Thousands of devotees throng to the famous Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in Seminary Hills in Orange city today to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
In 1858, Mother Mary appeared to Bernadette in Lourdes, prompting the establishment of pilgrimage sites worldwide, including the Lourd Mata Mandir in Nagpurin 1892. G B Heysmond, unable to fulfill a pilgrimage vow, donated funds to build a Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Nagpur. The site was later developed by the Dominican Fathers and declared a pilgrim centre in 2000 by Archbishop Abraham, attracting thousands of visitors every year.
Fr Sunil Tirkey, Assistant Parish Priest of Rosary Parish, stated in a press release that this year, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes will be celebrated at the Grotto on February 11.
The Holy Mass will be conducted in various regional languages on Sunday–English at 6.30 am, Konkani at 7.30 am, Marathi at 8.30 am, Kurukh at 9.30 am, Telugu at 10.30 am, Tamil at 11.30 am, and Malayalam at 12.30 pm. At 2.45 pm, there will be an adora- tion and healing service, followed by a solemn Mass at 4 pm, presided over by Archbishop Elias Gonsalves. Following the Mass, there will be a procession with Mother Mary’s Doli.
A fellowship meal will be served from 10 am to 3 pm to all the devotees visiting the shrine. Around 40,000 to 50,000 people are expected to attend the feast, stated the press release.