Good news, after the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 celebrations due to Covid-19 we are very confident that we will be able to go as a diocese and as part of the wider Catholic Association family, from Friday 19 to Friday 26 August, 2022. We hope to top 100 East Anglians for the first time this century.
The basics are these: We fly from Stansted to/from Lourdes with free transport from the airport to/from our hotels. We have been offered six hotels, ranging from 2* to 4* and from 5-15 minutes from the shrine. The costs (travel and accommodation with three meals each day) range from £850 and £1075 per person for double-occupancy rooms, to £1053-£1390 for single occupancy. But the only other costs are your bar and gift-shop visits.
Insurance, even more important in post-covid and post-brexit days, will be £41. We recommend that the mid-range Eliseo Hotel will be our East Anglia base, with the Beau Site (further round on the river) as the more basic alternative.
We do hope to have some extra treats this year, including taking our diocesan Mass on Tuesday August 23 up at the church in Bartres where Bernadette lived as a baby and as a young teenager, until just before the meetings with Our Lady in the Grotto. And it will be celebrated by our Bishop.
There is however one piece of very sad news. With a very heavy heart, the medical team feel they cannot get enough manpower to be able to support pilgrims in the acceuil (hospital). There will be some nursing assistance for the hotels, but only for those largely independent (the Glanfield Groups at the Mediterranee Hotel will be with us, however). This will change the nature of the pilgrimage and we really regret this. This is yet another casualty of the covid pandemic.
I hope that we will be able to give some support to those unable to meet the full costs of the pilgrimage. If that is your situation, contact myself. All inquiries will be treated in confidence.
Let’s make this a special time in a very special place. Book soon! God Bless,
For help contact the diocesan director Deacon John Morrill at john.morrill@rcdea.org.uk or at 07956 536140 or at Catholic Pastoral Centre, 12 Exeter Road, Newmarket, CB8 8LT. There is a lot of detail on the pilgrimage website at here.
Pictured above are East Anglia pilgrims at Lourdes.