The Sanctuary of Lourdes celebrates this great feast with pilgrims from all over the world. Come and experience the Feast of the Ascension in Lourdes.
The feast of the Ascension celebrates Jesus’ ascension to God, his Father. It is celebrated forty days after Easter. It is one of the main Christian feasts, following on from Easter and heralding Pentecost, ten days later.
‘Why do you stand looking up towards heaven?’ (Acts 1:11), the apostles are told: the Ascension of Christ is also a call to greater commitment to bring the Good News to the world.
Timetable for celebrations in the Sanctuary:
No international Mass on Wednesday 13th May
Thursday 14th May, Feast of the Ascension
9.30am: International Mass at the Basilica of Saint Pius X followed by the Angelus at the Grotto.
10.00am: Mass at the Grotto
2.00pm: The footsteps of Bernadette
3.00pm: Rosary a tthe Grotto
5.00pm: Procession, Eucharistic adoration and blessing of the sick.
9.00 pm: Marian procession, leaving from the Grotto.
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.
