Six Upper School students of Sacred Heart Greenwich recently returned from a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, where they spent a week immersed in faith, service and community.

After visiting the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, praying at the Grotto where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette, and joining thousands of pilgrims in the torchlight Marian procession, the six students began serving assisted pilgrims through everyday acts of kindness and compassion.

“Assisted pilgrims” are those who are sick, frail, disabled or elderly who go to the sanctuary with the support of medical and volunteer teams.

“Lourdes was the most rewarding and eye-opening experience that helped me to connect with myself, God and others,” said Julia Beaudry ’27.

The group included Beaudry, Izzy Nedder, Blaire Williamson, Michaela O’Brien, Lucia Coviella and Olivia Franco.

Throughout the week, they accompanied pilgrims during meals, assisted with daily routines, attended Masses and processions, walked the Stations of the Cross, participated in the Geste de l’Eau (Water Gesture), and witnessed the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

They also formed friendships with assisted pilgrims, whose stories, resilience and faith left a lasting impression, the students said.
Lourdes, France, is most famous Marian shrine in the world, and more than 7,000 healings have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Every year, 6 million pilgrims travel there. Many go in the hope they will receive a healing at the spring Our Lady revealed to St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl. In the 160 years since the apparitions in the grotto at Massabielle, thousands of people have been healed in the waters, and 70 have been recognized as miraculous cures by the Church.

Through service, conversation and prayer, the six young women of Sacred Heart Greenwich said they experienced what it means to live the Sacred Heart Goals and Criteria—finding Christ in others, serving with compassion and deepening their faith through community. They said they returned home with lasting memories, friendships, and a renewed commitment to joyful service.