Scroll down to find out about all our lovely adventures
on pilgrimage-holiday in Lourdes with HCPT
on pilgrimage-holiday in Lourdes with HCPT
MONDAY
After months of preparation and training meetings, Group 170 are back in Lourdes for our 2025 Pilgrimage.
We met our coach verrry early in Southampton when it was still dark! It took a while to load all of our luggage and for the little stars to say goodbye to their families and then we were off... It was still dark!
By the time we got to Stanstead airport it was light, but also raining. Although we had lots of luggage, it didn't seem to take too long to check in and going through security was very quick. Our flight was a bit delayed, so we played card games and flew paper aeroplanes until it was time to board. It was the first time on a plane for some of the little stars - it was very exciting!
The flight was smooth and we landed safely in Lourdes - and so did all our luggage! We had another coach ride to our hotel, where the lovely staff had late lunch ready for us.
After lunch we spent some time unpacking our suitcases and sorting out our rooms before heading outside. The sun was unexpectedly shining as we made our way to the Grotto - at last we felt we had properly arrived in Lourdes! We walked through the Grotto to touch the smooth rocks and feel the water running over some of them and then gathered together to listen to Fr PJ, who led us in prayers to say thank you for our safe arrival.
Then we went onto the meadow to sit in the sun and play games. Some of us played football and Zoomer, some of us went for a walkabout, and some of us chilled in the sun. Before we knew it, it was time to go back to the hotel where the little stars got ready for bed. We had our dinner, listened to a very funny bedtime story and said our bedtime prayers. Everyone was very tired and glad to get into bed.
We are looking forward to some more adventures tomorrow - after a good night's sleep! Good night, God bless.
TUESDAY
After a good night's sleep, we had a yummy breakfast - there was lots to choose from, including cheese and doughnuts, although not at the same time!
This morning we visited the Old Town of Lourdes; it was raining when we left, (boo!), but we had plenty of blue and yellow umbrellas, and waterproof coats and trousers to keep us dry! Our youth helper friends joined us to help us with pushing wheelchairs, pulling trollies, and carrying brollies - as well as getting to know all the little stars.
We saw the old mill, where Bernadette's family lived and worked, and the single room of the old prison where they had to move to when they fell into poverty. We also visited the parish church of Lourdes, where the font that Bernadette was baptised in is still in use. We stopped off for a café visit on the way back to the hotel.
After lunch, we went to the HCPT Welcome liturgy and then had our group photo outside the Rosary Basilica. After that, we went to the HCPT play-base where we had lots of fun, having our faces painted and colouring candle holders.
We had Mass, before spending some team-time in our rooms and having dinner. After dinner, instead of going to bed, we went to watch the Torch Light procession. We carried (battery operated) candles, and glow sticks and found a good spot to watch hundreds of people carrying candles and lights as a statue of the Virgin Mary was processed to the Rosary Basilica. It was very pretty and looked like a river of light flowing through the Domain.
It was very late when we left the procession, so we went straight back to our hotel and into bed! I wonder what adventures we will have tomorrow...
WEDNESDAY
We all had a lie in today because we didn't need to have breakfast in our hotel. Instead of heading to the restaurant, we went to Café Royal for our café breakfast, where we could have anything we wanted from the menu for our breakfast! A variety of dishes were selected, including spaghetti bolognese, tuna salad, lasagne, and ice cream!
After breakfast we went across the road to catch the Little Train which took us on a tour of Lourdes. We passed the castle and the funicular railway, and saw the snow topped mountains in the distance. We enjoyed waving to everyone we passed and some of them even waved back!
When we got back to the train stop, our Salesian youth helper friends joined us again to get to know our little stars as well as pull trollies and push wheelchairs.
We visited the Grotto, which was very busy but sooo quiet. We all joined in with being quiet as we walked through, touched the rocks which have been worn smooth, and felt the special water that trickles down from the mountains.
After being so thoughtful and peaceful, we moved to the meadow to let off steam! Our Salesian friends played games with the little stars, with tennis and football skills being very popular.
It was soon time to go back to our hotel to have lunch and regroup before heading to the HCPT shop to buy some souvineers. After spending our pocket money we set out for the meadow to play some more games, but it started raining which meant a change of plan... We headed for another café where we all had a drink - including some rather impressive milk shakes!
We celebrated our Regional Mass at St Joseph's Chapel with our friends from Brighton and West Indies. We shared our musical instruments with the other groups so we could accompany the West Indies' musicians. We sang some beautiful hymns, listened to the Gospel, and heard Canon PJ'S lovely homily. Group 170's little stars led the bidding prayers, with some help from the big stars! When Mass was over, the youth helpers led us in singing our favourite song - Rise and Shine!
After Mass, it was time to head back to the hotel where we had dinner, listened to a funny story called Oi Frog, and said a bedtime prayer before going to bed to recharge our energy reserves ready for Trust Mass tomorrow... Maybe we will see you there...
THURSDAY
We had an early start today and managed to be ready to leave by 8am! We had a short walk to the underground Basilica church where one of the highlights of the week takes place - the HCPT Trust Mass!
Thanks to our early start, we got our customary front row pews. We did have to wait quite a long time before Mass began, but the time soon passed as we were sooo busy having our faces painted with the Group 170 logo, having our hair styled, choosing our musical instruments, swapping badges, sneakily pegging other pilgrims, and visiting the toilets! The theme of this year's pilgrimage is 'Angels Among Us', and we also made paper angels to hang on trees of light near the altar.
Before we knew it, Mass had started! We watched the Bishops and Priests process to the altar and waved to Fr PJ when we spotted him. The Mass was beautiful, with lots of colour and movement as we sang some of our favourite songs and listened to scripture readings and a homily focused on the angels we find among us every day. At the end we all loved joining in with HCPT's all time favourite, 'Rise and Shine'! Did you see us on the livestream, or spot us on the YouTube recording? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GwoLMD5UB0A
After Mass, we had a delicious lunch at the hotel, before walking to the pick up point to get on the coach to the animal park. The weather was amazing and we had a brilliant afternoon. We saw enormous pelicans and tiny monkeys, sleek otters and fat marmots, pink flamingoes and nosey meerkats. We loved watching the otters through the underwater viewing window and some of us were brave and went in with the goats to feed them. The best part was seeing the three bears, which came very close to us! One of them was having great fun swimming in their rocky pool and splashing water everywhere.
We also enjoyed a café stop in the animal park, where we all chose an ice cream or lolly and sat in the sun to enjoy them before visiting the fabulous gift shop. We got back on the coach with assorted animals, including a monkey, an otter and at least three bears...
We got back to the hotel and had time to have dinner, and bath and shower before bed. We can't believe that tomorrow will be our last full day in Lourdes! I wonder what fun we have...
FRIDAY
We had a little longer in bed today and had plenty of time for breakfast before walking to the coach park, where we were greeted by our youth helper friends. We shared the coach with another group from the Royal Navy. Our destination this time was Hosanna House, which belongs to HCPT; it has a beautiful chapel, activity rooms, bedrooms, a big kitchen, and a lovely terrace with an amazing view of the mountains.
We were greeted by the Easter Bunny, who was very popular with some of our little stars! We went straight into the beautiful chapel to celebrate Mass. We listened nicely to Fr PJ and accompanied the singing with our musical instruments. It was lovely to see the mountains and sky through the enormous windows while we were praying.
After Mass, there were lots of different activities to choose from; some of us chilled out in the sensory room, some played outdoor games on the terrace, others played indoor games, and two of us had our faces painted - Spiderman and a monster this time! We even has a portion of chips each from the enormous kitchen! We had just enough time to visit the shop before getting on the coach back to our hotel.
After lunch, we walked down towards the Grotto and stopped off to buy an enormous candle - it was bigger than some of the grown-up stars! We took the candle to the meadow, where we were given stickers, with our names on, to colour; we also wrote the names of our families and friends on stickers. Two grown up stars wound blue and yellow ribbons round the candle. When we were all ready, we sat quietly while Fr PJ blessed the candle and invited us to each come forward and put our stickers on the candle. We prayed for each person and the people on their stickers as they went forward. When everyone had taken their turn, one of the grown-up stars carried the candle to the the stands near the Grotto. They lit our candle from the flame of another and placed it in the stand, while we all prayed for the people whose names we had placed on the candle.
When we got back to the hotel, we didn't have long to wait before going downstairs to our last night party and Talent Show! All the little stars had prepared a talent to demonstrate: a re-enactment of an Olympic race to the music from Chariots of Fire, a demonstration of Bob the Builder's house construction skills, a charming dance drama to the nursery song Hop Little Bunnies, a rugby skills demonstration, a dramatisation of the nursery story The Princess and the Pea, a football skills exhibition, and a reimagined version of Ghost Busters. This year's audience were asked to adopt the technique of sillent cheeering, in order to test out a new clap-ometer app that can detect the 'loudest' silent cheer. The app worked well, but an independent adjudicator was required to verify the results before Canon PJ could announce that, for the first time ever, all of the entrants had scored equally! The contest was declared a draw and everyone was awarded a certificate and a gold medal!
After so much (silent) excitement, we played pass-the-parcel, where all the little stars, and some of the grown-up stars, won a prize. We were all very hungry by this time and paused to eat our dinner.
The final part of the evening was an awards ceremony. All the little stars won a certificate for an achievement during our time in Lourdes and our new helpers received a Group 170 welcome wooden spoon carved with their name. The little stars also received a gift from their main helpers.
When the party was over, it was time for for little stars to go to bed and for the grown up stars to pack everything back into boxes and suitcases ready for our journey home tomorrow...
SATURDAY
SATURDAY
We had to wake up very early today, which was hard! The grown-up stars had spent a lot of time last night packing the little stars bags, all of the group equipment and luggage, and their own cases! They still had smiles on their faces as they got the little stars up and packed their pyjamas and toothbrushes before going down for breakfast. The dining room was busy as lots of people were heading home today and we could see coaches coming and going outside.
Our trusty baggage handling stars got our many bags and cases down to the lobby and everyone else gathered in some comfy chairs to wait. Our coach arrived and we were soon all loaded and set off through the very narrow roads of Lourdes towards Tarbes airport.
When we arrived, the airport was full of different HCPT groups in their different group colours and there was a bit of a carnival atmosphere. Although everyone was sad to be leaving Lourdes, we were happy to be going home to our families and friends.
We gradually moved through check-in, security, and passport control. We didn't have to wait around for too long at any point but we had plenty of books and games to keep the little stars entertained.
We boarded the 'plane and, before too long, were taxiing along the runway and taking off towards home. When we were allowed to take our seat belts off, the cabin crew served us drinks and we ate the food that our group leader had brought along for our group. After a lovely smooth flight, we landed safely at Stanstead. There were a few unexpected incidents as we made our way through the airport, including a fire alarm activation (it wasn't us!), a shuttle train briefly breaking down, and the inevitable problems with wheelchairs and buggies!
We were all, eventually, reunited with one another and all our luggage, and made our way to the coach. As we made our way south, some of us slept, others handed round snacks, and some little stars kept the grown-up stars entertained, while others finished writing their diaries for the week.
We made good time back to Southampton, where the little stars' families were waiting for us. There was much excitement and joy as they were reunited, with exchanges of stories and gifts, hugs and tears of joy, and a sense of all round gratitude. Cases were loaded into cars and there were many hugs between stars of all sizes as we said goodbye to one another and headed home to share our adventures and get some well earned rest!
Thank you for following our pilgrimage blog, we have loved sharing our experiences with you. See you soon!
