This feast is also an opportunity to remember that all of us are called to holiness, by different paths maybe but paths that are accessible, nonetheless. Holiness is not a path reserved for an elite: it is open to all those who choose to follow in the footsteps of Christ (Read the exhortation of Pope Francis “Gaudete and Exsultate”, Word and Silence Edition, available at the sanctuary bookshop). Pope John Paul II made this clear to us by beatifying and canonising many people, among them individuals as diverse as Father Maximilian Kolbe, Edith Stein, Padre Pio and Mother Teresa … More recently, on 14th October this year Pope Francis canonised Paul VI and Mgr. Romero. These men and women are all witnesses to the love of God, and we can relate to them through their individual journeys to sainthood – they did not become holy overnight but through their doubts, their questions … in a word: through their humanity.
2nd November
2nd November is dedicated to the commemoration of the dead. That day, at the Sanctuary of Lourdes, a Mass will be celebrated at 11:15am, in the Rosary Basilica, presided by Bishop Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, Rector, who recalls that here in this place “we are in the world of the Gospel, where the poorest come first”.
A concert for the restoration of the parish church
On Saturday, 2nd November, from 8:30 pm, in the basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mozart’s Requiem, an unfinished work, will be performed in the presence of composer Pierre-Henri Dutron, who has taken a fresh look at the work and offers us the chance to hear his reworked version. The proceeds of this concert will be donated to the Toit du cœur (Roof of the Heart) Association for the restoration of the parish church of Lourdes.
Free entry.
1 av. Monseigneur Théas
