The opportunity to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette is one that many Catholics would love to have — yet they may never be able to, amid travel costs, health struggles, family obligations, and other factors.
However, a New York-based ministry is bringing elements of the Lourdes grotto — including the spring water, pieces of rock from the grotto, and the message of the story of Lourdes itself — to churches, schools, and other locations across the U.S. for free, providing local communities with a special encounter.
The Syracuse nonprofit, called Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers, is set to host numerous Lourdes Virtual Pilgrimage Experiences throughout the rest of 2026 in several states, including New York, Missouri, and Illinois. The nonprofit emphasizes that “no two pilgrimage experiences are the same.”
“Each time we go to Lourdes, whether in person or a virtual pilgrimage experience, Our Lady wants to give us a new, healing grace,” the nonprofit states. “Come! Journey to the Grotto with us.”
The virtual pilgrimage offers attendees a break from the pace of ordinary life and turns their focus to Jesus, His Blessed Mother, the story of Lourdes, and the search for spiritual renewal and encouragement.
The Church of the Assumption, a parish in the Diocese of Rochester, New York, welcomed dozens of Catholics to a virtual Lourdes pilgrimage earlier this year, according to a May 7 report by the Catholic Courier.
Participants could bless themselves with water from the Lourdes spring, touch pieces of rock from the grotto, view photos and videos of Lourdes, and listen to audio clips of the Lourdes church bells, according to the outlet. They also prayed a decade of the rosary, and had opportunities for reflection and Eucharistic adoration.
The attendees also received small bottles of water from the Lourdes spring, which began flowing after St. Bernadette dug into the ground at the instruction of Our Lady. Thousands of pilgrims journey to Lourdes every year to wash themselves in the spring, which has been related to many miraculous healings.
Barry Vaughn, one of the volunteers who led the virtual pilgrimage, noted to the Catholic Courier that the water is “not magic” and stressed the importance of the role of faith.
“Under a microscope, it looks like any other water, but we know of many miracles that have been (linked) to Lourdes water,” Vaughn said. “Miracles still happen today. … Miracles are a gift from God to help us to have faith. … Faith is as real and as strong today as it ever was. We just need to open our eyes and our hearts.”
Kathleen Revekant, a parishioner who attended the Feb. 11 pilgrimage, told the outlet afterward that she hadn’t known what to expect but found the experience moving.
“It took us through Lourdes … as if we were visiting ourselves,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.”
She added that it inspired her to aspire to someday visit the Lourdes grotto in person.
Father William McGrath, the church’s pastor, told the Catholic Courier that the virtual pilgrimage offers a powerful means of spiritual encouragement and healing.
“There’s a lot of sickness and suffering, there are a lot of worries in the world right now, political stuff, polarization in families,” he told the outlet. “We wanted to bring a sense of healing, a sense of prayer, a sense of Our Lady’s presence. She is with us today, just as she was with Bernadette back then.”