The Aug. 19 pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in Mission is expecting large crowds again for the largest annual event in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Last year thousands of people gathered for Mass and a procession at Fraser River Heritage Park, 35 years after the revival of the longstanding pilgrimage in 1987.

Squamish and Stó:lo members led the procession up the hill overlooking the Fraser River and past the ruins of St. Mary’s Residential School. A large crowd followed, carrying a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, which was placed in the grotto for a Rosary and benediction.

This year’s pilgrimage starts with Mass at 1 p.m. The main celebrant will be Archbishop J. Michael Miller. Confessions will be heard on-site starting at 10 a.m. 

After Mass, there will be a procession to the grotto where the Rosary will be prayed, followed by benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. 

The event will conclude with a picnic. Pilgrims are encourage to bring picnic baskets and lawn chairs. The use of charcoal briquettes is prohibited in the park, but propane is permitted.

The pilgrimage celebrates the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the third Saturday of August each year and traces its origin back to the founding of the Archdiocese.

Bishop Louis Joseph d’Herbomez, OMI, bishop from 1864 to 1890 of what was then the Vicariate Apostolic of British Columbia, used to meditate at a particular spot on the Fraser River because it reminded him of the grotto of Lady in Lourdes, France.

His dying wish was that a grotto be built on the spot, and orders to build the grotto were found two years after his death.

Completed in 1892, the grotto, which was the largest Marian shrine in B.C., came to be known as the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. It was so striking and prominent that the community surrounding St. Mary’s Mission, where the grotto was located, became known as Mission.

The grotto eventually fell into disuse and was torn down in 1965, and the land sold to the provincial government for $1.

In 1988 the Knights of Columbus and the Mission Heritage Association began a fund to rebuild the grotto, and it was reopened in 1997.

Fraser River Heritage Park is at 7494 Mary Street, Mission.

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