Ard Scoil annually helps raise funds and provides support for students to travel to Lourdes with the annual Diocesan Pilgrimage. The students are helpers at Lourdes, providing care for pilgrims.
Lourdes Pilgrimage 2017
On the 6th of June 2017, seven students and a teacher from Árd Scoil na nDéise travelled to Lourdes with the Waterford and Lismore Diocese on the annual pilgrimage. Other students from the school were travelling to Lourdes through their parish. Before the trip, we were feeling nervous and scared, thinking of ways to raise money. Fortunately, we managed to fund a large portion of our costs through the generous support of our sponsors. Our ways of fundraising were raffles, a Vintage Rally, organised so generously by Eamonn Foley and his wife Nora, and also cake sales. We are so grateful for all of the support we received from the local community.
We arrived in Lourdes Airport bright and early ready to start this great adventure. We were put into four different teams mixing with other students from the diocese. Our team leaders were very helpful and reassured us when we were nervous. When we reached the hotel, we unpacked quickly and went straight to the hospital. We met the malades (the pilgrims) at the hospital and we felt an instant connection thanks to their kindness and gratefulness. We spent the next few days with the malades bringing them to Mass in the Grotto and to the Baths. We also got the opportunity to experience the Baths ourselves and it was certainly an unforgettable experience. We made great connections with the malades and the other youth. Our time at Lourdes was incredible and we definitely made friends for life!
We would like to thank all of our generous sponsors for without them we would not have been able to experience the eye opening journey in Lourdes. Our sponsors include: The Mercy Sisters, Eamonn and Nora Foley and Suir Valley Vintage Club, Jitter Beans, Eunice Power, Murrays Pharmacy, SuperValu, Lynch’s Greengrocers, The Country Store, Ciaran O’Flynn’s, The Beauty Place and Jodi Roche, among many others.
Written by Róisín Hughes & Lara Power