LOURDES2CLOGHER VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE FOR A SECOND YEAR
For the second year, the annual Diocese of Clogher Pilgrimage to Lourdes will be conducted virtually. The decision to cancel this year’s pilgrimage was taken last January. However, given the success of last year’s Lourdes2Clogher Virtual Pilgrimage and the importance of the annual event for pilgrims – especially assisted pilgrims – it has been decided to hold it again virtually.
The pilgrimage begins on Monday next, 5 July with a lay-led Liturgy in St Mary’s Church, Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh and will continue with Mass and various devotions each day until Sunday 11th July when there will Mass from St Patrick’s Church, Derrygonnelly, Co Fermanagh and a Closing Liturgy prepared by members of Clogher don Óige Youth Ministry team. Bishop Larry Duffy will celebrate a Mass of the Sick from the Sacred Heart Church, Clones, on Friday 9 July at 8pm. Other Masses and devotions will be from a variety of churches around the Diocese of Clogher as per the schedule below.
All liturgies can be accessed via www.lourges2clogher.com and www.clogherdiocese.ie
The Director of the Clogher Diocesan Pilgrimage, Brian Armitage, has welcomed the opportunity presented by modern technology to hold the pilgrimage online once again. ‘It is an opportunity for the Lourdes family across Clogher to prayerfully connect with each other’, he said. He thanked the members of the Lourdes Pilgrimage committee for their work in making this possible.
The Bishop of Clogher, Bishop Larry Duffy, has invited people from all corners of the diocese and beyond to join in the moments of prayer. ‘At Lourdes we bring our needs to Mary, in answer to her invitation communicated to St Bernadette. At Lourdes the sick and those in special need take priority. Even though we are forced to join virtually again this year, our prayer is no less intense. We have much to pray for’, he said. Expressing the hope that the pilgrimage might resume in 2022, Bishop Duffy has noted that technology enables us to join in prayer no matter where we are and that it is important to make the Lourdes experience a real possibility for all people, both now and into the future.
‘May Mary, Mother of Mercy and Health of the Sick, who through St Bernadette invites us to come to Jesus through her maternal care, sustain us all in these times and bring healing and peace to those who need it most’, he concluded.
Virtual Pilgrimage Lourdes2Clogher Programme
The following is the programme for the virtual pilgrimage
All events to be broadcast by www.lourdes2clogher.com & Diocese of Clogher Facebook page
*Daily Angelus @12noon & Rosary @9pm (Tuesday-Sunday)
Monday 5 July
8pm Opening Liturgy of the Word
from Saint Mary’s Church, Maguiresbridge
Tuesday 6 July
10am Morning Mass
from Saint Patrick’s Church, Ballybay
8pm Service of Remembrance for all the Lourdes Family in this the Year of Saint Joseph and the Year of the Family
Wednesday 7 July
10am Morning Mass
from Church of Mary, Mother of Mercy, Inniskeen
8pm Holy Hour & Benediction
from Saint Joseph’s Church, Monaghan
Thursday 8 July
10am Morning Mass
from Saint Davog’s Church, Dromore
8pm Way of the Cross
Friday 9 July
8pm Mass of the Sick
from Sacred Heart Church, Clones
Saturday 10 July
10am Morning Mass
from Saint Michael’s Church, Enniskillen.
8pm Virtual Torchlight Procession
Sunday 11 July
11.30am Sunday Mass
from Saint Patrick’s Church, Derrygonnelly
8pm Closing Liturgy with Clogher don Óige
*due to ongoing Coronavirus restrictions regarding attendance in our Churches, the faithful are requested to join the Masses and liturgies of our pilgrimage online via www.lourdes2clogher.com & Diocese of Clogher Facebook page. Each parish will make their own arrangements for a congregation to be present.
Ends
Notes for Editors:
- The Diocese of Clogher encompasses all of County Monaghan, virtually all of County Fermanagh and portions of Counties Tyrone, Donegal, Louth and Cavan. There are 37 parishes and 85 churches, served by 51 priests and 1 deacon. The Catholic population of the diocese is approximately 88,000. Bishop Larry Duffy is the Bishop of Clogher and the Cathedral church is St Macartan’s Cathedral in Monaghan town.
- For further information on the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes visit Sanctuary Our Lady of Lourdes (lourdes-france.org)
