LOURDES will come to Limerick this week as the relics of St Bernadette Soubirous, whose visions of the Virgin Mary led to the founding of one of the world’s most visited shrines, visits the Treaty City.
The two-day stay for the relics will take place at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Childers Road, this coming Wednesday and Thursday (September 11 and 12).
September is part of the first ever pilgrimage to Ireland of the relics, during which they will be presented in every diocese in the country.
St Bernadette was born into a poor family in Lourdes, a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, in 1844.
Although her health was poor due to chronic asthma, coming from a peasant family, her days were full of hard work, missing school and Catechism lessons to stay at home and help out.
In 1858, she saw the Virgin Mary appear 18 times at the Grotto of Massabielle. The Apparitions of Lourdes were authenticated in 1866 by the Bishop of Tarbes.
The humble saint died at the age of 35 after a painful illness and was proclaimed blessed in 1925, then a saint in 1933.
Bernadette’s body was exhumed on April 18, 1925, for her beatification. It was found to be uncorrupted. It was then decided to place it in the chapel of the Sisters of Nevers in France where it is still visible today.
The Grotto of Lourdes is visited by millions each year and many miracles have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Looking ahead to the visit, Bishop Leahy said: “This really is a special opportunity for Limerick. We know how much Lourdes means to us all and the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes is one of the high points for the diocese each year.”
“To have St Bernadette’s relics here is, in a way, bringing Lourdes to Limerick and enables us grow closer to St Bernadette. We’re very privileged to have this moment, not least knowing the devotion of so many to the Virgin Mary, to St Bernadette, and to Lourdes.”
All are welcome to visit Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Wednesday and Thursday, with a special welcome extended to schools to bring students at 11.30am and 3.30pm on September 12.
The relics will be greeted on arrival at Our Lady of Lourdes Church at 3pm on Wednesday with a welcoming ceremony. From 3.30pm there will veneration of the relics with priests present for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
There will also be ceremony of healing of the sick led by Bishop Brendan Leahy, with a torchlight procession from 8.30pm with private veneration
Thursday will commence with Veneration from 7.00am. Veneration will resume at 11am, with an opportunity for schools to visit. The closing ceremony will be at 3.30pm.
A special box will be present also for those who wish to leave petitions to St Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes water will be available to take home and members of the public are asked to bring a small container.
