Chai Brady
A virtual pilgrimage to Lourdes organised by the Oblates in Inchicore, Co. Dublin, started over the weekend and continued into this week.
Due to Covid-19 the pilgrimage was postponed for 2020. However, their virtual offering began on the evening of Saturday, September 19 and finished on Wednesday, it was based on the theme ‘Bringing Lourdes Home’.
A statement from the order said: “For the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Lourdes is too important in its history to accept not being able to go to Lourdes, and so the decision was made; we would bring Lourdes to Inchicore and so was created a digital or virtual pilgrimage.
“Of course, the connection between the Oblates and Lourdes goes back a very long time, back, in fact to 1883, a mere 25 years after the apparitions to Bernadette, when the first organised pilgrimage to Lourdes was led by Fr William Ring OMI. And except for the war years, and now Covid-19, the Oblates have led a pilgrimage to Lourdes every year since. A long and great tradition.”
While they said they “would have loved to have been together in person for these events”, they maintained small groups in line with Covid-19 restrictions to ensure the safety of all.
A small number of people took part over the five days in person while others joined online in night prayers, mornings prayers, Mass, the Rosary, and the Way of the Cross.