Many have been deeply moved by the solitude they encountered as they walked the Camino de Santiago and others have been roused by the raw emotion of our Lord’s passion as they traveled the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. A visit to the tombs of Peter and Paul in Rome surely brings us closer to those who walked with Jesus and helped establish the church. All of these pilgrimages are meaningful but a pilgrimage to Lourdes with the Order of Malta is transformative and will surpass all of these!
From a spiritual perspective, the services scheduled throughout the week are carefully planned to build on each other. Each day helps us to reflect on our relationship with God, to understand the path he has laid for us, and draw closer to Jesus through his Mother. In a very special way, we are given an opportunity to fully embrace and respond to the requests of Our Lady to Bernadette by processing, praying the rosary, confessing our sins, drinking the waters, and receiving the Eucharist.
Our charism as an Order calls us to serve the sick and the poor. We often do this in very small groups in our local Areas in ways that are special to us as individuals – feeding the hungry, visiting the homebound, serving food to the unhoused, praying with the dying, caring for victims of crimes, visiting the incarcerated. The Lourdes Pilgrimage offers us a unique opportunity to demonstrably live this charism more broadly as an Association. Knights, Dames, Chaplains, Auxiliary and volunteers put aside their personal and professional responsibilities, don uniforms as a sign of humility, and put their own needs behind those of the malades and caregivers in their charge. This service we perform on the pilgrimage publicly acknowledges and demonstrates our desire to be ‘forgetful of thyself’. There is no better way to see the worldwide Order unified in common purpose.
Socially, the pilgrimage is an occasion to meet other members of the American Association, and perhaps the only opportunity to interact and work alongside members from across the world. We laugh, we cry, we support each other, we develop enduring friendships – and we have fun doing it all!
As Knights and Dames, we commit to join the pilgrimage to Lourdes soon after our Investiture. Some see this as an obligation. I see it as an invitation. My pilgrimages surely deepened my spirituality and allowed me to truly see, in a hands-on way, what the Order of Malta is really about. Through the service work, I’ve been able to help those in need and develop relationships with people that have become some of my best friends. Join us in 2025 and I am confident you’ll have the same experience!
Kenneth R. Craig, KM, American Association President
