As its name suggests, All Saints’ Day is the feast of all the saints. Every 1st November, the Church honours the countless men and women who have been living and shining witnesses to Christ.
This feast is also an opportunity to remember that everyone is called to holiness, in different ways, but all accessible. Holiness is not a path reserved for an elite: it is open to all those who choose to follow in Christ’s footsteps (Read Pope Francis’ exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate”.
Celebrating All Saints' Day
11.00 am : Mass, Mater Dolorosa Chapel
3.00 pm : Rosary at the Grotto
5.00 pm : Eucharistic Adoration, Basilica St Pius X
9.00 pm : Torchlight Procession
10.30 pm : Mass at the Grotto
Commemoration the dead
2nd November is dedicated to the commemoration of the dead. On this day, at the Sanctuary of Lourdes, in this place where light was given to an impoverished child, in the hollow of a dark recess in the rock, we want to come together in friendship and prayer.
Fr Michel Daubanes, Rector of the Sanctuary, will preside at the 11.15am Mass for the Dead in the Rosary Basilica, trusting in God’s mercy. This will be an opportunity to pray for all our deceased friends and loved ones and especially for those who have left us this year.
Schedule
11.00 am : Mass, Mater Dolorosa Chapel
3.00 pm : Rosary at the Grotto
5.00 pm : Eucharistic Adoration, Basilica St Pius X
9.00 pm : Torchlight Procession
10.30 pm : Mass at the Grotto
For the Feast of All Saints, we suggest that you light a candle or have a mass said in memory of your loved ones.
Bernadette, a saint: her beatification and canonisation.
From 1858, for those who believed in the authenticity of the Apparitions, Bernadette was a saint, an angel, a celestial being. But to those who told her that she could rest assured of her salvation, since the Lady had assured her that she would be happy in the other world, Bernadette replied that she would go to heaven, “only if I can earn it”.
Efforts to have her beatified and canonised began in 1907, and the body was exhumed three times, in 1909, 1919 and 1925. Each time, the body was discovered intact.
While the investigation continued, interrupted by the war of 1914-1918, visits to the tomb of Sister Marie-Bernard in Nevers increased, as did the number of prayer requests and graces obtained. Her reputation for holiness was thus confirmed.
Two miraculous healings were confirmed prior to her beatification, which was celebrated on Sunday 14th June 1925 at St Peter’s in Rome.
Canonisation followed eight years later, after two other miraculous cures had been recorded. One of the two recipients was a bishop who attended the ceremony with no signs of ailment.
Her body was placed in a shrine in the Chapel, where it remains to this day.
Pope Pius XI chose 8th December 1933 as the date for Bernadette’s canonisation, the year of the Jubilee of the Redemption. In this way, the Redemption, the Immaculate Conception and Bernadette, the confidante of the Immaculate, were linked together.
This year we will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of Bernadette’s canonisation.
You can come and celebrate the anniversary of Bernadette’s canonisation with the Sanctuary of our Lady of Lourdes.
