Carfin Pilgrimage of Witness
Pilgrims at Carfin carry a statue of Our Lady in a procession
16 June 2012
Carfin Lourdes Grotto
Taylor Avenue
Carfin
Motherwell
ML1 5AJ
Please join Aid to the Church in Need this summer at Carfin Grotto, the Scottish National Shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes, for our Pilgrimage of Witness and Faith on Saturday 16th June.
We hope friends and benefactors will gather together at Carfin to witness to our faith, to pray for religious freedom in our world and to make our concerns heard.
As well as being a visible sign of our own faith, the pilgrimage will be an opportunity to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who carry the Cross of persecution.
The pilgrimage will be led by Fr Michael Shields, an American priest based at the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Siberia. For 16 years, Fr Michael has worked to rehabilitate survivors of Magadan’s gulag camps. He has helped them to tell their remarkable stories of witnessing to their faith despite the sufferings they endured. In the afternoon, Fr Michael will be giving a talk about his experiences.
The day will also include a personal testimony from Alphonse Francis, founder of the Human Development and Welfare Association, who will talk about the persecution he and his family suffered in their homeland of Pakistan before they fled to Scotland. Aid to the Church in Need’s UK director Neville Kyrke-Smith will also be attending the pilgrimage.
Itinerary
11.30 am: Gather in the Xavier Centre for ‘Meet and Greet’ with tea and biscuits. Parking is available in the Grotto grounds or at St Francis Xavier’s Church. Both areas will have Aid to the Church in Need stewards for guidance. Aid to the Church in Need staff will be available throughout the day, please look out for us!
11.45am: Pilgrims make their way to Lourdes Shrine
12.00noon: Rosary Procession, led by Fr Michael Shields. This will start at Our Lady of Lourdes’ Shrine.
1.00pm: Mass in St Francis Xavier’s Church.
1.45pm: Lunch. Pilgrims can eat their packed lunch in the Xavier Centre where tea and coffee will be available (please bring your own lunch).
2.15pm: Talk by Fr Michael Shields about how he has helped survivors of the Siberian gulags tell their stories about witnessing to their faith amid great hardship.
2.45pm: Talk by Pakistani Christian Alphonse Francis who fled to Scotland with his family fearing persecution by extremists.
3.15pm: Way of the Cross for the Persecuted Church, led by Fr Michael Shields with Meditations of Witness.
4.00pm: Thanks and Departure.
Note: The Glass Chapel will be open for Eucharistic Adoration all day.
Please do let us know if you are planning on joining us in Carfin by calling our Scottish office on 01698 337 470.
There will be more information about this pilgrimage soon so please check our website regularly for further information.