At Lourdes, all liturgical feasts are celebrated in a special way. Pentecost marks the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, and the birth of the Church. This event occurred fifty days after Easter. Pentecost, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit, 10 days after the Ascension in the presence of the Virgin Mary, closes the Easter season.
The birth of the Church
Pentecost celebrates the beginning of the Church, its foundation, and the emergence of the first Christian communities. Shortly after receiving the Holy Spirit and beginning to pass on Christ’s message, the apostles baptised the first Christians. But the feast also launched the Sacrament of Confirmation, where the baptised person renews the heart of his or her faith and is also invited to become a witness to Christ.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes recalls the words of the Virgin, “Go and tell the priests that a chapel be built here and that people should come here in procession”, pilgrims are invited to participate in the construction of the Church, to become “living stones”.
Lourdes and the sacraments
Lourdes is the place where millions of people come to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, a step that brings pilgrims closer to the mercy of the Lord. Almost all pilgrims who arrive in Lourdes, either individually or in groups, can visit the Reconciliation Chapel to go to confession.
When pilgrims arrive in Lourdes, they can also take part in the masses celebrated in different languages. But some pilgrims also have the opportunity to experience the sacrament of the Eucharist, and like Bernadette, to make their First Holy Communion, in this blessed place where the Virgin came to be a sign of God’s love.
The pilgrims are invited to “come in procession”, to discover the beauty of the Eucharistic procession with the blessing of the sick at the Basilica of Saint Pius X, every day at 5:00pm.
“Holy Spirit, breathe into our hearts and let us inhale the tenderness of the Father. Breathe upon the Church, so that she may spread the Gospel with joy. Breathe upon the world the fresh restoration of hope.” (Pope Francis)
The month of Mary at Lourdes
The Sanctuary is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the canonical coronation of the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, an honour bestowed by the Pope on only very rare occasions. This tradition of the Church encourages the devotion of the faithful, renewing their trust and love for the one they revere as their mother.
Throughout May, the month of Mary, pilgrims to the Sanctuary of Lourdes are invited to help create a very special crown: no longer a crown of gold, but a crown of flowers. A crown offered as a gift, pieced together little by little, flower by flower, intention by intention.
These flowers complete the bouquet of prayers offered to Our Lady by all the pilgrims who recited the various rosaries every day at the Grotto.
