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.

When the American Volun

Marlene Watkins founded

a movement of volunteers in

North America associated

with the Lourdes pilgrimage.

Notably supported by Mother

Angelica of the television network

EWTN,thisnewHospitality

movement is developing at an

extraordinary rate.

f the thousands of Hospitalitymembers from around the world,justafewyearsagolessthan100werefrom the United States. The imprac-

tical ship travel over one hundred

years ago did not lend itself well to

diocesan pilgrimages or hospitality

service. Today, the same flights that

bring pilgrims from around the globe to Lourdes can

now bring hospitality members, too. The opportunity

of hospitality service at the Sanctuary is not wellknown in the United States.

Onepilgrimhousewifewaiting,withtwosick

women for the fourth day in a lengthy line at the

Baths on a very crowded Ascension Thursday 2001,waspulledfromthequeuetohelpinsidethePiscinesand thus began what is now Lourdes Volunteers.

Inspired by the profound privilege of service in theBaths that day led the newly devoted piscinehandmaiden to the promise of a return the next yearwith ten good women from the United States. The

first group of individual volunteers, including aCanadian, arrived in 2002 and then Hospitality

30

.TheAmericanVolunteers have

just created theirownpublication,Lourdes Letter.

president, Mr. Gabriel Barbrey, invited the North

Americans to form the first American hospitality

andinvitemoretocomeandjoininservice.The

following year, the Lourdes Hospitality requested

that the apostolate be placed under the authority ofa bishop.OurLadyofLourdesHospitalityNorthAmericanVolunteers was elevated to a Public Association in the

Catholic Church by Most Reverend James MoynihanoftheSyracuse,NewYorkDioceseonJune10,2005.Lourdes Volunteers is a unique association of bothHospitality Stagiaires to welcome at the Sanctuary andthose who accompany and care for small groups ofspecial needs North American pilgrims to Lourdes.The mission of Lourdes Volunteers is to "extend the

invitation of Mary the Mother of God to serve the sickand suffering at Lourdes and at home as exemplified bySt. Bernadette in humility, simplicity and obedience."

In this spirit of need and appreciation for English-speakingpeoplefromacrossNorthAmericawenowcomeinincreasingnumbersfromTorontotoSanDiegotoserveOurLadyofLourdesandherpilgrimsat the Sanctuary.

teers organise themselves...

Each North American Volunteer serves as an indi-

vidual for Hospitality journeying as part of a smallgroupof16to30.Oncearrived,theyarewelcomedbytheHospitalityofOurLadyofLourdes.Thosewho travel together to Lourdes share the privilege ofservice at the Sanctuary in one of the services: thePiscines (Baths), Accueils Marie Saint-Frai or AccueilNotre-Dame(Thespecialhospital-likefacilitiesattheSanctuary).ManyfindnewfriendsatLourdesand return at the same time the next year to journeytogether."WeloveitwhenOurLadyintroducesusto her friends!" is a favourite expression of LourdesVolunteers.Now,uptotenNorthAmericangroupseach year serve with Hospitality during selected weeks

from April through October arriving from several

locations throughout the United States. Volunteersconnect from various states, the Canadian provincesandtheCaribbeantomeetfellowvolunteersand

make the international flight to Paris connecting toLourdes.Manynewfriendshipshavebeenforgedinservice at Lourdes. Students from Franciscan

University at Steubenville offer service at Lourdeseachyear(photobelow).SisterAnnMarieGill

finds this opportunity for her students to be a veryreal way to experience our one, holy and Catholicapostolic Church. Students see and live the universalChurch through a very tangible experience in Lourdes.

FatherDennisGang,Austriancampuschaplain,notesthattheyoungadultsfindthatOurLadyhastouchedthem in a very special way at Lourdes. They continue

their service throughout the year after they returnhome. The men who volunteer in St. Joseph's serviceoftheHospitalityofOurLadyofLourdes(abovephoto)findtheopportunitytomeetothermenfromaround the world in both physical and spiritualactivity as a genuine blessing. Many accompany theirwives or families to serve, but many also ventureindividuallytocomeandjointheinternationalteamat the Sanctuary. Dedicated and hard-working, theyfind the experience at Lourdes to be spiritually

fulfillingandthetimetoactivelylivetheirfaithin

sincere service founded on love and prayer. Howard"Poncho"HarrellofTexashadneverreallyfoundapersonal connection to the Mother of God after hisconversion into the Catholic Church over twenty yearsago.However,aftercomingtoLourdes,hefeels'OurLady placed her finger on his heart' while he was theretohelpherpilgrims.Anunexpectedbonuswasanunderstanding of the Rosary as a way of peace and anewlyfoundMariandevotion."1wasn'tsurewhy1wasgoing to Lourdes, except that 1felt 1 had to. After hearingaboutvolunteeringatLourdesonEWTNtelevision,1decided 1 needed to go and serve': Like Bernadette, theyall respond to an anterior mysterious call, where thejoy of loving is paramount.

CONTACTOur Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North

American Volunteers - P.O. Box 3820 - Syracuse -NY13220USA-www.lourdesvolunteers.orgLOURDES n.129(1411/2006 31

(( Message of Lourdes"Attheheartofthismagazinewepublishasmallletter of four pages entitled "Message ofLourdes". It is the first issue of a series inalphabeticalformwhichwillhelpustoprepare,and experience, the 150'h anniversary of theApparitionsofOurLadyofLourdes.Youmayphotocopy this letter and distribute it widely(andwhynottranslateitintoChinese?..),sothat the message of Lourdes may touch many

hearts and radically change the world.

Fran~oisVayne

WORD

Volunteerwork inthe Gospel

LETTERS

EVENT 5

CQntents

.

235 FORUM

Youngpeopleonthe roadto Easter

36

12 FEATURE

Servingin LourdesVolunteerstestifyto theirexperienceThevoluntaryworkersservenotonlythe sick,butarealsopresentonmanyother"fronts": directingthe servicefor youngpeople,directingvisitorsetc.Thisfeaturegives them the opportunityto express themselves,and announces the creationofanewserviceforvoluntary workers.

The GoldenJubilee of HCPT

HISTORY

43LOURDESDIARY40 HORIZONSDeuscaritasest

6

r

~~NewsRoundup8

Walsingham, in England

LOURDES

LourdesMagazine1,avenueMgr Theas65108LourdesCedex

Tel. +33 (0)5.62.42.79.91

. Fax +33 (015.62.42.79.93

www.lourdes-maaazine.com

Copyright (fuvre de la Grotte

Noarticle,orpartofanarticle,maybereproducedwithoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthe

Editor's Department of Lourdes Magazine.

4

MAGAZINE PUBLISHED INGERMAN,ENGLISH,SPANISH,FRENCHANDITALIAN- Editorial director: Fran~ois Vayne

(francois.vayne@/ourdes-france.com) - Editorial administrator and office manager. Martine Korpal (/ourdes.magazine@/ourdes-france.com) - Assistant editor: Laurent Jarneau (laurent.jarneau@lourdes-france.com) - Regularcontributorsto themagazine:Andre Cabes,Andre Doze,Michel de Roton, Mathias Terrier (Radio Presence Lourdes Pyrenees),Regis-Mariede la Teyssonniere-Photolibrary: DanielleSempere,PierreVincent(photographie)(phototheque@/ourdes-france.com)- Graphicdesigners:Malou Vernoni,LuisaDePiccoli,EleonoraMattana- Copyeditor.RenePoint,with severalvolunteers- Historicaladviso~BernardBillet- TranslatoroftheEnglishedition:BarryandNicoleGriffin-Circulation:DanielCastang,tel.+33(0)5.62.42.79.60,withtheassistanceofHerveOllivier

and ClaudieLautel (advertisingl- Subscription services: Cathy Bordes,tel. +33(015.62.42.79.40Icathy.bordes@/ourdes-france.coml-Technicalteam:FabriceChauvatandCathyBordes'Legalrepresentative:FatherRaymondZambelli,rectoroftheShrineofOurLady

of Lourdes - Manager. Francis Dehaine, director general of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes - Publisher: EURL for the Rosary Basilica

-1st registration of copyright May 1991 - Jointcommissionno1106K80940-ISSN1162-3209'Printing:DiffusioniGraficheS.p.A.-

1-15030Villanova Monferrato AL(ltaly}-DlSTRIBUTED BY THE uNMPpu.

SUBSCRIPTIONS!Fonn in the centre of this issue): Brhish pouAds 20/vEAR,36/2YEARS'US$luAchanged)33/YEAR, 60/2YEARS'Austr.49/YEAR,8812YEARS'Can$ 45/YEAR, 81/2YEARS' Euros 27/vEAR, 49/2YEARS - Paymentmadepayableto: Lourdes-Magazine-I, avenueMgrTheas-65108LOUROESCEOEXAmassfortheintentionsofallourgenerousdonorsiscelebratedon11thofeachmonth,at11.15am.

in the Rosary Basilica, in the Sanctuary of Lourdes.

. Frontcover photo:Amomentoftendernessduringan HCPT festivecelebrationintheBasilicaofPiusXintheSanctuaryofLourdes.HCPTis50yearsoldthisyear."Loveofneighbour.groundedintheloveofGod.isfirstand

foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesialcommunity at every level: from the local community to the particular Church and to the Church universal in its entirety.

Asacommunity,theChurchmustpracticelove."(BenedictXVIinhisfirstEncyclical.paragraph201. (PhotoVincent)