Going to Lourdes with the Oxford and Cambridge pilgrimage was an incredible experience. I think I’ve (mostly) grown out of the expectation that Mary will appear to me personally, so I wasn’t disappointed when I didn’t see her, or any miraculous recoveries.

However, what I did see was something even more wonderful.
I saw people who had travelled from all corners of the earth, and who were incredibly unwell, sometimes close to death, radiant with joy as they flocked to the churches for Mass. The very place where their suffering is given redemptive meaning. I saw people with terrible deformities who were in excruciating pain, but who were completely at peace as they consciously offered up their suffering.

Pilgrims can now emulate Bernadette’s gestures by receiving the gestes de l’eau: three servings of the water from Lourdes in the hands. The pilgrim washes her hands with the first serving, washes her face with the second, then drinks of it, all before a statue of Our Lady. A woman may therefore wash her hands with husband and children, or with friends. They may pray together and face one another throughout.

I think that one of the main graces for me in the week was getting to know my fellow pilgrims, and learning from them about how to embody two virtues associated with Bernadette: humility, and a strong recognition of one’s duty. We took part in the Rosary procession and the Eucharistic Procession as a group, and this was a beautiful experience. On a side note here, if you are like me and struggle to keep up with praying the Rosary sometimes, Lourdes is a place where Mary can help a lot with this- I know she helped me!

Time is transcended and Heaven touches earth. The week of the Oxford-Cambridge Universities Lourdes Pilgrimage 2022 was one endless day, structured by a succession of extraordinary events — ordinary occurrences in this magnificent Marian shrine.