- On the program of "Lourdes United", celebrations and prayers in five languages broadcast by Catholic television around the world. A two-hour special broadcast from the Grotto where, the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous.
- The Sanctuary of Lourdes reopened on May 16 but now only welcomes individual pilgrims.
- The “e-pilgrimage” is an opportunity to launch a call for donations. "It is an almost white season and we expect a very strong operating loss," announces the rector of the Sanctuary.
An e-pilgrimage to Lourdes! It is not for gamers to rely on the Virgin Mary before an e-sport competition, it is simply the adaptation of the sanctuary to the health crisis. Indeed, this year because of the coronavirus epidemic, pilgrimages have been canceled in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), failing this in order to "commune with pilgrims around the world" and to launch a call for donations, the demonstration "Lourdes United" was created and begins this Thursday.
On the program, celebrations and prayers in five languages broadcast by Catholic television and other broadcast channels around the world, from the United States to Indonesia. A special two-hour program is also scheduled for the afternoon, live from the Grotto where, according to the Catholic religion, the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
Chaplains interact with the faithful on social networks
"There is a real communion between the pilgrims", assures Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, the rector of the Sanctuary. This day, "anniversary of the last apparition of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, is the occasion for all those who are far from meeting together, even if it will never replace the fact of coming on pilgrimage".
During the confinement, “we clearly saw that the Sanctuary, closed to the public, had never had so much world traffic by all the other means available. We understood that these means had to be widened, ”explains Mathias Terrier, communications manager for the Sanctuary.
In addition to the retransmissions, a team of chaplains is responsible for dialoguing in different languages on social networks, "with priests who respond to prayer intentions, but also for example to questions about the possibilities of pilgrimage to Lourdes or questions about the faith ”, continues Mathias Terrier.
An 8 million euro deficit for the sanctuary in 2020
Although reopened since May 16, after a historic closure of two months, the Sanctuary undergoes the cancellation of almost all of the organized pilgrimages, many in summer. Lourdes now only welcomes individual pilgrims. The “e-pilgrimage” is also an opportunity to launch a call for donations, while the Sanctuary forecasts a deficit of eight million euros in 2020.
Our file on Lourdes
"It is an almost white season and we expect a very strong operating loss. So that we can get up, welcome pilgrims and prepare for the future, we need the generosity of all those who love Lourdes, ”argues Archbishop Ribadeau-Dumas. "The Sanctuary lives almost exclusively thanks to donations, and especially donations on the spot," says Mathias Terrier. The situation is serious, not only for the Sanctuary but for the whole basin of the Lourdes. "
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