Over 50 beautiful prayer shawls were lovingly made with prayers for our Malades on this year’s Annual Lourdes Pilgrimage. Following the Team Captains Meeting on Thursday, Msgr. Robert Ritchie blessed the shawls before they were distributed to their new owners. “What a beautiful ministry,” was expressed by multiple captains as they picked up their blessed shawls. Each recipient felt blessed, honored, and deeply grateful to be truly “wrapped in prayer.”

This meaningful ministry began in 2023 when a Malade, now a Dame of the Order, knitted the very first Order of Malta prayer shawl during a pilgrimage, inspiring a tradition that continues to bring comfort, faith, and love to so many.