For over a century, Catholics from Ireland have taken part in annual pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, but now, for the first time, a central figure of the Lourdes miracles is coming to Ireland. The relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous, who experienced the Marian apparitions that led her to find the healing spring waters of Lourdes, will soon tour the Emerald Isle.
An official website for the relic pilgrimage explains that the Irish Catholics were some of the first to hold a devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. Catholic dioceses from Ireland have been sending pilgrims to visit the site of the apparitions since 1883, just 25 years after the apparitions took place. Even though the vast majority of Irish citizens were impoverished in the 19th century, they still made their way from Dublin to London and then onward to France.
The site describes rag-tag groups of Irish pilgrims who joined the excursion for a number of reasons from devotion and curiosity, to urgent petitions seeking healing at the waters and the desire to accompany others. Whatever their reasons, groups of Irish pilgrims have continued to trek to Lourdes in annually held pilgrimages that have continued for nearly 150 years.
This is also why there are many churches dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes dotting the Irish peat-covered landscape. Their devotion was so strong that grateful Irish pilgrims and devotees created the Gold Crown of the Rosary Basilica to honor Our Lady in 1924. The crown is said to have been made from the only gold these Irish devotees had: their wedding rings.
St. Bernadette’s relic pilgrimage to Ireland is the first time the pilgrimage has come to Ireland, and the tour is ready to make the most of it. On the pilgrimage’s website, organizers have listed dozens of stops all around Ireland to give as many devotees the chance to venerate her relics as possible. This once-in-a-lifetime event is expected to draw crowds of all ages and backgrounds to experience the special gifts and charisms of Lourdes.
The tour is scheduled to run from September 4 to November 5, 2024. Learn more about the relic tour, as well as the Irish devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes, at the pilgrimage’s official website.
