Very soon we will leave for the train station to help the pilgrimage load and prepare the train. After that we hit the road with our pilgrimage for 2009 at an end.

Since yesterday we have had an amazing 24 hours.

We did the talk yesterday afternoon. A few hundred people turned up, and all were very impressed with our drama, singing and testimonies. In the evening we had a celebration, variety show and a final night prayer and walk to the grotto.

This morning Bishop Kieran celebrated the final Mass. Very sad, very moving, but also a sense of great joy. What an amazing week.

Preparing our final Red Carpet

Two of our leaders, Pete and Ruth...

Bishop Kieran celebrates the final Mass

You have NO IDEA how long it took to get this shot!!

For the uninitiated, we should explain that ‘pegging’ is a time honoured tradition in Lourdes. The basic idea is to attach a peg to somebody’s clothing without them noticing. The peg normally bears a short message.

Hannah, Dan and Oli pose after their successful pegging of two Archbishops!

After the International Youth Mass this morning, Hannah and Dan between them pegged both Archbishop Kelly of Liverpool and Archbishop Nichols, who is the Archbishop of Westminster and Chair of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales!

…nice!

When interviewed, Hannah Fricker said ‘what can I say… I’m a pro. I’d just like to thank my parents, all the Redshirts, and Daniel.’

We’ve done two things today really: Mass with Shrewsbury Diocese, Westminster Diocese and the OMV – which was celebrated by Archbishop Vincent Nichols. That was followed by a retreat day to the Citee San Pierre. Both were absolutely amazing.

For the Mass we provided the usual Red Carpet welcome, but with a difference. Our Red Carpet was added to by the Westminster ‘Red Caps’, making a massive duel carpet. We were also pleased to see the face of one of our old Redshirt leaders in the Westminster side of the carpet too.

The retreat day at the Citee San Pierre was both relaxing and inspiring. We played games, sang songs, talked, laughed, ate… but most of all we heard Mickey and Sean talk to us about the topic of ‘Church’. We also had a reconciliation service. Eight priests very kindly came up so that the Sacrament of Reconciliation was on offer.

The mood in the hotel is now very upbeat and happy. The Redshirts have some free time this evening and have made lots of plans for how to use it!

Here are some photos…

Archbishop Nichols on the Red Carpet after Mass

A familiar old face on the other side of the Red Carpet...

The picnic at the start of our retreat day...

It’s day 5 in Lourdes and half way through the pilgrimage, with every day we are finding ourselves closer to each other, God and but also learning more about ourselves. Each day dawns a new adventure packed with fun, faith, friendship and food! For a second timer (as a Redshirt) i am trying not to compare with last year’s trip and enjoy all the new experiences and people, but i believe that everyone would say that so far this trip has been fantastic. Coming for the first time as a Redshirt i was not sure what to expect but everything i have experienced so far has been incredible. I especially love the atmosphere in Lourdes, seeing love in action.
We cannot wait to see what the next few days will hold, but at the same time hoping that the week will never end!

After the Mass of anointing today, we all went for an ice cream. It was all rather nice. At the end there was a somewhat random – but really nice – rendition of YMCA.

Here is a photo gallery:

..that’s ‘part two’ for those who don’t do French… Anyway:

Nicky Coetzee, Woking: So far it has been very nice in Lourdes and I am meeting a lot of new friends. My highlights so far have been meeting new people and getting to know the other Redshirts a bit more. I also enjoyed the Mass. We had the Mass of anointing today. It was very moving and made us all closer to one another. I also have a lovely person as my small group leader: Peter McGeady!

[N.B. The last line may have been the result of a bit of pressure from the aforementioned Mr. McGeady]

Niamh Kerrigan, Guildford: I am definitely enjoying being a Redshirt once again. Being in Lourdes has been incredible and I feel that the atmosphere of the whole pilgrimage is amazing. The negativity of normal life just isn’t here. I loved the Blessed Sacrament procession yesterday and I am really enjoying doing the ‘Red Carpet’ welcoming.

Firstly, there are loads of photos on the Twitter feed (right and down a bit) of the stations of the cross from this morning.

Today… instead of writing an article, we are getting lots of Redshirts to share a few thoughts…

Bethany Martin, Pulborough: It’s all Fan-astic so far and the weather is beautiful but rainy. Our journeys are only just beginning…

Hannah Fricker, Arundel: We have all journeyed here in our separate ways but we are all united in our faith.

Paul Daly, Horsham: It’s all great. Love it!

Jessica Smith, Horsham: The trip so far has been great.

Marieh Ligutan, Chertsey: It’s been great so far. I am having so much fun and I’ve made loads of friends. My favourite part so far has been meeting people from all round the diocese. Somebody said I had the brightest smile in the world!!

Oliver Dook, Peavehaven: The pilgrimage has been fun so far. I have enjoyed the scenery, my small group, and the torchlight procession was a highlight too.

Hannah Stainton, Walton-on-Thames: Lourdes has been amazing so far. I have made some really good friends. I hope to keep in contact with all of them when the week’s over.

Grace Osbourne, Guildford: Lourdes has been incredibly moving. It’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been before and I’ll definitely return in the future. Everything’s been amazing so far.

Dan Fleming, Crawley: If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Katherine Almeida, Oxshot: Yesterday something that Ray said in night prayer really touched me. It made me realise that it doesn’t matter that I don’t know everything about where I’m going in my life, because I can do anything…

…more later…

Well… we had this great idea at the start of the week that the Redshirts could write an article each day. It sounded like a really good idea at the time, and it was. The only problem today, however, is that they’re all tired (again) and they’ve gone to bed.

Fair enough, if you ask me!

We will get back to having the young people write articles, but we know that lots of people are checking this, so tonight… I’m gonna do it. My name’s Jack, by the way. I am one of the Redshirt leaders.

Speaking as a leader, it’s been a brilliant week so far and it’s such a joy to be in Lourdes with these wonderful young people. They are generous, caring, funny, intelligent, kind and so fascinating to get to know.

So… what’s happened today?

We started the day with a Mass in the Cote Grote (I think that’s how you spell that, but I’m not 100% sure!). The Redshirts were given the task of leading the singing of a communion reflection. ‘Taste and See’. It went very well indeed.

Two of the Redshirts carried the banner for Mass...

Some of the Redshirts sitting in Mass...

After Mass we were asked to mark the way so that A&B pilgrims could visit the grotto… We were happy to do so. Afterwards we were able to visit the grotto ourselves…

A 'Red Carpet' at the grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette...

[N.B. You can see that in the above picture, Bishop Kieran has been 'pegged'... this is a Lourdes tradition!]

In the afternoon, after a hearty lunch at the hotel, we had our third Ministry Session (Catechesis. Sort of!) with Ruth and Tobias. The session was on the subject of Eucharist, and it gave us a great deal to think about.

Ruth and Tobias leading a session

Small Group discussion under the trees on the Prairie...

After a bit of time in small groups we went into the Blessed Sacrament Procession. Have a look at the photo in the article below. It was in the underground basillica, which is one of the most interesting places in Lourdes. It can hold about 15,000 people… or about 64 Redshirts.

After dinner we gave the Redshirts some free time. We ended the day with a night prayer on the Prairie, led by Deirdre Leach and Ray. Deirdre told us about her Chaplaincy work in prisons in Surrey, and about how she had promised the prisoners that she would pray the Rosary for them in Lourdes. She did so… with us. And it was lovely.

Night Prayer on the Prairie

Apologies for the lack of article and photos so far today. An article will be along in a few hours. In the meantime have a look at the Twitter feed (right) for a dozen or so photos…

Like this one, for instance

The Blessed Sacrament Procession

Friday 24th July

The Train Journey…

We woke up bright and early, having had the first good nights sleep since we left Crawley. We were really excited about meeting the main pilgrimage when the huge Lourdes train arrived.  smiling faces and waving arms greeted us as we burst into song on the platform – with the classic  ”OH A&B WE LOVE YOU!”. As everyone piled off the train, we set to work unloading baggage and directing the pilgrims. Unfortuanteley for us, (Patrick and Kate) our group was the one that got left behind to load the accueil truck with wheelchairs and hoists, but because of this, we did get an ice cream afterwards!

The Opening Mass…

With Bishop Kieran before the Opening Mass

As the “techies”, it was our duty to go to mass early with two huge trolleys full of sound equipment, and set up! After a short briefing from the sound engineer, Marius, we learnt many new skills with the microphone stands, speakers and leads. The mass was beautiful and our A&B community were officially welcomed into Lourdes.

The Water Walk…

Father Rob led the redshirts in a procession around the Gave (the big river that runs through Lourdes). The water walk, consist of 9 stations which represent biblical references to the water. At each station was a bible passage followed by a reflection and an action. For example at one station we splashed our neighbour with water! After the walk a reverence overcame our group as we walked through the holy grotto of Our Lady. Beautiful candles of all sizes were positioned as we came out of the grotto and gave us a chance to reflect. I (Kate) lit a candle myself and everybody seemed to go into a world of their own. I looked about me and there were a few happy tears streaked on the faces of my fellow Redshirts- this was enough to set me off too!  The whole group came together and hugs were shared on this amazing, bonding night.

Our first trip to the Grotto

Mass at Bernadette’s altar…

Despite the yawning, us techies had to be up and ready to go to set up for the morning’s mass. Patrick was whizzing about being very technical whilst I multi-tasked with the camera. From a clear vantage point I managed to snap the main moments of mass and the Redshirts holding the rainbow umbrellas at Holy Communion. The rest of the Redshirts formed the magnificent red carpet welcoming the smiling A&B Pilgrims. The afternoon consisted of singing at the baths, practising for the talks and visiting the Accueil. As neither musically gifted or a first time Year 11 I (Kate) helped piece together the drama for our presentation to the pilgrimage on Wednesday whilst computer whizz Patrick helped design the powerpoint.

The Main Pilgrimage photo after Mass this morning...