Bishop of Lourdes to visit to Scottish Marian shrine

Bishop Jacques Perrier, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, will make a three day visit to Carfin Lourdes Grotto this coming weekend from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September.

Bishop Perrier, who is 73 years old, will be the first Bishop from Lourdes to visit Carfin Grotto, Scotland¹s principal Marian shrine, and it is hoped this visit will cement links between Lourdes and Carfin.

During his stay at Carfin, Bishop Perrier will lead the Marian Torchlight Procession on Friday evening. On Saturday he will celebrate Mass in the Glass Chapel, following which he will lead the Blessed Sacrament Procession to the Lourdes Shrine where he will bless the memorial plaques at the cave in the Shrine. Later on Saturday, he will be the guest of Cardinal O¹Brien when he visits the Lourdes Grotto at the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh.

On Sunday 6 September Carfin will host the National Pilgrimage Mass in honour of St. John Ogilvie at which the principal concelebrant will be Cardinal O¹Brien Following the Mass, there will be a Marian Rosary Procession to the Lourdes Shrine where Bishop Perrier will give a reflection on the 150th anniversary of the Apparitions to Bernadette which was celebrated in 2008.

Commenting on the visit, Rev. Thomas Millar, Parish Priest at St Francis Xavier, said; "We are delighted to welcome Bishop Perrier to Carfin Grotto this weekend. We had hoped he could visit in 2008, during the 150th anniversary of the Apparitions at Lourdes, but, because of the many events in Lourdes to celebrate the anniversary, he wasn't able to do so. We look forward to his
visit this year as a way of strengthening the links between Lourdes and Carfin."

Carfin Lourdes Grotto is part of the parish of St Francis Xavier in Carfin and was built in the 1920s by the then parish priest, Monsignor Taylor. The National Pilgrimage Mass takes place each year at Carfin Grotto and is attended by many hundreds of pilgrims from throughout Scotland.

Source: SCMO