Activity Report 2010 - Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the United ...

Lourdes
The Order’s spirituality is
evidenced every year in the
international pilgrimage to
Lourdes.
T
his most famous of all
Marian shrines celebrates
the appearance of the
Virgin to Bernadette, a 14
year old peasant girl, in a
grotto in the mountainous
region of Lourdes, in February 1858,
who, in exposing a spring in the rocky
ground, brought forth pure water which
was found to have healing properties.
The site has witnessed many miracles
since then and the sick come from all
over the world to bathe in the waters of
the spring and to find peace of soul.
The Order of Malta has for over 50 years
made an annual international
pilgrimage each May to Lourdes,
bringing thousands of sick and wheelchair
bound pilgrims. In 2009, the
pilgrimage, led by the Grand Master,
totalled 7,000 pilgrims from 35
countries.
Knights, Dames and Order chaplains in procession
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SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA