The Lourdes Montfortian Hospitality - Blog - Tercentenary

1947 : On July the 20th , the canonisation of Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII, in Rome. The missionary élan of the saint duplicated momentum in the hearts of his sons, particularly Father Riboulleau, a missionary from the Cholet community, then head of “Le Règne de Jésus par Marie “ (“The Reign of Jesus through Mary”. Cf.?? “ “Queen of All Hearts”).

On October 7th, on the occasion of the 39th  Pilgrimmage of the Rosary, led by Fr Baron, op, Mgr Théas, bishop of Lourdes, solemnly welcomed the shrine containing the relics of Fr Montfort. And the Montfortian spirituality was welcome to enjoy its place among the other pilgrimages' (spiritualities).

Fr Riboulleau, present in Lourdes, had been thinking of it, cherishing in his mind the project of adding it to the “Belgian Montfortian Pilgrimage''        

1949 : In the wake of the bold missionary audacity of Fr Monfort, and caught in the spiritual stream opened by the 1949 Marian year, Fr Riboulleau founded the “ French Montfortian (Pilgrimage)”.

On the 25th of April 1949, the first and only Montfortian “Blue” train come from Lorient entered the Lourdes railway station. Pilgrims from Brest, the north, the Paris area and more had joined it. In the end over 1 100 pilgrims including 167 sick pilgrims collected by Fr Paul Riboulleau, who had imagined the Pilgrimage on the occasion of the Marian Year and made it reality,  were there, in Lourdes .

The already important group of sick pilgrims was just looked after by a handful of benevolent volonteers among whom Daughters of Wisdom. On opening the pilgrimage, Father Riboulleau launched his (famous) appeal:“We need your arms and legs to help ‘the sick, our lords…’; I am on duty at the office a-waiting !” The Montfortian Hospitality was born.                

Ever since the 25th of April 1949, when the first “Montfortian” arrived at  Massabielle, our pilgrimage has been steadily organizing thanks to efficient help from the Sisters of Wisdom, the Brothers of St Gabriel and innumerable friends of the Fathers and Brothers of the  Company of Mary.

The Hospitality is under the responsibility of a President, a Vice-president, a chief-Doctor, a female Nurse and a stretcher-Bearer, in charge at National level.

That is the association coordinating research and efforts in managing the Pilgrimage and the Hospitality as a whole. In contact with short from 50 departments, it radiates all over France via 26 Centres led by over 3 200 Montfortian Hospitality members. The actual backbone of the pilgrimage, works in permanent solidarity with the 'Headquaters', yet preserving every bit of its autonomy.  

* Strechers-bearers, (female???) hospitality members, (female???) nurses and doctors, most of them, will come together in Lourdes every year, to staff most varied services (wards).

* Apart from that, for twenty years or so, approximately sixty of them -both males and females- have formed together with about ten priests the ''chaplaincy'' in charge of leading the sick spiritually. Being both Hospitality members and pilgrims they are invited to pray and walk along the path of conversion in groups .

* Every year, at regional or national level, they will get together to participate in friendship days, sessions and a General Assembly to take stock (of the centre life) and prepare the next pilgrimage.

The majority of them are also invested in the pastoral areas and live their commitments as a permanent mission among people …

All that, no need to insist, means meetings, formation periods, week-ends of initiation (from rather technical to more spiritual...): taking in charge and stretch-bearing the sick, finding more about the mentality of the fragilised and handicaped; deepening into the Montfortian spirituality, the conduction of liturgy. Fr Riboulleau when launching their Magazine ''Témoins” (Witnesses) in 1952 had this definition of Hospitality :

It prolongs today, throughout the year, in Lourdes, in parishes, medical care facilities... the previleged attention that, at the time of Louis XIV, Father Montfort was trying and providing the sick and the marginalized of the 'Great Century’ with !

Like any kind of hospitality determined to help, with a supplement of attentive care  (Lourdes Notre-Dame Hospitality), it assumes the taking in charge of the sick, from transport to the facilities within the venue centres. The services are varied and diverse: from the humble work of the linen maids to the more visible activity of the Liturgy leaders (Celebrations and Visualization), without ignoring lots of other services : nursing, serving the meals, “monitoring the wheelchairs”, 'immerging' the pilgrims in the waters of the piscinas, helping in spiritual leading, in link with the chaplains in charge among the sick and those in the 'regional' centres.

Saint Louis-Mary picks out of the gutter a poor man, covered with ulcers, freezing in the cold. He lifts him up onto his shoulders and brings him to the house of the Missionaries. The night is deep and the door locked. The good samaritan puts out his energetic shout: “ Open  to  Jésus-Christ ! “. Immediately the door open he  walks past the flabberghasted doorkeeper... straight to his room, introduces the sick man in his bed and spends the night in prayer.

In Lourdes you marvel at the grotto, forgetting that it used to be a “pig-sty” . You marvel at the songs and celebrations at the risk of neglecting some of the imploring invocations and the sighs of the heavily suffering sick pilgrims.

Whether they are rough or smouth they can open to shake other hands wide open . They add your small stone to the structure of fraternity a-building: the Temple of living God among men. It is a-building in you too.

Your hands can sow in earth the seed of the Kingdom while letting a chain of Ave Maria's slide through your fingers. Yet they remain ready to “lend a hand” .

They probably do not have the legendary strength of Montfort's capable of moving a tombstone alone. But they can form an imploring cross  embracing the world.

In the hopitalitality service of the sick pilgrims, you come alongside Montfort chaplain in la Salpêtrière and more particularly in the Poitiers hospital. You hit on him in the streets, begging for food to feed the “poor shut down in there”. Your arms stretch to help a person in pain or signify pardon as well : in  a gesture of mercy.

It will bring you closer to Bernadette, at Nevers. She would engage every bit of her heart as a nurse serving the aged sisters, in the infirmary of the mother house. Suffering herself, bearing the cross of fragile health she would engage her whole energy in soothing the suffering of others. Like the apostles, “ with  one heart in unison with Mary”, she would open hers to the fire kindled by Christ and extended by the spirit of Pentecost across the whole world.

A pilgrim or a hospitality member, there you are called to be “merciful like the Father”.

The Immaculate asked Bernadette to offer her pains for the conversion of sinners. So you too, walk in the steps of Christ “ mild and humble of heart”, telling you with Montfort” : “Open to  Jesus-Christ !”\t\t\t\t\t

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