The annual Carmelite Abbey pilgrimage to Lourdes as attended by 33 people from the  including Fr Pat Beecher OCD.  The group arrived in Lourdes on Wednesday, the 7^th of September.   The pilgrimage opened that evening with Mass in the Church of the Seven Dolours.

The following day, the Feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the group were blessed to attend mass at the Grotto, along with the group from the Dublin Archdiocese.  There were almost 40 priests concelebrating the mass, the main celebrant being Archbishop Diarmuid Martin himself.  He spoke on the importance of doing God’s will, and how Mary’s example of accepting His will effected God’s plan of salvation for the whole of mankind.  He also spoke of St Bernadette yes to God’s will throughout her life.  This mass was significant for yet another reason, as Fr Pat Beecher celebrated his Gold Jubilee, 50 years as a Discalced Carmelite Friar.

On Friday, the group did the stations of the cross, and attended the torch-it procession.  Saturday morning they visited the Carmelite Convent and celebrated mass there.  The sisters who earn their income by making chocolates for sale did very good business that day.  They also provided refreshments for the group.  The sacristan of the chapel was proud to announce she was of Irish decent.  Her father was a Paddy Clarke from  Bordeaux, a descendant of the wild geese that had fled Ireland during troubled times.

The international mass was held in the underground basilica on Sunday.  The blessed sacrament procession was in the afternoon and the group candle was placed at the grotto afterwards.  A holy hour was held in the Poor Clare convent in the cavern-like chapel.

The final mass was held in the Seven Dolours chapel on Monday morning at 8.30am, with a group from Whitehall, Dublin, lead by Fr. Deasy.  The group was back in Dublin at 3.30pm that afternoon.

Everyone agreed a good time was had by all, and that following the words of the Archbishop in his sermon at the grotto, the entire group found the peace and quiet that Lourdes promises, a retreat from the pressures of the world, giving one time to talk to God minus the distractions and stresses of our everyday lives.