Pope to military gathered in Lourdes: 'Be sentinels of peace'

By Lisa Zengarini

“May you strengthen the certainty within you that love is stronger than hatred and division, and that you too are called to play an irreplaceable role for the common good and the service of peace in the world.”

Pope Francis offered that encouragement in a message he sent to the  military gathered this weekend at the French Marian Shrine of Lourdes for their 64th International Pilgrimage.

A tradition that goes back to 1958

Some 15,000 military personnel from some 40 countries are attending the three-day event on May 24-26 presided over by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

The pilgrimage has been taking place every year since 1958, exactly 100 years after the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes to St. Bernadette The idea was born in 1944 in the midst of horrors of the Second World War, when members of the French army  visited the site of St. Bernadette’s apparitions, offering prayers for peace.

A spiritual journey 

In his message, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis invited participants  to undertake a spiritual journey on the footsteps of St. Bernadette  "first of all towards God, but also towards our brothers and sisters, to build a more supportive and fraternal world".

This commitment, he remarked, is all the more important for the military who are called "to play an irreplaceable role for the common good and the service of peace in the world.”

The world needs you in this dark moment of history

Even for those who wear a uniform, Pope Francis noted, a pilgrimage is an experience of faith that allows us to "discover the beauty of walking together, of supporting each other and of reaching out to others. It allows you to be close to your sick and wounded comrades in arms and to take care of them” and “to bring God's Mercy to the military world”, he said.

"The world needs you," the Pope concluded, "especially in this dark moment in our history. We need men and women of faith capable of putting their weapons at the service of peace and fraternity."