September 15th – 16th 2024
Bringing Lourdes to the Faithful
The visitation of the holy relics is an opportunity to have Lourdes come to our diocese so that we can all experience the pilgrimage in Lourdes at home in Cloyne.
St. Mary’s Church, Mallow, 15th September
| 10:30am | Arrival of the Relics |
| 11:00am | Mass for 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time with Sprinkling of Lourdes Water followed by The Angelus. |
| 3pm – 4pm | Sacrament of Reconciliation available |
| 4:00pm | Blessed Sacrament Procession & Benediction |
| 6:00pm | The Angelus and Recitation of the Rosary |
| 9:00pm | Compline/Night Prayer of the Church |
Church of the Most Holy Rosary, Midleton, 16th September
| 9:30am | Arrival of the Relics |
| 10:00am | Mass with sprinkling of Lourdes Water followed by Rosary |
| 12pm – 1pm | Local Schools visitation |
| 3:00pm | Anointing of The Sick |
| 6:00pm | The Angelus |
| 8:00pm | Torchlight Marian Procession and Rosary |
Petitions
There will be an opportunity for pilgrims to leave petitions and personal intentions to Our Lady of Lourdes and St Bernadette.
Petitions should be written at home and brought to the churches. A petition box will be located at the Marian shrines in the churches.
Veneration of the relics ends at 9pm each evening in both churches.
Our Lady of Lourdes! help our faith!
The relics will be at St. Mary’s Church in Mallow on Sunday, 15th September and at The Church of The Most Holy Rosary in Middleton on Monday, 16th September. This very special, once-in-lifetime event will provide an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the special gifts and charisms of Lourdes.
The visitation of the holy relics is an opportunity to bring Lourdes to our diocese, benefiting those who may not be able to travel to Lourdes themselves by sharing in some of the atmosphere of prayer and consolation that pilgrims experience while they are there. This will provide a glimpse of what is near and dear to the hearts of those who travel on our diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes each year.
Bernadette Soubirous was born in Lourdes, a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in the year 1844.
She was born into a poor but loving family, who suffered many hardships. Bernadette was a simple peasant-girl, uneducated and small in stature. Although her health was poor due to chronic asthma, her days were full of hard work; missing school and Catechism lessons to stay at home and help out. This simple peasant girl was chosen to give the message of the love God has for all mankind “as the adopted children of His Blessed Mother.”
In 1858, she saw the Virgin Mary eighteen times at the Grotto of Massabielle: the Apparitions of Lourdes were authenticated in 1866 by the Bishop of Tarbes. In that same year, Bernadette left Lourdes to live out her religious vocation within the community of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers.
She entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity, where she carried out humble work and was not given any special treatment. In silence, she endured extreme pain as she became seriously ill with tuberculosis of the lungs and bones. This humble saint died at the age of thirty-five and was proclaimed blessed in 1925, then a saint in 1933.
Prayer
Our Lady of Lourdes help our faith!
Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognise God’s call.
Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps.
Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith.
Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love,
especially at times of trial and illness.
Remind us that those who believe are never alone.
Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path.
And may this light of faith always increase in us.
We make this prayer through your Son, Christ our Lord.
Our Lady of Lourdes – Pray for us. St. Bernadette – Pray for us.