It was very good to get back to Lourdes after a break of three years.  I was surprised how many people came as Covid is still around in a variant form, and regular pilgrims are understandably hesitant to travel. 

 

Personally, I find Lourdes has drawn me irresistibly for many years.  There are many reasons not to go: it’s expensive, the weather can be very hot or very wet, the crowds can be overwhelming, the flights are usually late and so on.  But the draw for me is that Lourdes is a place where heaven touched earth, it is a place where we discover community and where we find the Church in a form which is very caring and open.  In Lourdes we get a glimpse of things to come both on earth and in heaven.

The theme this year is ‘Go and tell the priests’ – words that Mary spoke to St Bernadette.  It must have been hard for her to speak to the parish priest who would have been an authority figure, yet he listened, and the rest is history.  There are shades of synodality in this theme, and we prayed for the continued implementation of the archdiocesan synodal process.  I came away from Lourdes full of hope for the future of the Church in the archdiocese.  For those who have been unable to visit Lourdes the relics of St Bernadette are coming to Liverpool and Chorley next month.  It will be an opportunity for everyone to discover the spirit of Lourdes.
 

Most Rev Malcolm McMahon OP

Archbishop of Liverpool