Sixth Form
Lourdes Pilgrimage
By the time a St Mary’s student enters the Sixth Form, she will have participated in several ‘Lourdes Fundraising Fortnights’. The two weeks are set aside in the Spring Term to raise money to send sick and handicapped children to Lourdes. St Mary’s raises around £3,000 from events organised by forms such as discos, dog shows, cake stalls and talent shows.
Being in the Sixth Form means that, after years of raising money to send others to Lourdes, students can come themselves to experience why Lourdes is such a special place.
St Mary’s students spend their time in Lourdes working as handmaids. Their tasks include helping on the wards of the hospital by cleaning and making beds and by giving whatever assistance they can to help the sick to wash, dress and eat. Frequently they give the greatest help by just being there to listen.
Accompanying the sick to organised services is another task that handmaids undertake, along with shopping and trips to cafés.
When off duty, the students find that because there are so many other young people from the dioceses that make up the Catholic Association Pilgrimage they have a vibrant social life too.
Last year 34 Sixth Formers came to Lourdes and most are determined to join the group of former students who return year after year.
“The first thing you notice about Lourdes is the heat, especially if you are a roller like I was. Rolling involved taking the pilgrims to any services or to see anything they like in the town, often up steep slopes.
The second is the warmth of the community in Lourdes, the way everybody works together to make sure those who have come for the pilgrimage are happy and well cared for. Our group leaders were brilliant at achieving this, making sure our groups ran smoothly and solving any difficulties. Lourdes was a wonderful experience and it was a real privilege to take around the people I was rolling; their faith was amazing.
The social side of Lourdes was also fantastic: meeting people from across Britain and socialising after our shifts definitely made up for the exhaustion we faced at the end of the day. I think the most beautiful sight I saw at Lourdes was the torchlight procession from on top of the Acceuil, the number of people indicated by the extent of the procession and the lights, every day of the week. Stunning. The trip was well worth it.” Sixth Former
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