The 2008 Lourdes Pilgrimage

Nearly 8,000 people from the Order of Malta converged on the city of Lourdes this year to celebrate Jubilate 2008. The Order brought nearly 2,000 Malades to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette. The number of Malta pilgrims nearly doubled from the record number of 4,500 in 2007.

Four-hundred American Association Pilgrims including 49 Malades left on April 30 for a full week of activities and returned home on May 6. We were supported by 23 clergy, and 28 Medical personnel.

There was much to celebrate this year as it was also the 50th anniversary of the first Malta International Pilgrimage. We were delighted to welcome our newly elected Grand Master, His Most Eminent Highness, Fra´ Matthew Festing and several members of the Sovereign Council as they joined us for dinner on Sunday night.

The streets were more crowded than we had ever seen. In spite of the throngs of people our Captains and staff were able to lead our processions to each event on time and with no mishaps. For the first time there was a special event on Saturday night where all the members of the order were presented with a Jubilee pin and the United States was very well represented.

We were honored to serve as the Chairpersons for the twenty-third pilgrimage along with an extraordinary group of volunteers.

Barbara Miller, DM and Joseph Miller, KM
Chairpersons 2008

Photos from the Pilgrimage can be found by clicking the tab “Photo Gallery” at the top of this page.