THOUSANDS of people are expected to travel to Clonakilty next Thursday and Friday to venerate the relics of St Bernadette of Lourdes. ‘There’s an awful lot of people who will never get to visit Lourdes, so the object of this pilgrimage is to bring Lourdes to them,’ Fr Tom Hayes, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Cork and Ross, told The Southern Star.
‘This will be the first time that thousands of people will be able to get close to the relics of St Bernadette at Clonakilty’s Church of the Immaculate Conception,’ he said.
Fr Hayes, who has been to Lourdes many times, described it as ‘a really special experience.’
He is just one of the many tens of thousands of people from Cork who have visited, or regularly visit, the famous French shrine where St Bernadette witnessed 18 apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1858.
‘That’s what’s special about this visit because not only will they be bringing their own written petitions, they will be bringing petitions from people at home who won’t physically be able to attend.’
All of the petitions – including those made on the online portal on the www.corkandross.org website – will be taken to Lourdes afterwards.
Given the size of the crowd expected, Fr Hayes said stewards will provide for people with health or mobility issues.
One of the doors of the church will be designated as an entry point for them so they won’t have to stand in a queue for a long period of time.
People can attend the North Cathedral in Cork from 4pm on Wednesday, or the public veneration, which starts at 2.30pm in Clonakilty on Thursday, following welcoming prayers. The public veneration will continue until 8pm – when there will be a concelebrated mass and the sacrament of the sick with Bishop Fintan Gavin – before closing at 10pm.
The church will reopen at 7am on Friday morning and the relics will be removed shortly after 10am mass. Anyone who can’t attend might be interested in following the live links on corkandross.org.
Bishop Fintan Gavin said he knows ‘the trust and affection of the people of Cork for St Bernadette’ so boxes for written petitions will be available at both churches.
‘The sending of prayer petitions is a big part of the pilgrimage,’ he said, ‘and now, for the first time, people will be able to do this close to home.’
