The Order of Malta takes local boys on an unforgettable Journey

Lourdes, FR.

It is a beautiful crisp May morning when a silver bird, carrying a group of very anxious and excited passengers, approaches the white capped Pyrenees Mountains, destination , . This was the beginning of an unforgettable journey for two very special boys from Vero Beach, Florida: William Corry and Tomas Ospina.

Their journey was made possible thanks to the generosity of the American Association of the Order of Malta from Vero Beach. William who is challenged every day with CP, and Tomas who was diagnosed with Leukemia late in 2004, were some of the special guests (Malades) chosen by the Knights and Dames of the American Association of the Order of Malta to accompany them on their annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes.

This year’s pilgrimage was a very special one. Not only was the Order of Malta celebrating 50 years of taking Malades to Lourdes (25 years for the American Association), but more importantly, it is the 150 Anniversary of the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette. The story of Bernadette has been recounted many times, in an Oscar-winning film and in a song sung by the likes of Bette Midler, Anne Murray, Aaron Neville, and countless others…But no of these mediums conveys the strong physical, spiritual healing and inner peace that is experienced in Lourdes.

Lourdes is not your typical tourist place. It does not have the impressive historical places like in the Holy Land, nor does it have the impressive architectural grandeur that can be seen in Rome. Lourdes is a place for prayer, recollection, thanksgiving, and deep devotion. Thousands of people come each year to bring special petitions, and thousands more come to give thanks. Lourdes is a special place that words cannot easily describe, and all this is thanks to the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary that a poor peasant girl had 150 years ago.

St. Bernadette was born January 7th, 1844 to an impoverished family in Lourdes, France. On February 11th 1858, at the age of 14, while gathering firewood with her sister and a friend, she saw her first Apparition of the Virgin Mary in the Grotto of Massabielle. She described this Apparition as a “Beautiful Lady wearing a white dress, with a white veil, a blue belt and yellow roses on her feet.” She went on to have another 17 more Apparitions.

At first Bernadette was harassed by local authorities and dismissed as a crazy girl. On her 4th Apparition, Bernadette went to the Grotto with a lighted blessed candle. It was to be the beginning of the tradition of bringing candles and lighting them in front of the Grotto. On her 9th Apparition, following the instructions of the Virgin Mary, Bernadette discovered the spring that to this day flows in the Grotto.

On her 13th Apparition, the Virgin Mary asked Bernadette to bring a message to the local priest to build her a chapel here. It was only on her 16th visit with the “Beautiful Lady”, that the Lady reveals her identity by saying: “Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou (I am the Immaculate Conception).” This phrase played a very important role because only four years earlier Pope Pius IX had promulgated the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine was not common knowledge among the people, it was mainly known to the clergy. And here was an ignorant peasant girl repeating words that were not expected to come from someone of that level in society. The last of the Apparitions happened on July 16th.

Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity and spend the rest of her short life with them. She was canonized on December 8, 1933, as the Patron Saint of the Sick, the Family, and the Poor. Today more than 6,000,000 visit the Grotto in Lourdes each year to pray. And among those millions of faithful a group of more than 300 members of the American Association of the Order of Malta with their special guests embarked in this pilgrimage to Lourdes.

The Order of Malta, faithful to their humble beginnings, in which they took care of all pilgrims at their hospital in Jerusalem, and continuing their tradition of caring of the poor and sick in our society, presented two Vero Beach boys with the opportunity of a life time to travel to Lourdes among the Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta. Tomas’ and William’s journey started in Newark, N.J. aboard the chartered flight that would take them with other kids and adults with special needs to Lourdes. The Knights and Dames of the Order with their teams of auxiliaries, doctors and nurses welcomed them all with handshakes, best wishes and above all big smiles and hugs. . Little did they know what was coming their way in the way of excitement and extraneous days. After a long and uneventful flight, things started to move fast once they arrived in Lourdes. After a short bus ride to their hotels and a quick lunch it was off to meet and greet all the new faces that were to be part of their teams, and then it was time to get ready for the first Mass and visit to the Domain.

The Domain is the area where the Grotto is located as well as the Basilicas and the other chapels are. During this first visit to the Domain, and all other visits, the special guests of the Order (Malades) were pulled/pushed around in individual chariots which facilitate their movements and minimize their fatigue. The first Mass was held at the beautiful Basilica with its beautiful golden crown and cross on top of it, with even more beautiful golden mosaic walls and Dome inside. This service was presided over by almost 30 clergies and accompanied by the Chorus of the Order.

Friday would turn out to be another wonderful day. Not your typical day in Lourdes this time of the year, but warm and sunny, just the perfect day for the children to go on their tour. Each child was assigned five or six members of the Order to help cater them with all their needs and wishes, and every morning their chariots with all their escorts would assemble in front of the Hotel D’Espagne and get ready for the start of the day events.

Today the children’s caravan will be heading out on the footsteps of St.Bernadette. The first stop was the church where she was baptized. Here Fr.Dunn would give the children some historical narratives and lead them into prayer, and off to the next stop, her home at the Chacot. It was very interesting for the kids to see how and where she lived, a small room that was shared by the entire family. This room is probably no larger than their bedrooms back home. From there the caravan moved to the Boly Mill, her birthplace. The tour ended back in the Domain.

Friday afternoon was reserved for what was to be for many of the children the highlight of the trip, The Baths. This is following on the words of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette: "Go drink of the spring and wash yourself there..." The water in the pools is crystal clear and ice cold. You can imagine the faces on the two Florida boys when they were immersed in the spring water, yet for them this was the highlight. Following this heart-stopping experience the whole group re-assembled in front of the St. Bernadette Chapel, across the river Gave opposite to the Grotto.

The Mass of the Anointing of the Sick was again a joint service with the other US associations. The crowning event of the day was a candlelight procession in which thousands of people participated, with several thousand more lining the procession route with more candles. The procession started at the Grotto, went around the esplanade, and concluded on the steps of the Rosary Basilica. During the procession, the Rosary was prayed aloud in several languages: Spanish, German, English, Italian, French, Arabic, and others.

Saturday was pretty much the continuation of the wonderful experience from Friday. The morning Mass was held in the Grotto and Archbishop Mahoney of Los Angeles delivered the Homily. Following the Mass, all the Malades were presented personally with a commemorative medal by the Grand Master of the Order Fra’ Matthew Festing.

Sunday turned out to be probably the longest day for the kids, but one that they would never forget. Sunday Mass was held at the Pius IX Basilica. The Basilica has a capacity of almost 30,000 people and this Sunday it was full. Among all the participants were over 8,000 Knights, Dames, and Auxiliaries of the Order, including over 1,500 Malades from 42 countries. All the Knights and Dames wore their choir robes, capes, and decorations. The Mass started with a procession of world flags, followed by parish standards and the flags of the League of the Order, and they were followed by a procession of at least 200 clergies. And all this while the Order Chorus sung their beautiful melodies.

After this mass the children had a picnic planned with a visit to the Fortress that overlooks the Domain and the Town. In the afternoon another beautiful procession with all the Knights, Dames, Auxiliaries and Malades took place. All the different associations from around the world gathered in the meadow area across from the baths and proceeded to the Pius IX Basilica for the Adoration and the Blessing of the Sick.

On Monday the children experienced for the first time what everybody said was the typical weather for this time of the year in Lourdes, cold and drizzle. But not even this weather was going to dampen their spirit. Mass was held at the Immaculate Conception Basilica. The altar of this Basilica is located directly on top of the place where the Apparitions took place, the Basilica itself rests on top of the Massabielle Rock. The bells of the Basilica plays a sound that will be familiar to all those that visit Lourdes for the rest of their lives, every hour the sounds of the Ave Maria of Lourdes are played for everyone to hear. Following the Mass the group was split into smaller groups to do the Station of the Cross.

Monday being the last day in Lourdes, people were encouraged to absorb the spirit of Lourdes by visiting tall those places that had inspired them. Some went back to the Grotto to Pray, others went to the fountains to collect water to bring back home, and some just walked through the narrow streets. Monday night closed the pilgrimage with a reflection on all the events that had taken place, and how these events have touched the lives of all that participated be it as a member of the Order, a Caregiver, or a Malade. In essence, everyone came looking for a cure. For some it was a physical cure, for others it was an emotional one, but all came back home with a spiritual healing and the strength to face life with an inner peace and the belief that no matter what the outcome may be, will be watching over us.