EUROPE/FRANCE - Sick pilgrims in Lourdes mourn for John Paul II “a sick man among the sick who restored dignity to human suffering”. The last international journey to the feet of Our Lady

Lourdes (Fides Service) - Thousands of sick pilgrims in Lourdes are mourning the passing of Pope John Paul II as they pray at the grotto of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The pilgrims are accompanied by doctors, nurses, volunteers, priests, and religious. “The sick are very moved because that felt the Pope was one of them”, said a member of an Italian association which organises pilgrimages to Lourdes OFTAL (Opera Federativa Trasporto Ammalati a Lourdes) and is there now with about 720 people. “In John Paul II they saw a man who lived suffering and gave it dignity hitherto unknown. To feel him closer to their heart, some have cut out photographs of the Pope and attached them to their name tags.”
Yesterday evening the Bishop of Lourdes and Tarbes Mgr Jacques Perrier invited all the pilgrim groups in the town to a special Mass for John Paul II in the underground Pius X basilica. The Pope’s last pastoral visit outside Italy was to Lourdes 14 -15 August 2004 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The little town is full of lovely photographs of that event, the Pope’s last visit to the feet of the Virgin Mary. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 8/4/2005)