Sharing Our Story
Tony
(This is how I captured all I absorbed from my pilgrimage to Lourdes) Facing Cancer, Finding Christ. Lourdes, France. 6/28/23 JMJ. We’ve been home since Saturday. At peace. I have finally shaken off pilgrimage fatigue and downloaded a picture I took. This is a...
Karen
We consider the Lourdes family a gift to us. It was, and forever will be the trip of a lifetime and everything that we experienced there was hard for us to put into words really, but just all around beautiful. When I think of Lourdes, the biggest gift (our son) Connor...
Katie
My love of Lourdes developed as I witnessed my young neighbor fight for her life. Her mother asked me to pray over the 11-year-old girl three times during her five-and-a-half-month stay in the intensive care unit. I brought Lourdes water with me each time and asked...
Tim
The power of God through a Saint. The number of people drawn to The Relics of St. Bernadette was amazing. Not just in the prayers and in the worship but in the fellowship. I was able to give and receive hugs all day long from people I see often and from people I...
Lynn
Everyone has a story: For Dan and myself, the very fact that we are here is a miracle! We are so grateful. Each one of us was meant to be on this journey. Our Lady draws us in many different ways. She is very clever! As we experience this pilgrimage, we are...
Francesca
From a very young age, I hoped that Our Lady would bring me to Lourdes. My parents first visited Lourdes on a military pilgrimage when my family was stationed in Germany, and my two older siblings served on numerous youth pilgrimages. This small, miraculous town in...
Abby
"Being able to serve the sick in the Piscines is a very spiritual experience. These pilgrims, whose sickness is physical, mental, or even spiritual, travel hundreds of miles to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes and bathe in the spring waters. Through my service, I couldn’t...
Lorraine
What Membership Means To Me "I’ve been a member for several years now, but I’ve been devoted to our Blessed Mother and beautiful Bernadette all my life. I found out about you through a priest of EWTN. My life has been one of being abused from my birth mother and...
Nancy
“I was blessed to serve in Lourdes in May of 2019, at the end of my junior year of college. I served in the piscines for the entire week and I know that the graces which came from it will last me my entire life. Something that stuck out very much to me was the gratitude that the pilgrims had for those of us serving. I was able to see the joy they had when entering the piscines for the first time, a moment that some may have waited their entire lives for. While they were grateful to us for assisting them, I know that I was the lucky one for having a unique and special opportunity to do the Lord’s work in such a holy place. By the end of my pilgrimage, I not only saw the ways in which I was fortunate enough to help others, but through that I saw the countless graces that Our Lady offered to me personally. Serving in Lourdes is truly a gift from Jesus and Mary and for that, I am forever grateful!”
Teresa
Our Faith is central to all we do, and we always go back to those answered prayers in the beginning and trust in God’s will for our lives.
Edwin and Charo Rojas
It is an honor and a great blessing for us to be Guides of the Lourdes Virtual Pilgrimage ExperienceTM and bring the message of Lourdes to the entire world. Many people decide to serve in Lourdes or bring pilgrims with special needs, after they learn of the message of...
Manuel Family
The Rosary is a beautiful symbol of peace and strength, especially in these trying times of solitude, anxiety, and uncertainty. The Lourdes Family Rosary is a tremendous blessing and a beacon of hope for our family during this time. We look forward to hearing the...
Dania Alvarez
In the awe of Lourdes, it's very easy to get caught up in one's service and forget that we need to constantly recharge in the greatest way possible: prayer. Prayer allows us to serve as Jesus and Our Lady are calling us to serve. And, it also allows us to put...
Sheila
Our daughter died in my arms as we lay together in the emergency room bed. In my grief, while holding her lifeless body, I was taken back to the baths at Lourdes, where we had visited just over a month before. My brothers and sisters, friends, and even strangers had...
Schulz Family
At the urging of Monsignor Richard Shirley, the seed was planted back in 2005 for the Schulz family to visit Lourdes, France. Our first daughter, Jenna Schulz, was experiencing idiopathic seizures, that were relentless and which continue today. Our family had planned...
Naomi
What is mission? 3 words JOY ~ PEACE ~ LOVE by Naoimi Nelson Joy: I wake at the break of day To the tune of 6am And I am greeted by the sweet scent of French baguettes And the even sweeter smiles of Toni and Loretta. I wake to the sight of bare humble...
Rhonda
June 2021 Since sharing her story with us, Rhonda has written beautiful testimonies published by the Clarion Herald in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, attributing Our Lady's intercession and the blessings and treasures our Catholic faith has brought to her and husband...
Diane
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage or virtual pilgrimage? I started getting ill about 10 years ago, and many of my friends would say, “You have to go to Lourdes.” I didn’t think it was possible, because of the medical equipment I required and because...
Clotilde
Going to Lourdes was not in my plans for 2018. But, as I have come to realize, my plans and God’s are thankfully not the same. The pilgrimage to Lourdes turned out to be a sorely needed time of reflection and prayer for me, and a deepening of my love for Christ and...
Toni
When my son heard a trip to Lourdes was on my bucket list he said, “Mom, go as a volunteer.” Great idea. I typed: Lourdes volunteer, clicked, arrived at the cyber home of North American Lourdes Volunteers and after reading about their mission and accomplishments,...
Ann
Thanks to all of the volunteers, students, leadership and staff with Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers for the October 2018 Pilgrimage – the most memorable spiritual experience of my life. My faith is strengthened in mind, body and soul and my...
Pam & Jim
Why is Lourdes significant in your lives/faith, 160 after the apparitions?Lourdes is significant in our lives because of the tremendous amount of grace we continually receive there. Just as Our Lady is full of grace, grace is so abundant in Lourdes. It is so easy to...
Debbie
Why did you first decide to join us at a Lourdes Virtual Pilgrimage Experience? A Virtual Pilgrimage had never taken place in Nevada, so this was our first in the state. We know many people who always wanted to go to Lourdes but are unable to, so we wanted to bring...
Fr. Prisk
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage? While I was a student at Franciscan University of Steubenville and studying abroad in Gaming, Austria, I learned about NALV and participated in my first pilgrimage. What has been your favorite aspect of service?...
Chrystal
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage or virtual pilgrimage? I was looking for something where I could serve others in faith and using my medical skills. What has been your favorite aspect of pilgrimage? My favorite part of the pilgrimage was meeting so...
Belen
How did you first get involved with Lourdes Volunteers? I went to the Medical Volunteer Conference in February 2017 and was amazed at how much preparation was involved and the love and care they showed to everyone, especially those with special needs. Everyone's deep...
Linda
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage? I first decided to travel on pilgrimage with NALV after a trip to Lourdes with my Aunt. When we first went to the Grotto I profoundly felt the holy presence of Our Lady. When I returned to the United States, I tuned...
Richard
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage or virtual pilgrimage? I first met the leadership of NALV on the Franciscan University Campus. They were recruiting students for a wounded warrior pilgrimage to take place in May of 2013. I knew they needed nurses...
Peter
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage or virtual pilgrimage? I attended a Virtual Pilgrimage in Gaming, Austria led by Pam Ryan. It came at a time when I had been asking God for a mission. The story of Lourdes is also very important to me because my own...
Rivera Family
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage? Individually, we each volunteer for different organizations, but we really wanted to find a way to serve together as a family in a meaningful way. Some friends of ours had just returned from Lourdes with the Order of...
Reilly
One of the things that really stood out to me during my time in Lourdes was that through all our differences, everyone was united through Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. When you went out in the Sanctuary, there were people from all across the world speaking a...
Melinde
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage? I always wanted to visit different Marian sites, and then, as I was watching EWTN, I saw Marlene Watkins being interviewed by Fr. Mitch Pacwa. The first thing that came to my mind was to serve the sick on a holy...
Solito Family
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage? In the summer of 2016, our family had planned to visit Lourdes, Fatima, & Spain but we got a phone call from a physician friend asking for help in their Medical Mission. When we declined telling her our plans on...
Mary
Why did you first decide to join us on pilgrimage? I attended an NALV Medical Conference in FL in 2017 and decided I wanted to go to Lourdes on one of their Special Needs Pilgrimages. What has been your favorite aspect of service? The combination of two loves of my...
Amora
I waited to go Lourdes from the time that I was six years old. When I arrived in Lourdes on my first day, I made my way past the Chapel to look for the Grotto. When I rounded the corner, the Grotto came out of nowhere and I didn’t expect it. Seeing the Grotto right in...
Marie
Years ago, a friend from my parish asked me to be a companion for her Mom at Lourdes. I took that offer as a call from Our Mother Mary. Why? I had just started a new job and was able to ask for those days off, which my new boss supported. These things, plus my bath...
Aria
I have wanted to go to Lourdes ever since I was a little girl. As I got older, I grew closer to Bernadette and always admired her for her strength and persistence when it came to her faith life. I eventually chose her name as my Confirmation name so I was thrilled...
Lourdes Medical Volunteers Support Group
The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the world as we know it. There is no gain in saying that many are living in fear of the unknown. The mystery surrounding the coronavirus is beyond human comprehension but not beyond the God who made the universe. Amidst the...