey to Lourdes to be part of the official opening and we will share with you their thoughts and experiences of this great event in next month’s edition of Flourish.

December is also the month of the Cardinals Ball and, for this year, the GLH is both privileged and delighted to have been named by Archbishop Conti as one of the organisations who will be recipients of the proceeds from the Cardinals Ball. When we were advised of this by Archbishop Conti’s office our financial administrator, John Geggan, said “We feel really honoured that Archbishop Conti has recognised the work that the GLH undertake and are delighted to be named as one of the recipients of the Cardinals Ball proceeds.” There will be ten of our volunteer members, representing the GLH, attending the Cardinals Ball on 8th December.

As readers of Flourish will no doubt have guessed by now from the articles that Flourish, over the past few months, has been running on the history of the GLH, 2008 is also a big anniversary for us as we reach the milestone of 60 years since the GLH “officially” began taking sick pilgrims to Lourdes.

The date of the inception of the GLH was 8th March, 1948 and we are currently putting together a series of events to take place over 2008, which will help not only the GLH but also sick pilgrims and our supporters share in our celebrations that we have achieved such a momentous milestone.

Our first celebratory event will start our 60th Anniversary celebratory year of with a swing. We’re holding a Ceilidh in the Glasgow Piping Centre on Saturday 24th November. There will be around 100 at the Ceilidh and we’re all really looking forward to it.

Our second event is being planned for Friday, 15th February which will involve past and present members of the GLH.

Other events that we are planning include a celebratory dinner which will be the culmination of all our events. Details of this, and all other events, are yet to be finalised.

Long serving, and still active, members of the GLH who have been going to Lourdes and serving the sick since the early years of our inception say that they cannot believe that it has been 60 years since we have began and “wonder where the time has gone”. All of our members look back over the period that they have served in the GLH with a feeling of both “joy” and “gratitude” that they have been able to share with sick pilgrims and with members of the GLH in the many pilgrimages to Lourdes.

It is also rather humbling for us when we share in the serving of the sick as they are always most gracious in their thanks and are always cheerful regardless of the extent of their infirmity or ailment. This sometimes helps us put into perspective any time that we may feel tired or have sore feet that our complaint is nothing when compared to theirs. The sick always seem to bear their cross with such dignity and it is our very great privilege to get to know and serve them.

Whilst we are looking forward to celebrating our Anniversary we are also looking ahead to our pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2008, 18th – 25th July, and the Pilgrimage Committee are already making preparations for this.

Fr Joseph Keenan, St Lawrence, Drumchapel, is the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage Director and he and the Pilgrimage Committee have already begun the planning process for next year’s pilgrimage by providing the Lourdes Authorities with an outline programme for the week.

This is followed by a whole series of planning events which take place between January and June including Fr. Keenan going to Lourdes in February, where he will represent the Pilgrimage Committee. At this time he will meet with other Pilgrimage Directors from all over the world, to make and agree arrangements for the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage which will include times for daily Mass, agreeing on which Chapels in the Domain can be used, etc. Fr. Keenan also has to liaise with the British Lourdes Directors and Deanery Representatives. Within all of this planning Fr. Keenan also includes making arrangements for the sick pilgrims to stay in the Accueil; liaising with the St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group always sponsor sick children to go to Lourdes and, of course, making sure that the Pilgrimage Committee and the GLH are kept fully up to date as all the arrangements for the pilgrimage are finalised.

Finally, whilst on pilgrimage, Fr. Keenan attends daily meetings to ensure that all arrangements are proceeding as planned and that any last minute changes made by the Lourdes Authorities to our pilgrimage programme are made know to the pilgrims who stay in hotels, the GLH, St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group, etc.

Fr Keenan says of his role that “It’s a demanding job that I do but it is a great privilege to be a Pilgrimage Director and it has been my pleasure to meet with literally thousands of pilgrims over the years.”

As I said in the last article we are currently trying to recruit new volunteer members, we are particularly requiring brancardiers. The role of a brancardier is to assist with the sick pilgrims luggage whilst travelling and transport sick pilgrims around the Domain. Anyone who is interested should please contact us.

For those sick pilgrims who would like to apply to come on pilgrimage to Lourdes next year with the GLH we will shortly be advertising, seeking applications, and providing details of where you will be able to obtain an application form.

Article 4

ON PILGRIMAGE

Taking sick pilgrims to Lourdes involves much preparation, apart from selecting our sick pilgrims and making travel and accommodation arrangements for them we also have a daily schedule to arrange that involves both spiritual and social activities.

Whilst in Lourdes Father Sullivan, Pilgrimage Director, ensures that the spiritual needs of the sick and Archdiocese pilgrims are met which include daily Mass; Holy Hour; Sacrament of Reconciliation; Mass of Anointing and, of course, a visit to the Grotto. We couldn’t go on Pilgrimage to Lourdes without a visit to the Baths. To help sick pilgrims prepare for the visit to the Baths a member of the GLH gives a talk and answers any questions that may arise. For those of our sick pilgrims who are unable to make the Baths, Father Dominic Doogan, Chaplain to the Sick, has over the past few years held a blessing of the sick service.

There are also the Torchlight and Blessed Sacrament Processions to take part in. These processions take place daily and the sick and Archdiocesan Pilgrims usually have the opportunity to lead these at least once during our stay.

Then there are the social activities, which are organised by members of the GLH, which include such things as singing the “old hymns” which is always very popular; bingo; an opportunity for a cup of tea and a chat and, the grand finale is a party which is always fun and enjoyable and gives everyone the opportunity, if they wish, to be a “star” and do their “party piece”.

Yet another activity to fit in is the St. Margaret of Scotland Youth Group’s Garden Party which they have organised, for sick pilgrims, over the past couple of years. It’s an afternoon where sick pilgrims and members of the Hospitalite, together with the Youth Group, can relax and chat, listen to music or “perform”. This event, which takes place in the gardens of a local hotel, has been a great success.

As you can appreciate all of this means that our week in Lourdes can be a busy one but the GLH and the nurses always try to ensure that sick pilgrims are given time for their own private devotions whether that’s ensuring that they get to one of the Chapels in the Accai, sit on the rooftop terrace of the Accai or are taken to the Grotto. There is even the opportunity to be taken up to the town for shopping.

Preparation for the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage begins in February when Fr. Keenan together with his fellow Pilgrimage Directors go to Lourdes to arrange dates, events etc.

For the GLH our activity begins in January with the advertising of the Pilgrimage for sick pilgrims in Catholic papers and then we go through the whole process of receiving applications; interviewing and selection. Once selected the nurses then do a follow up interview with our sick pilgrims to ascertain their individual medical needs.

Article 5

Sick Pilgrims Experience

Over the many years since the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite has been going to Lourdes it has been both our very great privilege and pleasure to not only serve, but also to get to know, literally thousands of sick pilgrims.

Our sick pilgrims may all come with different ailments and disabilities, they may be young or old, male or female but the GLH does its utmost to ensure that all are treated as individuals and are afforded the due care and attention that they require. Whilst caring for their physical needs we also do our utmost to ensure that our sick pilgrims have a happy and holy pilgrimage.

During our pilgrimage to Lourdes this year we were privileged to be of service to 58 sick pilgrims. The following is a brief insight to the experience of two of them which they would like to share with Flourish readers.

Annora Robinson, Rutherglen has been to Lourdes several times but this year was her first time as a sick pilgrim staying in the Accueil Notre Dame. On her return home Annora wrote a wonderful thank you letter to the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite, excerpts from which she is happy that we share with you :

“At the Accuiel I felt as if I was in heaven for 8 days. From the moment I arrived I was looked after extremely well, I was escorted to a lovely bright room, given a nice bed and my case was unpacked.”

“In the dining room all the helpers worked tirelessly trying to please everyone.”

“It was wonderful to sit back and enjoy the spirituality of the Grotto

“Because I was unwell I couldn’t make the visit to the Baths at Lourdes – no problem. Father Dominic Doogan, the Chaplain to the Sick, held a special ceremony for the sick and blessed me, and the other who couldn’t make the Baths, with Lourdes water.”

“Shopping in Lourdes – again no problem. Members of the St. Margaret of Scotland Youth Group were on hand to take us to and from the shops and were also happy and willing to assist us with our shopping.”

“I say again …. I was in heaven for 8 days.”

The GLH has had a long association with the Little Sisters of the Poor. In past years the Little Sisters provided the GLH with storage space for our equipment at their former residence in Robroyston Road. The Little Sisters care for the sick and the elderly and over the years not only have they served in Lourdes as nurses they have also gone on pilgrimage to Lourdes, as sick pilgrims themselves, and it has been our privilege to take care of them.

This year we were privileged to have with us Sr. Marie Mathilde of the Little Sister’s Glasgow community who says of her stay in Lourdes :

“What struck me the most was the sense of community in the Accueil amongst the sick, the Hospitalite, the nurses and doctors. It was wonderful.”

“I spent a wonderful week in Lourdes and was very touched by my stay in the Accuiel where everyone helped everyone, including the sick as well as members of the hospitalite, the doctors and nurses, and each person was very charitable.”

“The nurses were always present, always ready and most willing to be helpful; nothing was a bother to them and they were always smiling.”

“The St. Margaret of Scotland Youth Group were wonderful; taking us around Lourdes; assisting in the Accuiel and helping us with whatever we wanted – they were absolutely wonderful.”

“I shall never forget my week in Lourdes.”

The members of the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite wish to thank Annora and Sister Marie Mathilde for their most kind and gracious words and for allowing us to publish their thoughts on their experience in Lourdes.



ARTICLE 6

OUR ROLE IN LOURDES

Being a volunteer member of the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite can be a most rewarding and fulfilling part of your life. I can say this with conviction as one of a number of volunteer members of the GLH.

If you were to ask any of our members what is it that keeps us going to Lourdes to serve the sick year after year, paying for our own accommodation and travel, I am certain they would tell you that we get far more out of serving the sick in Lourdes than we could ever put a price on. For all of us, whether new or long serving members of the GLH, have been fortunate enough to experience grace filled moments, happy and yes, at times, sad moments all of which you can’t even begin to put a price on but which have made Lourdes very special to us.

So what is it that attracts us to Lourdes year after year for the past 60 years? We are answering our Lady when she said “…… come here in procession ……”

Most of our members are long serving members and we are actively looking to recruit new volunteer members. Our duties, whilst in Lourdes, are varied and include : ward cleaning; serving at the Baths; bed making; working in the refrectory; laundry; tea trolley; brancardier (male members of the Hospitalite who are responsible for transporting the sick in Lourdes and assisting with the luggage whilst travelling); and perhaps one of the most fulfilling roles that we carry out is as companion to the sick. Companions spend time with the sick getting to know them, chatting with them, assisting them with perhaps some shopping or simply being there to share a silent prayer. Whilst in Lourdes we are also allocated prayer partners whom we pray for and who are asked to pray for us.

Although we each have our different daily duties to undertake, we are always able to attend the daily Archdiocesan Pilgrimage Mass. We also go to one of the two International Masses that are held in Lourdes each week.

Our days in Lourdes can be busy and sometimes long, depending on which duty you volunteer to carry out and how much time you are able to give, but we do also have ample time off in which we can either attend to our own social or spiritual needs.

Our membership, of course, also includes Doctors and nurses who, led by our Pilgrimage Doctor, Gerry Robertson and our Matron, Maureen Smeaton, ensure that, whilst travelling to and from and when in Lourdes, our sick pilgrims are cared for 24/7.

Lourdes can seem to be very busy at times with so many people on pilgrimage, and sometimes it can be an absolute blessing when you pay a visit to the Grotto and there aren’t a lot of people there and there’s a real sense of calm and prayer. Likewise, paying a visit to the Blesses Sacrament Tent can also be a time of prayer and spirituality.

Our “uniform” whilst in Lourdes for the ladies is white dresses, our nurses also wear distinctive white caps so its easy for sick pilgrims to know the difference should they require a helper or a nurse.

The men, known as Brancardier, for the more formal occasions in Lourdes wear white shirts and tartan ties and, when on duty, they also wear bratelles which look rather like braces.

The Hospitalite don’t just meet together for one week in Lourdes however. We have a Committee which meets regularly and which works very closely with the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage Committee. We hold an Annual General Meeting and have general meetings and special masses throughout the year. We also hold a Lourdes Preparation Day which is arranged to attend to the practical requirements we need in Lourdes as well as being very spiritual and which has included a Holy Hour and Mass.

We also have a terrific lady member who enthusiastically organises all sorts of social events for us. Some of the things that she’s organised for us this year include a barge cruise on the canal; a Christmas event at the Royal Concert Hall and a Ceilidh in November.

As I said, being a member of the GLH can be very rewarding. If you are interested in finding out more about us and becoming a volunteer member please feel free to contact us, we’d be delighted to hear from you and you can be sure of a warm welcome.

ARTICLE 7

IS OUR LADY CALLING YOU

As we come into the new year of 2008 we also enter into a year which sees the 150th anniversary of the apparitions since Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette at the Grotto of Lourdes. Celebrations of this were officially begun on 8th December, 2007 and Lourdes was packed to see the start of such a special occasion. Volunteer members of the GLH travelled to Lourdes to participate in this momentous occasion and we were proud to have had the opportunity to provide an exhibition stand which enabled us to show some of the history of the GLH as well as our “Scottishness”.

We are very proud of the fact that 2008 also marks the 60th Anniversary since the inception of the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite and all of the volunteer members of the GLH are very much looking forward to what will undoubtedly be such a special year for all of us. We began our year of celebrations by holding a Ceilidh at the Glasgow Piping Centre at which we had a terrific evening where we also raised £300.00 which will go towards the costs for our pilgrimage to Lourdes this year.

We were fortunate to be selected by Archbishop Conti to be one of the three recipients of monies that were raised at the 2007 Cardinals Ball, which members of the GLH attended, to represent our organisation.

Over the past few months we hope that you’ve enjoyed, and found interesting, the articles about the GLH and about Lourdes, in which we’ve tried to give you some idea of the history of the GLH, how we came into being, what we do on the annual Archdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes and also what our organisation is like for the other 51 weeks in the year.

In a previous article that appeared within Flourish we also tried to let you know what Lourdes can be like, from a sick pilgrims point of view, from their experience of the Accuiel; the baths, the Grotto, the daily masses and to the friendships that can be born across the dinner table, etc.

We’ve tried to convey to you in our articles what the GLH, and Lourdes, is like, especially for people who would like to come on pilgrimage with the GLH. However, if you were to ask anyone who has ever been to Lourdes to try to explain and describe Lourdes you’ll probably be told that it’s sometimes difficult to express the experience of Lourdes in mere words. After all, how do you convey the sense of togetherness when we go to the big International Mass which involves literally thousands of fellow pilgrims from around the world, the sense of peace when saying our personal devotions at the Grotto or in the Blessed Sacrament tent, the experience of the baths, and all the other things that make Lourdes what is it, a place of pilgrimage.

Lourdes really has to be experienced personally. Every pilgrim, whether sick or able, helper of cleric is different and each and every one of us takes back their own special memories and experiences of pilgrimages in Lourdes.

Lourdes can be an emotional roller coaster – you can find yourself laughing right out loud one minute and crying the next – you can be down and exhausted one minute and ready for the sick pilgrim’s party the next. Lourdes is unique to all who are fortunate to be able to go there and experience it. Lourdes is very special to each and every one who has ever gone there either on the annual Archdiocesan Pilgrimage or on their own private pilgrimage.

You just need to look at the volunteer members of the GLH to see how much Lourdes means to all of us – why else would we go there year on year if not to answer the call of our Lady and to be in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Nancy Smith, is a terrific lady who, as well as being one of our volunteer helpers also organises all of our social events, was so keen to get to Lourdes in 1974 that she actually sold some of her possessions, including her “much loved guitar” which gave her the deposit for her fare and then, “to help with the rest of my fare to Lourdes I also sold my record player.” Thankfully Nancy was able to replace her record player. Whilst the GLH would hope that no one would have to go to that length to get to Lourdes it is an example of how committed our members are.

We are looking for helpers to join the GLH, we particularly require to recruit men to assist in the role of brancardier. The role involves assisting the sick pilgrims with their luggage whilst travelling to and from Lourdes and, whilst in Lourdes, assisting with the transportation of the sick pilgrims in and around the grotto.

If you would be interested to find out more about the GLH and to enquire about how you could join as a volunteer helper of the GLH please contact our membership secretary Carol Picken on 0141 638 2402.

The volunteer members of the GLH hope that you found the articles about the GLH interesting and, we hope, that they will help motivate you to find out a bit more about us and, perhaps, even join us.

We look forward very much to celebrating our 60th Anniversary and to another year of serving the sick in Lourdes.

OBSERVER ARTICLEI’m Margaret Letham and it’s my very great privilege to be a volunteer member of the Glasgow branch of the Lourdes Hospitalite, especially this year, which is not only the 150th anniversary of the apparitions when Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette but is also our 60th anniversary in taking sick pilgrims to Lourdes. I call Lourdes my oasis which, considering that as a member of the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite our days can be busy and long; this may seem a bit strange. Lourdes to me is an oasis as, when I go to be of service to the sick and spend a week focussing on the needs of others and ensuring that our sick pilgrims are well cared for and I do my best to put aside my own needs, I find that in doing so, I am so blessed and feel such grace in this holy place – such is the gift of Lourdes. I converted to the Catholic faith in 1995 and I’ve been going to Lourdes since 2001 and joined the Glasgow Lourdes Hospitalite in 2002. Yet each year that I am fortunate to return to Lourdes, I feel as if I’ve come home. There are two ways in which I can be of service in Lourdes, physically and spiritually. My physical service is, of course, when I’m working with our sick pilgrims in the Accueil which is always such a rewarding task. My spiritual service is at daily mass, my personal and quiet time at the Grotto or in the Blessed Sacrament tent; when I do the Stations of the Cross or simply when I’m sharing time with a sick pilgrim in quiet prayer. Both types of service leave me feeling privileged and blessed. I try to explain Lourdes to my colleagues at work but they find it difficult to understand how I can willingly give up a week’s holiday to go to work in Lourdes. I try to explain to them that, even though I may be working in Lourdes and I pay for my own travel and accommodation, I truly get back much more from doing this than I give. I also tell my colleagues that it really is such a privilege to be sharing in the week long Archdiocesan Pilgrimage where I get to meet so many wonderful people be they sick, members of the Hospitalite or St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group or even complete strangers. One of my favourite spots in Lourdes is the Blessed Sacrament tent. Lourdes can be busy and emotional at times and I like to take the opportunity, whenever I can, of going along to the tent where it is always quiet and respectful and I simply sit before the Blessed Sacrament and feel at peace. Lourdes really is such a special place to me, and to those people who selflessly go year on year to be of service. In Lourdes we can be laughing one minute and crying the next and we’re always humbled by the way in which the sick are able to bear their illness and infirmity with such dignity I remember as a child watching the Song of Bernadette and thinking what a wonderful thing had happened to such a young girl. Little did I realise that I would be so truly privileged, many years later, in being able to experience and share in what is the gift of Lourdes.

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