Residents from Id-Dar tal-Providenza in Lourdes pilgrimage

Residents from Id-Dar tal-Providenza were part of group of persons with disability who took part in a four-day annual pilgrimage in Lourdes organised by UMTAL, the Maltese Association for the Transport of the Sick to Lourdes, in what was described by the Archdiocese of Malta as “an extraordinary experience of faith”.

The pilgrimage was led by UMTAL spiritual director Fr Joe Mizzi, assisted by four other priests who tended to the spiritual needs of the patients and pilgrims who took part.

The group took part in various religious functions, including the international mass and another mass in Maltese, after which they went on to the Way of the Cross, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the evening procession known as the Aux Flambeaux. The pilgrims also took part in celebrations including the sacrament of confession and the anointing of the sick.

UMTAL is a voluntary organisation established in 1931 under the patronage of the Archbishop of Malta. Since then, it has made pilgrimages to Lourdes possible for people who find it difficult to visit the shrine because of health problems.