The Pope in Lourdes, a pilgrim among the sick, entrusting himself to Mary
For internet users: webcam on Massabielle Grotto shows devotions live.
Rome (AsiaNews) Pope John Paul II will go on pilgrimage to Lourdes Sanctuary in France on August 14 and 15 for the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX on December 1854.
In his previous journey to Lourdes on August 15, 1983, John Paul II himself emphasised the link between the Immaculate Conception and the Feast of the Assumption. Since Mary was without sin, her body did not die and decay.
French President Jacques Chirac will meet the Pontiff at Tarbes-Lourdes airport on the morning of July 14. The Pope will then visit the Massabielle Grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous on February 16, 1858. He will then drink the water from the grotto's spring, offer the Virgin a rose and recite the Angelus. In the afternoon, the Pontiff will lead the Rosary prayer in a solemn procession following to the Mysteries of Light.
On Sunday, Feast of the Assumption, John Paul II will lead the celebration of the Eucharist in Sanctuary square. In the late afternoon, he will pause in silent prayer, alone, before the grotto. Pilgrims will be able to accompany his prayers from the other side of the River Gave which runs nearby.
In the two-day visit, the Pontiff will stay at the Accueil Notre-Dame for sick pilgrims to signify his status as pilgrim and old person. He will share the reception centre with 900 other sick people. About 200,000 pilgrims are expected to make the journey to Lourdes.
The Pope's visit will be preceded on Friday, August 13, by a prayer vigil for young people led by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon. Marian sanctuaries like those of Loreto (Italy), Altötting (Germany), Czestochowa (Poland) and Fatima (Portugal) will be remembered as indisputable proof of Christianity's presence in Europe.
The Sanctuaires de Lourdes website offers a 24 hours webcam view of the grotto, live and living proof of pilgrims' devotion to the Virgin Mary.
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