Why doing pilgrimage differently is better than not doing it at all

A virtual pilgrimage is a peculiar thing, indeed just a few months ago it was hardly even “a thing” at all, as we had the real thing and did not need any virtual substitute. But as the world locked down and pilgrimages which had been foreseen were cancelled, we were faced with what has become a very 2020 conundrum – either we don’t do something, or we do it very differently.

For over 60 years, HCPT has led a children’s pilgrimage to Lourdes every Easter, and sadly this year that was not to be. Instead we planned a virtual alternative, marking the key moments through Easter Week on social media instead of in person, and leading up to a very successful Virtual Liturgy on the Thursday of Easter Week which is normally the high point of our pilgrimage. 

We were careful not to overpromise, as we were dealing with something completely unknown, which might not be of any interest whatsoever to anyone. But the result was staggering, described by one of our volunteers as “one of my favourite Lourdes memories”, which was an excellent result for a liturgy which took place on a cloud. 

And while 5000 would normally gather in Chapelle St Bernadette in Lourdes for our usual “Trust Mass”, tens of thousands made their way to that cloud – many who would have been there in person, but many more would not. 

Our virtual celebrant presided from his parish church, and we then joined members of the International Family of HCPT with readings, musical offerings and bidding prayers from Belgium, Croatia, England, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the US, Wales and the West Indies. There were the usual announcements before the final blessing, offered by HCPT’s President from his Cathedral in Edinburgh, which led in turn to a rousing, incredibly moving, (and extremely complicated) final chorus of “Rise and Shine”, which brings all HCPT liturgies to a joyous closure.

Many dioceses and other pilgrimage organisations have arranged virtual pilgrimages this year, each celebrating the unique identity of each individual pilgrimage, thereby helping those participating to connect as best they can with their spiritual journey. 

And the virtual pilgrimage offered by the Shrine of Lourdes on the date of the final apparition of Our Lady to St Bernadette tomorrow promises to celebrate the notion of pilgrimage in a wonderfully interactive and international way, engaging many pilgrimages whose paths would not normally cross, given the sequencing of Lourdes pilgrimages right through the year from the early spring until the late autumn.

Pilgrimages tend to be exhausting affairs, and our virtual offering was surprisingly similar, especially to those who were behind it and made it happen. And like all pilgrimages, once over, it took some time to settle. But when it did there was a very definite reaffirmation of the importance of pilgrimage in our lives, and a powerful sense that that importance is passionately shared within a community, united closely around a cause, albeit spread widely across these islands and beyond. 

Furthermore, while pilgrimage is uplifting for all who take part, it is important for it to be a gift that is given to those who are invited, who may struggle to take part on their own. So on a virtual pilgrimage where, quite unusually, our attentions are not on those in our care, it allowed our leaders and volunteers to reflect on their own spiritual journey, and whether they were on the track they should be in their own lives.

A cynic could deride a virtual pilgrimage as an impossibility, as its progress cannot be charted on a map. But the most important journey undertaken on pilgrimage is the one in our hearts, known to ourselves and God alone, unless we choose to share it with others. 

I doubt whether many, if anyone, will consider a virtual pilgrimage the best way forward in these “new normal” circumstances. But for 2020, doing it differently has been infinitely better than not doing it at all, and has helped keep alive that flame which we hope to be able to hold high in Lourdes in person, before too long.

Philip Sparke is Chief Executive of HCPT. The first virtual Lourdes pilgrimage takes place later this month.