Since the pandemic, being together in church has felt different. We have a new appreciation of what it means to be together, to join in a spirit of prayer and celebration in close proximity – this past Christmas was joyful as we got back to what we knew with a renewed sense of gathering. One of the sadnesses of the pandemic was being prevented from travelling. For the Diocese of Wrexham that meant that the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes was impossible. This summer we resume our pilgrimage. I hope that you can join us. Gathering for a pilgrimage is a very special experience. Whenever the Diocese of Wrexham gathers it is a special experience of being the church. One only has to think of the celebration of the Mass of the Sacred Chrism when people from all across the Diocese, our Bishops and Deacons and the Priests express their unity in faith and witness, prayer and song and action. A pilgrimage as a diocese expresses beautifully what it means to be a pilgrim people united in faith.

 

This year’s Pastoral Theme for all pilgrims to Lourdes is “Go and tell the priests to build a chapel there”. It is taken from the words of Our Blessed Lady to Bernadette during the apparitions. The theme will give us much to ponder as we prepare to journey together, whilst we are in Lourdes and when we return. Building the church is not merely a matter of maintaining a building: it is about deepening communion with one another. It is about participation. It is also about mission. These words are central to the process that Pope Francis has called us to… ‘the synodal pathway’. Joining together on a pilgrimage is a wonderful experience of being on a pathway, of talking and listening, of prayer and singing and silence and contemplation. It is an experience of being alongside fellow pilgrims, making new friendships and renewing old associations, not just from within the Diocese of Wrexham but from across the whole church.

 

This year the Pilgrimage will depart on 28th July and return on 2nd August. I do hope that you can join with us. It is hoped that the change of date will accommodate young people from our three diocesan high schools and also other young people will be able to join with us.

 

More details can be found in church or at the website of Joe Walsh Tours. (www.joewalshtours.ie or call 08081 890 468)

 

Booking forms are available from your priests, from Bishop’s House and from me at Bangor. Please do give some thought and prayer to joining with the Diocesan Pilgrimage this year. A visit to Lourdes can be a life-changing event. The time of the pandemic has confronted us with many realities. It has also offered us new priorities in our lives. Hopefully our faith and the consolation that it offers to us will have a new place in our lives. This summer we were privileged to welcome the relics of St Bernadette of Lourdes here in the Diocese as they toured the various dioceses of England & Wales. It was good to be part of celebrations of our faith which gathered people from across the Diocese. Please God many of us will journey together in faith to Lourdes this summer to share faith. Perhaps the most important aspect of our faith is the joy of sharing with one another and experiencing deepening in faith. All this in a place of beauty and joy – and it is enjoyable, and memorable. I look forward to seeing you there. 

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                                                                                                                                                                        Fr Adrian Morrin