ACN to hold Pilgrimage of Hope at Scotland's national shrine

Pilgrims at Carfin last year

Aid to the Church in Need will be holding an event to remember persecuted and other suffering Christians at Scotland's national shrine to Our Lady.

The charity's Pilgrimage of Hope – a day of prayer for the suffering church – will be held at Carfin Lourdes Grotto on Saturday, 30 April.

UK director Neville Kyrke-Smith said: “Even in the midst of adversity and oppression the prayers and actions of Aid to the Church in Need mean that those we are helping know that they are remembered and not forgotten. This is the one thing that gives them hope.”

Mr Kyrke-Smith will be talking at the event about projects the charity has supported through the generosity of its benefactors in Scotland.

He added: “From the political and religious turmoil of the Middle East to Pakistan and Sudan, Aid to the Church in Need encourages hope – our brothers and sisters in Christ who endure so much for Christ today know that they are not forgotten.”

The day will be led by Father Francis McGachey, the new rector of the shrine, who took up his role in February 2011. As well as celebrating Mass, Father McGachey will be leading the Regina Caeli, the Rosary procession, and Stations of the Cross.

Lorraine McMahon, head of Aid to the Church in Need’s operations in Scotland, who is organising the event, said: “Prayer is the lifeblood of ACN – just as it is the lifeblood of the persecuted Church. It is vitally important for us to pray for our suffering brothers and sisters, and remember the terrible situations that they have to endure all over the world.”

The day will start at 11.30am when pilgrims gather at the Xavier Centre, next door to the grotto. The choir of Saint Francis Xavier’s parish will be singing at the Mass at 1pm.

Ms McMahon expressed her thanks to the singers, and members of the Knights of Saint Columba who will be stewarding the event, for volunteering their time.

This will be the second consecutive pilgrimage that the charity has held at Carfin, having revived the event last year. Aid to the Church in Need first held a pilgrimage at the shrine in May 1978 when the charity’s founder, Norbertine priest Father Werenfried van Straaten, led the event.

Prayers begin at 12 noon with the Regina Caeli and finish at 4pm, after Stations of the Cross.

To find out more and register your interest see: www.acnuk.org/events.php/238/aid-to-the-church-in-need-carfin-pilgrimage-2011