A mother
"What did we see at Lourdes? A pilgrimage, yes—and so much more. A great Christian community formed in hours, thousands of people who came to know each other so well that they could love deeply, because they had set aside rivalry, competition, the grasping spirit, the urge to exploit."
A priest
"We will leave Lourdes as we arrived, carrying a cross on our shoulders. We did not come there to have it taken away, but to learn together how to bear it better."
A father
"Each of us has come to Lourdes from all corners of the world because each of us can become a bearer of hope. We must leave here carrying with us a light of trust that will kindle other lights in the world."
Another mother
"Since my return from Lourdes, I have carried a joy, a certainty that never leaves me and which can only be said as: Alleluia! for those who sang and said alleluia when I myself had no strength. Alleluia! for those who held the faith when I did not. Alleluia! for those who loved when I had no desire to love."
Another mother
"What struck us most deeply was that joy which infected us all, the friends we met. Is this not the life awaiting us: a great joy, an immense celebration, truly without borders of time or place or person?"
A doctor
"We are gathered here, many doctors. Not simply to discuss medicine, but above all to study how to reach toward useful charity—a charity that, faced with a handicapped person, moves us not only to compassion and affection but also to concrete action. It is important to see how segregation and rejection can destroy a person, and how love, by contrast, can build them up."
Another doctor
"In society, the mentally handicapped are too often regarded as either dangerous or beyond help. The first thing we must do, if we wish to be useful, is to prove that this is false. What we witness here is proof of that."
A young man
"At Lourdes I understood that it was not a dream, a myth, a madness: the new society in which we recognize ourselves all as brothers is possible. We lived it for four days. It is so strange, so beautiful, to feel equal with a small handicapped child who cannot speak but who looks you straight in the eye, judges you worthy of his trust, and clings to you."
A mother and father from Rome
"I was still young when my first son was born. I had hopes, dreams, illusions. But it was not to be. When my baby was born, I was told: 'He is mongoloid.' All my dreams shattered. It was no longer possible to realize what I had hoped for—to raise a normal child. And so began a struggle that many mothers know. A son who was not like others. The pain of so many years, of every day, of every hour. For so long, for so many long years, with a child who was different.
My husband and I became different too. We isolated ourselves from everyone. Nothing existed but our son and our sorrow.
Then came Lourdes. Just another stop in our life, one more visit like those to the specialists who had counseled us. After a few hours, I realized things were different. I was not the only mother with a child like mine. Other children were like my son.
That is when something hit me—something that changed my life profoundly. Despite our pain, my husband and I realized that many parents suffered more than we did. We felt a strong desire to help them, to love them, to understand their suffering.
We returned with hearts full of hope, of strength. But most importantly, we returned with determination: the will to love our friends with deep understanding.
I do not believe in miracles. But Lourdes changed my heart.
Now the phone rings. People knock on the door. Saturday we have tea with friends, but we have to hurry because Sunday others are waiting. Yes, all of this is true—sincerely true, ever since we told each other we were not alone.
The joys and sorrows of one family become everyone's. We are an 'open' community, and people look at us in wonder—wonder at our openness, and they appreciate it still more. We carry our pain not with pride but with acceptance. We have told people: we have our children too.
Keep telling people that."
From Messaggero, April 1971
"For the first time at Easter 1971, Lourdes welcomed an unprecedented pilgrimage: four thousand people with intellectual disabilities, from twenty-four countries, accompanied by eight thousand parents and teachers. Most were Catholic. Some could walk and speak. Others were pushed in wheelchairs or carried on stretchers to the Basilica and the Grotto. There was great calm, an almost complete silence.
The pilgrimage, called 'Faith and Light,' was organized by Jean Vanier, son of the former Governor General of Canada. For him, people with intellectual disabilities represent a continuous lesson in humility and innocence.
'The miracle we hope for,' says Jean Vanier, 'is that normal people will learn from the suffering of these young people. We have gathered them here to show that they are capable of friendship, that they deserve good schools and good treatment. They carry suffering and humiliation. Yet they know true joy and can teach us to experience it anew. They ask for nothing and appreciate even the smallest kindness.'"
From the Press
From "Città nuova"
"As at Lourdes, so too in Rome this October thousands of handicapped people, with relatives and friends of the Faith and Light movement, guided by Jean Vanier, will bear a powerful witness to new relationships among people. In the truest and deepest fraternity, those once marginalized become active, important parts of social reality, equal to all."
From "Se vuoi" (orientation magazine)
"The families' response to Jean Vanier's initiative shows how truly it answers a real need—parents of handicapped children left until now alone in their suffering. One could cite many examples, but the most significant fact is the ever-growing number of people at Faith and Light gatherings. What draws all these parents, young people, and children? The respect shown for each person's suffering. The sincere friendship that binds them to one another. The smile that lights the face of handicapped people, conquering all irresistibly."
From "La Rocca"
"We are convinced that every person, 'wounded' in body, heart, or spirit, is on a journey toward a God who will give them full wholeness and much more, 'things not yet revealed.' We are convinced that God still wishes to work through the body of Christ—the Eucharist and the Church—to manifest his presence in a special way to every person, and especially to those who most resemble the 'poor' whom Christ encountered. We are convinced that to be Christian is not to speak beautiful words but to enter into the movement of freedom and love inaugurated by Christ—a movement that demands concrete action."
From "Famiglia Cristiana"
"We all need to seek the light, and we will see this light in the joyful smile of our young people, who are deeply sensitive to spiritual realities. There may be criticism and disbelief about this pilgrimage. We should not be surprised—even in the Gospel we read that not everyone understood the Lord's way. He chose the weak. He invited to the wedding feast the poor, the weak, the excluded. May God help them too understand the message of Faith and Light. We believe, and so we go to Rome. We will spend three days there with friends from around the world."
Editor's note
"Rome, certainly, is not Lourdes. It will be harder to find an atmosphere of calm, silence, and prayer. But as at Lourdes, so too in Rome we will gather to show that our young people know how to appreciate friendship, joy, beautiful things. Rome has the Pope, who in the name of Jesus will say to us once more: 'Let the little children come to me.'
In Rome, among thousands and thousands of pilgrims, we will be there too."