Pope Leo a ‘pilgrim among pilgrims’ in Lourdes

By Olivier Bonnel – Lourdes

Thousands of candles flickered in the darkness as the Ave Maria rang out beneath a full moon. The sight of tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered around the Pope in prayer to the Virgin Mary will remain the defining moment of Pope Leo’s visit to Lourdes. Unlike his predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Leo did not preside over the procession from a terrace overlooking the esplanade of the Basilica of the Rosary, but joined it as a pilgrim like everyone else. 

The ceremony began at the foot of the Grotto of Massabielle, the very place where Pope Leo had begun his pilgrimage to Lourdes the previous day. The procession then set off across the esplanade, behind an illuminated statue of the crowned Virgin. The Joyful Mysteries were meditated upon during the ceremony, with “Hail Marys” recited in French as well as Italian, English and Spanish. The Pope slowly made his way to the forecourt of the Basilica of the Rosary to deliver his address, recalling that Mary had asked Bernadette to come here in procession.

“A pilgrim among pilgrims”

“How moving it is to see the faithful people, from one generation to the next, responding with love and trust to the Virgin Mary’s tender invitation,” he said. “How consoling it is to hear Christians sing hymns filled with fervour and faith, and walk, a light in their hands, towards their Mother in Heaven, the Mother Jesus gave us on the Cross.” The Pope thus gave thanks for being a “pilgrim among pilgrims”, as the slogan for this stage of his apostolic journey put it.

This light, Pope Leo continued, “is the light of hope that never leaves us, even as we journey through this life, so often marked by trials but already filled with the joy of knowing that we are children of God, loved and saved by Jesus”. Sick people, he added, “are privileged witnesses to this transformation of existence through faith and through the love of God and neighbour”, echoing his morning homily and his meeting with the sick and those who care for them that afternoon.

Despite life’s trials, God gives us hope and “the grace to perceive the presence of the risen Christ among us”, he stressed. He urged the faithful, and the sick in particular, to hold on to these words of Saint Paul: “There is no comparison between the sufferings of the present time and the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Read the full text of the Pope’s address 

Persevering on our journey

“We are therefore called to persevere on our journey, again and again, for as long as we are granted the days of our life in this world, where Mary goes before us,” the Pope continued. By presenting herself to Bernadette as “the Immaculate Conception”, Mary “identified herself here, in the greatest humility, while giving thanks to God for the absolutely unique privilege she had been granted, which for us represents the dawn of salvation”.

Washed free of all sin and “the one from whom everything begins anew”, the Virgin is therefore a sure source of help, the Bishop of Rome explained. “This is why her support and intercession are not incidental for the Christian who wishes to welcome the grace of Redemption obtained through the blood of Jesus, and to struggle against evil.”

Pope Leo ended his address by inviting pilgrims and the faithful to surrender themselves to God: “Dear brothers and sisters, pilgrims and sick people, who have come from France and from around the world to take part in this fervent and serene procession of light, let us carry our most cherished and most urgent intentions and present them to Our Lady.”

“May this light that we hold tonight never be extinguished in our lives, but may it illuminate the future, opening us from this very day to the promises of eternal life,” he concluded.

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Watch the full video of the rosary and torchlight procession