Pilgrims brave scorching heat for Our Lady

By Cleveland V. Stordy

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People making the annual pilgrimage to the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in Mission are used to enduring the sun’s blazing heat.

This year’s sweltering temperatures were no exception.

Pilgrims made ample use of free bottled water, turned newspapers into makeshift fans, and used umbrellas, hats, and bags as shelter at the largest annual event in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

About 2,000 people attended.

The day’s events began with confessions within the remaining foundations of what was St. Mary’s Mission School.

Erected in the late 18th century, the school has now fallen to ruin, but not before giving the town of Mission its name.

Mass followed, with this year’s celebrant Abbot John Braganza, OSB, of Westminster Abbey, who warned the crowd to prepare for an extended homily.

He focused on aspects of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, saying, “What happens to the body deeply affects our own souls. To dehumanize the body, to desecrate it, to torture it, to manipulate it, to use it simply for one’s own self, over time begins to bring the soul to the brink of despair.”

He explained how Mary, who was at the heart of the pilgrimage, represents the great dignity of the body. “Mary’s body and soul are assumed into heaven. Her assumption represents the great dignity that God has prepared for every single person’s body and soul.”

After the homily, the prayers of the faithful were said in a variety of languages.

After Mass, pilgrims embarked on the long and scorching trek up the hill in procession through Heritage Park, led by the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes that was placed on top of the hill at the site of the grotto.

A Rosary which had begun before Mass was completed with Benediction and the releasing of helium balloons into the sky, a single balloon ascending with each Hail Mary.

A family picnic was scheduled to take place after the celebration, although many pilgrims chose to beat the heat and picnic before Mass instead.

The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Mission commemorates the 100-year-old tradition based on the miracles observed in Lourdes, France. Originally built in 1892, the grotto in France has been a popular pilgrimage site for decades.

The first grotto in Mission fell into disuse and was torn down in 1965, but in 1988 the Knights of Columbus and the Mission Heritage Association began a fund to rebuild the grotto. It was reopened in 1997.