The Knights of Columbus will provide armed forces members and veterans who were wounded in battle or suffer from serious illnesses an all-expenses paid trip to Lourdes for the Ninth Annual Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage, a week-long faith journey co-sponsored by the Knights and the Archdiocese for the Military Services in Washington D.C.
Half of the Chapels of Light at Our Lady of Lourdes shrine were destroyed by a fire over the night of July 10–11. The fire was quickly brought under control, according to media reports.
The first-ever U.S. tour of St. Bernadette’s relics has been underway since April, including a May 20 stop at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in West Harlem, Manhattan.
An international virtual pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Lourdes, France, will “affirm the power of prayer” against COVID-19, said the shrine’s vice rector. “Lourdes is all about spiritual and physical healing, and we’ve received 15,000 prayer petitions daily throughout the lockdown from around the world – for people about to die or fearing infection,” said Father Xavier d’Arodes de Peyriague, vice rector and head of international pastoral ministry.
As the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus in Europe continued to grow, the French Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes announced that pilgrims were still welcome, but the pools the sick bathe in hoping for healing would be closed temporarily.
