Thursday 28 May 2026 Our Lord Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest Holy Mass – Hospitalite This morning's Mass was held at St Bernadette (Grotto) and was an opportunity to celebrate the continuing work of the Birmingham Lourdes Hospitalite. It was also the first Mass in Lourdes as a Diocesan family, as previous events have been shared with others, and once again our young pilgrims played a significant part in the Mass. All pilgrims who have been called to serve, and have given up their time to help others this week, were thanked wholeheartedly for their contribution by principal celebrant Archbishop Bernard Longley. Fr Jeremy Howard, Pilgrimage Director, opened with some initial reflections, including remembering Lourdes pilgrims who have passed away, and sharing the wonderful news that Sophia, a young pilgrim who comes every year with her mum Alice, would be receiving her First Holy Communion at today's Mass. The Homily was delivered by Bishop David Evans, who opened with: It is unusual that the Letter to the Hebrews is not identified by the name of the person who wrote it. Its author is anonymous. That is the way in which we ordinarily think; but there being no name at the beginning of the Letter allows us to see more clearly and more accurately that its author is not a human being, but the Holy Spirit. The human being who produced the first physical text is rather a scribe or a secretary. Like the Gospels and other New Testament writings the Letter to the Hebrews is of divine origin. This is what allowed its scribe to survey not only the history of Israel, the happenings that made the Israelites a people, and the events and purpose of Jesus’s life, but also what gave him both access to the realm of eternity and also knowledge of a conversation between God the Father and Jesus that was to bring into being a course of action that was to lead to the forgiveness of sins and to the gift of divine life offered by Jesus to humanity. Read Homily in full After Holy Communion a number of medals (three, five and 10 years) were handed out to those who have served in the Hospitalite to rapturous applause. And after Mass Archbishop Bernard personally addressed our young people to thank and encourage them. The Birmingham Lourdes Hospitalite is a religious confraternity affiliated with the Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes. It is committed to supporting pilgrims, especially those staying in the Accueil, by providing meaningful experiences and financial assistance to those in need. Photo Gallery Holy Hour and Anointing A very moving service was held this afternoon at St Bernadette (Carmel). As always everyone was warmly welcomed by young pilgrims on the door. The principal celebrant was Bishop Richard Walker and Bishop Timothy Menezes delivered a Reflection: I wonder what your expectations might have been in coming on this pilgrimage. I wonder for what you were hoping. And at this stage on our pilgrimage, I wonder whether those expectations and hopes have been fulfilled, or whether there have been some surprises, unexpected blessings along the way. In our Scripture Reading, we see the Apostles of Jesus, once mindful of their inadequacy, now confident in their capacity to heal in the name of the risen Jesus. It is so often said of this holy place of pilgrimage, that people have - over many generations - come here in search of a miracle. They don’t always receive the miracle they had in mind, but they do receive many graces. Answers to prayer, but not the ones they expected. Read Reflection in full Pilgrims had the opportunity to receive the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, whereby blessed oil is used to anoint the head and hands. There was also a period of Adoration and prayer. Photo Gallery Manage Cookie Preferences