Lourdes Pilgrimage, May 2014
Written by: Olivia Walsh, ’15
Regular language is insufficient to describe and capture the events participated in,
relationships formed, and my inner transformation that occurred during my pilgrimage to
Lourdes, France in May 2014. Lourdes, France is the place where a 14-year-old, poor,
illiterate, and uneducated girl named Bernadette experienced visions of the Virgin Mary.
During the year of 1858, Mary appeared and spoke with Bernadette at the grotto on
eighteen separate occasions. Mary asked Bernadette to tell the sinners to “go drink at the
spring and wash yourself there.” Millions of people come each year to Lourdes drinking
and bathing in the water from the grotto with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities.
These people pray with complete faith to be healed, cured, and blessed with an eternal life.
The miraculous events that have occurred and are still occurring are astounding. To
be considered a true miracle by the Lourdes Medical Bureau, the change in health of an
individual cannot be proven so by any scientific or medical rationale. There are 69
documented miracles from the year 1858 to the present day. The number of documented
miracles is considered underrated by many for two reasons. The first reason the number of
miracles is probably underrated is because of the desire to remain anonymous and the
avoidance of the resulting fame and publicity that comes in announcing a miracle. The
second reason the number of miracles is considered underrated is because of the
requirements that must be met in order to be documented a miracle. While the official
definition of a miracle at Lourdes is the physical change of state that cannot be rationalized
by science or medical rationale, there are countless cases of truly miraculous emotional,
mental, and spiritual changes that occur. Technically, these transformations are not
documented as official miracles, but to those who experience the change of heart, mind,
and spirit they are true miracles.
For me, the tale of one particular woman overhangs the many beautiful stories I
heard and witnessed in Lourdes. When the now grown woman was a little girl, she had
aggressive cancer that required chemotherapy and radiation. The young girl became
severely ill, developed terrible sores in her mouth and throat, was subsequently unable to
eat, and nearing death. Seeing no hope with the medical treatments, the girl’s parents took
their daughter out of the hospital against medical advice and brought her to Lourdes.
Doctors said she likely would not survive the plane ride not to mention the pilgrimage
itself. The little girl steadily grew stronger during her time at Lourdes, and one of the first
days of the trip asked her mother for a hot dog! This was the first time the little girl had
eaten solid food in months. The girl bathed in the waters of the spring and completed her
pilgrimage to Lourdes. Upon return to the United States, the little girl’s scans revealed no
cancer. The Lourdes Medical Bureau does not consider this part of the woman’s life a
miracle, as the remission of cancer could be possibly linked to the treatment she had
received prior to her trip. However, as a result of the medical treatments at such a young
age, when the young girl grew up, she never received her period. Menarche (a woman’s
first period) includes hormonal and physical changes that occur and are required for a
woman to become pregnant. Miraculously, she was able to get pregnant and today is the
mother of two children. Science cannot explain how a woman who never received her
period was able to conceive and carry two children. It is beyond human reason how this
woman is a mother today.
For the first time in the history of the Order of the Malta, one of the malades passed
away during the pilgrimage in Lourdes. (‘Malade’ is the French word for ‘sick one’ and
describes a pilgrim seeking healing.) The malade was a 54-year-old man with ALS whose
disease state was rapidly deteriorating in the weeks leading up to the pilgrimage. The
malade was on the pilgrimage with his wife who was his caregiver. Both husband and wife
embodied unfathomable courage, strength, and faith in the days and hours leading up to his
death. Many people advised the malade and his wife not to participate in the journey to
Lourdes because of his weak and deteriorating condition. However, it was very important
to him to take the pilgrimage to Lourdes and experience the bath of Lourdes, even if it
meant he should die in Lourdes and not return to his Earthly home. The man bathed in the
waters of the spring on our rainiest and coldest day in Lourdes. After the bath, the malade
was unable to continue to the Mass of the Anointing of the Sick or any subsequent events of
the pilgrimage. Throughout that night and the next day and a half, the malade became
extremely physically distressed: his respiratory effort was becoming severely labored and
his oxygen saturation was far beyond a dangerously low level. Despite the signs of
impending death, the husband and wife did not weep. The wife sat next to her husband in
bed and they prayed the rosary together. In the final hours of the malade’s life, his wife as
well as the bishops and priests on the pilgrimage participated in an intimate final mass for
the malade’s life. In announcing the malade’s death to the rest of the pilgrims with the
Order of the Malta, the Bishop spoke of the malade’s unbending faith and courage in his
final hours. The bishop recalled how after he said a line from the Bible of particular
importance and meaning to the malade, the malade lifted his arm and offered the Bishop a
thumb up, as a sign of acceptance and understanding of what was approaching. To witness
and be a part of the malade’s final hours and celebration of his life is truly indescribable.
Whether it be in the pouring rain amongst a crowd of over two thousand pilgrims
from all over the world celebrating Mass at the place where Mary appeared to Saint
Bernadette or passing a man pulling a malade in a three wheeled cart, or “voiture” as they
call it in Lourdes, to and from one church to another, or receiving a hug of deep
appreciation and gratitude from a malade who is unable to care for himself, or seeing a
mother cry tears of love while embracing her disabled son after his experience in the baths,
devotion, sacrifice, and love are ever-present in Lourdes.
It is without question that the Boston College Connell School of Nursing has
prepared me to be a great nurse. I have been taught how to assess and care for my
patients, how to critically think and how to use my proper judgment in countless situations
to make the best decision. However, it was in my week pilgrimage to Lourdes where I
learned how to be an outstanding nurse. Through my experiences in Lourdes I developed
compassion, the ability to listen, having confidence when facing the unknown, comfort with
silence, and comfort with death. I am forever thankful for the amazing opportunity to travel
and experience Lourdes. My pilgrimage to Lourdes will be the highlight of my time at
Boston College.