Lourdes Pilgrimage - Order of Malta - Promo 2023

Описание: The Order of Malta is one of the world’s oldest Christian institutions. In the 11th century Blessed Gerard saw poor and sick pilgrims of all faiths lying in the streets of Jerusalem. To relieve their misery, he founded a lay religious order of Catholic men and women to serve the needy and procure the necessities of life for them.

Today the Order remains on the front lines caring for the poor and sick without regard to race or religion in over 110 countries. By loving their neighbors in this special way, Knights and Dames of the Order carry on Blessed Gerard’s noble commitment to care for those living on the periphery of society. While the organization is known for its work for the sick and the poor at local levels, at disaster sites around the globe, and has orders in so many countries, it also hosts annual pilgrimages to breathtaking Lourdes, France.

Lourdes is a picturesque town in southwestern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains. It is known for the Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes, or the Domain, a major Catholic pilgrimage site.

Each May, thousands of Knights and Dames from all over the world travel to Lourdes to learn firsthand what belonging to the Order of Malta really means - devotion, service, and fellowship. Dressed in distinctive uniforms and ministering to the sick and disabled (fondly referred to as “Malades” in French), the members of the Order form an international community of faith and service.

Each year, millions visit the Grotto of the Apparitions where, in 1858, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a local peasant girl, who is now known as St. Bernadette (Soubirous). In the grotto, pilgrims can drink or wash in water flowing from the spring Mary directed Bernadette to discover. Soubirous’s request to the local priest also resulted in the building of a chapel at the site of her visions and eventually gave rise to a number of chapels and churches at Lourdes.

Countless physical and spiritual healings, cures, and even miracles are attributed to the holy waters of Lourdes. Bill Whitaker recently investigated the 'Miracles of Lourdes' in his recent 60 Minutes feature on CBS.

Pilgrims come to Lourdes for healing, connecting, and being closer to God. Some come in search of strength and guidance in times of difficulty or distress. For many sick pilgrims Lourdes gives an opportunity to wash in the healing waters of the spring and to find peace with their prognosis rather than to seek a miraculous cure. Many leave Lourdes with an inner peace they did not before experience, and many more come away with a greater acceptance of the difficult circumstances in their life now filled with greater hope, trusting that there is a redemptive values in their sufferings, and a deeper faith that God will bring good out of them.

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Special thanks to the following who have made this LOURDES VR project possible for those who cannot make the pilgrimage but who seek to share in the experience of Lourdes.

BENEFACTORS
Trish O’Donnell
Bill Close

ORGANIZATIONS
HOAG Hospital
https://www.hoag.org/specialties-serv...
ORDER of MALTA - USA
https://orderofmaltawestern.us

...Saga Elmohtaseb and the entire production team at Hollywood-consulting.com
...and Greg Gilstrap at Mygrandpadude.com for his beautiful insight on this journey with us and detailing firsthand the majestic wonder of what the production team captured in the promo and the VR's.

Dr. Vincent D. Nguyen, KM