Congratulations! Carlow Pilgrim group celebrates 50th anniversary in Lourdes

A Pilgrim group from Carlow has celebrated its 50th anniversary with a trip to Lourdes.

Hundreds of people from the parish of Graiguecullen/Killeshin made a pilgrimage to Lourdes to mark the 50-year anniversary of the first trip to the town.

The annual trip first started in 1976 and was organised by Gerry and Alice Bradley from Graiguecullen, according to the Carlow Nationalist.

Just three people attended that trip, with two full planes worth of people having been on the latest one.

The parish was invited to carry the statue of the Virgin Mary during a torchlit procession to mark the occasion.

“On the night we were due to carry Our Lady, there were thunderstorms and heavy rain and it was feared it would have to be called off, but thankfully it wasn’t,” Edwina Comerford from Killeshin said.

“While we all got drowned and some volunteers even left their posts it was that bad, it was actually a great experience and we all just had to laugh at how wet we were,” Edwina, who was on her sixth pilgrimage, said.

The highlight of the trip was on the fifth and final day during Mass at the grotto.

Bishop of Lourdes Jean-Marc Micas celebrated the service in English, along with Fr John Dunphy and Fr PJ Martin.

Edwina and some other parishioners recited the readings, with the St Clare’s Choir providing hymns, including a few in Irish.

During the pilgrimage, two parishioners, Sr Jacqueline and Pauline Byrne, were each recognised for their dedicated voluntary service to Our Lady of Lourdes.

They received the five-year service medal.