Lourdes
Pilgrimages to Lourdes
A diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes is held annually
Parish groups, individuals and anyone with a desire to be part of this faith journey is welcome to partake. An annual collection in the parishes of the diocese is used to assist needy people with travel expenses and subsidises the expenses of required medica, professional help as well as voluntary carers for the sick.
People who need assistance are accommodated in a special hospital on the grounds of the shrine and this is staffed during the pilgrimage by people from Cork & Ross who volunteer to assist the pilgrims. The helpers and the able-bodied pilgrims stay in the hotels in the town - which are also near the Grotto. People are encouraged to join the Diocesan Pilgrimage as helpers, nurses and doctors to assist pilgrims in Lourdes. Contact:
The Diocesan Coordinators of the Pilgrimage to Lourdes are Fr. Charlie Kiely, Fr Damian O'Mahony and Fr. Marius O’Reilly. They are appointed by the bishop and work alongside a dedicated team of volunteer lay people.
You can find out more information about Lourdes at
Any latest news and announcements will be published below
Photo taken at Lourdes in 1972 (full image in post)
Who was on the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1972?
One of the established traditions with pilgrims who travel to the Marian Shrine in Lourdes, France, is to have a photo taken outside the basilica.
There must be many such photos in homes across Ireland!
This photo of the Cork and Ross Pilgrimage to Lourdes was taken in 1972. It was taken by Photo Viron -- a local firm who still take photos as Lourdes. (Click Read more to see the full photo.)
This year's pilgrimage to Lourdes is from Sept 19th to 24th. A similar mix of people will travel also this year: people who are sick, their family members and helpers, professional carers, young adult helpers as well as able-bodied pilgrims who join from across the diocese.
Learn about Lourdes on Thursday 20thCome to Lourdes as a Young Adult Helper in September!
A special Information Evening will take place for those aged 18 to 25 that are interested in travelling with the Diocese of Cork and Ross to Lourdes (Sept 19th to 24th) as a Young Adult Helper.
The meeting will take place on
Thursday 20 March
at 7.30pm
Mardyke House, Cork
This is a fantastic opportunity for young adults to assist pilgrims in need and deepen their faith by experiencing the unique spirituality of Lourdes.
For more information, please contact Sheila Kelleher at
Cork and Ross Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2024
Cork and Ross Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2025 will be in September and booking is open now
The Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes this year will take place from Friday 19th September to Wednesday 24th September under the patronage of Bishop Fintan Gavin.
The flights are from Cork to Lourdes. There is a choice of hotels from €939 pps and there will be a full Pilgrimage Programme.
Bookings are now open with Joe Walsh Tours on (01) 2410 800 for anyone wishing to travel as a pilgrim.
Volunteers are also required: Doctors, Nurses, Care Assistants and Helpers (Adults and Young Adults aged between 18-25 years).
A special Reunion Mass for those who travelled to Lourdes last September will be on Friday, February 28th at 7.30pm in the Church of the Incarnation, Frankfield, followed by a social afterwards.
This will officially launch this year’s pilgrimage, and all are invited and welcome to attend this Mass.
For general enquiries about the pilgrimage contact (085) 2525 040 or email:
The relics of St. Bernadette of Lourdes will be in our diocese on Oct 30th, 31st and Nov 1st.
Here Bishop Fintan invites everyone "to create in Cork and Ross something of what people experience in Lourdes".
Invitation to visit St. Bernadette's relicsThe Relics of St. Bernadette of Lourdes are on pilgrimage in Ireland and will be in the Diocese of Cork and Ross from 30 October to 1 November
St. Bernadette witnessed eighteen apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes in 1858 and countless millions of people have visited Lourdes since.
This visit of St. Bernadette’s relics will afford to the many people who can’t go to Lourdes an opportunity to be close to St. Bernadette and to Our Lady of Lourdes.
People will be able to venerate the relics at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne, Cork, and at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Clonakilty.
The programme is as follows:
The Cork and Ross Lourdes pilgrims returned home on Wednesday after five joy-filled days on pilgrimage in Lourdes.
Almost 450 people took part in this year’s pilgrimage.
The week was filled with many blessings and a jam-packed schedule kept the pilgrims busy. On Sunday morning, the Cork and Ross group celebrated the International Mass at St Pius X Underground Basilica, and Fr Charlie Kiely led a walking tour around Lourdes that afternoon, walking in the footsteps of St Bernadette.
On Monday, Bishop Fintan celebrated Mass at the Grotto, with many watching the livestream from home. Following this Mass, the pilgrims did the Stations of the Cross. That evening, the Cork and Ross group led both the Eucharistic procession and the Marian Torchlight Procession.
On Tuesday, Mass with the Sacrament of the Sick was celebrated at the Cotte Grotte, which marked the official end of the pilgrimage.
With the afternoon free, many pilgrims visited the grotto, shops and cafes for a nice relaxed afternoon before the journey home on Wednesday.
Upper Mayfield Parish at Lourdes
The Grotto at Lourdes by nightThe grotto at the heart of Lourdes is the place to which countless millions of people have come wanting to meet Mary, to pour out their troubles and worries and to express their gratitude for their joys and blessings.
With this message, Bishop Fintan Gavin welcomed the pilgrims on the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes to Mass at the Grotto, the place where Bernadette saw Our Lady in 1858.
“It is the place to which we come on pilgrimage to encounter the love, healing presence and welcome of Mary, the Mother who cares for us, and of Jesus, the merciful God who loves us,“ Bishop Fintan said.
Over 400 people from the Diocese of Cork and Ross are in Lourdes taking part in the annual pilgrimage.
The Grotto at Lourdes is a stepping stone to an encounter with Christ, he said.
Visiting the Grotto in Lourdes on the Cork and Ross pilgrimageDay two in Lourdes began with the official opening Mass celebrated by Bishop Fintan.
In his homily, Bishop Fintan said: One of the most striking things about Lourdes is the silence.
"I encourage you whether at the Grotto, through our various Masses or liturgies, through the people you will meet, to rest in the atmosphere and to listen to the voice of God and what God might be saying to you as you come here to Lourdes”.
In the afternoon, the Cork and Ross pilgrims had the penitential and water gesture ceremony, where they had the opportunity for confession and to drink the Lourdes water. After, the pilgrims headed for the official passage through the Grotto as a Diocesan group.
Having photos of the group taken in front of the Basilica is a traditional part of the pilgrimage, too.
Over 400 pilgrims travel to Lourdes for the annual Cork and Ross Pilgrimage
Over 400 pilgrims made the journey to Lourdes today as part of the Cork and Ross Diocesan pilgrimage. The group includes helpers, young adult helpers, school helpers, doctors, nurses and assisted pilgrims.
Bishop Fintan thanked the organising committee for the preparations over the last number of months to ensure the pilgrimage is an enjoyable experience for all.
You can keep up to date with the Cork and Ross pilgrimage over the coming days through the Lourdes livestream.
- On Sunday 22ndSeptember at 8.30am (Irish Time), the International Mass at St Pius X Underground Basicalica will be available to watch live.
- On Monday 23rdat 7.30am (Irish time), Bishop Fintan and the Cork and Ross pilgrims at Lourdes will celebrate Mass at the Grotto (where Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette).
Young volunteer helpers in Lourdes for the annual Cork and Ross pilgrimage
Volunteer nurses meet with organisers of the pilgrimagePreparations for the Cork and Ross Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes are well and truly underway with a series of events taking place over the weekend.
The pilgrimage which is fully booked and will take place from Friday 20th to Wednesday 25th September.
On Friday evening last, volunteer Lourdes helpers undertook safeguarding training, which was held in the SMA Wilton. Special thanks to Julie McCullough (Director of Safeguarding with the Irish Province of Carmelites) for providing our volunteers with this important training.
On Saturday, the young adult helpers group gathered in Mardyke House to prepare for the upcoming pilgrimage to Lourdes. On Sunday, a group of young and student nurses who are travelling on this year’s pilgrimage also gathered in Mardyke House.
Pilgrimages
Latest News
