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The relics of St Bernadette, whose visions of our Lady brought about the beginnings of the notable Shrine of Lourdes in France, will be visiting the Diocese of East Anglia later this month.
They will be at St John’s Cathedral in Norwich from on Thursday October 13 until Saturday October 15 and then at Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge from Saturday October 15 until Sunday October 16. The relics include a section of rib and pieces of hair.
The full timetable for St John’s Cathedral is as follows:
Thursday 13 October 13
11.00am Rosary at St John’s Cathedral in spiritual preparation
11.30 am Arrival of St Bernadette’s Relics into the Cathedral
Housing and veneration of St Bernadette’s Relics in the Cathedral
12 noon Angelus followed by Mass of Welcome (Bishop and Canons)
1.00 pm – 5.30 pm Veneration of the Relics by individuals, parish groups, schools
1.00 pm – 5 pm Duckett Library Exhibition on Our Lady and St Bernadette
5 pm Vespers
6.30 pm Mass with Anointing of the Sick (Canon Blakesley)
7.30 pm onwards Confessions, and prayer, including rosary, led by parish groups
9.30pm Procession with Our Lady of Lourdes followed by Night Prayer
Friday 14 October ‘22
Cathedral opens at 7.00am
7.30am Mass
9.40 am Morning Prayer
10 am Mass
10.30am – 12.30pm Veneration of the Relics by individuals, parish groups, schools
12 noon Angelus then Rosary
12.30 pm Mass
1.00 pm – 5.30 pm Veneration of the Relics by individuals, parish groups, schools
1.00 pm – 5 pm Duckett Library Exhibition on Our Lady and St Bernadette
2.30 pm Presentation, Duke Henry Room: St Bernadette & Lourdes (John Morrill)
4 pm Presentation, Duke Henry Room: St Bernadette & Lourdes (John Morrill)
5 pm Vespers
6.30 pm Solemn Mass with Anointing of the Sick (Bishop and Canons)
8 pm onwards Confessions, Procession of Our Lady and all Night Vigil led by Couples for Christ
Saturday October 15
8 am Solemn Mass departure St Bernadette’s Relics (Dean Hodgson)
9 am Departure of St Bernadette’s Relics for the church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Hills Road, Cambridge
11.30am Arrival of relics in OLEM.
You can read more about the visit of the relics to St John’s Cathedral here: www.sjbcathedral.org.uk/relics/
The full programme for Cambridge is at the bottom of this article.
St Bernadette was born in Lourdes in 1844, the eldest of nine children, into a humble family which had fallen into poverty. She was frail and received the last rites three times during her childhood.
In 1858, when she was 14, she was out with her sister and a friend gathering firewood when she heard the sound of a rushing wind and received what the Church recognises as her first vision of Our Lady.
In the vision Bernadette was asked to tell the people to repent of their sins, and to tell the priests to build a chapel and invite the people to come and to pray.
Lourdes is especially connected with healing, and those in need of healing are invited to visit the relics while they are in East Anglia.
The English tour of the relics began with a two-day visit to Westminster Cathedral. “Lourdes has come to Westminster,” declared Cardinal Vincent Nichols in his homily at a special Mass to bid farewell to the Relics. He spoke of the peace visited on the thousands of pilgrims that lit candles and prayed alongside the saint.
“I confess that when spending some quiet time before the Relics, I found it to be so similar to being at the grotto in Lourdes itself,” said the Cardinal. “Even though there was a constant flow of people, what struck me was the deep sense of peace.”
Pictured above the relics of St Bernadette visit Westminster Cathedral. Picture by Mazur/CBCEW.
