Catholic Ethos
Westminster Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage
During the summer holiday ten members of our Sixth Form headed off to Lourdes on the Westminster Diocesan Pilgrimage as ‘Redcap’ volunteers. They had chosen to spend a week of their summer holidays putting other people first! Each year about 900 people go to Lourdes on our diocesan pilgrimage and many of these people are elderly and sick, and without volunteer helpers they would not be able to take a full part. These people need to use wheelchairs and have to be pushed around during their week in Lourdes, especially to the various services that make up the pilgrimage week.
Our Sixth Form students were part of a Redcap team that was made of Sixth Form volunteers from two other schools (St Gregory’s School in Kenton and Gumley House School in Isleworth). Altogether there were thirty of us and because of our distinctive blue t-shirts we were known as the 'Blue Crew'. Our Sixth Form students were great at working with the rest of the team and after what seemed like a few hours everyone became really united and some strong friendships were formed.
The best part of being a Redcap is the chance to work with the sick and elderly. It is really good to be able to help people and make sure that they can have a good pilgrimage. There is a lot of hard work to do because Lourdes has lots of hills, and there are so many services and events to get people to and from. What our Sixth Form students discovered was that doing things to help people in need is really rewarding. You can look back over each day in Lourdes and have a great sense of knowing you have done something you can be proud of. The Sixth Form students from NBS were so good at caring for the sick and elderly. They spent their time not just pushing people in wheelchairs but also getting to know them really well. Some very strong bonds were made with the people who were being cared for.
Going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes is very different to any other kind of school trip or holiday. Perhaps one of the biggest differences is being able to pray together at holy places like the Grotto. A really special part of the week in Lourdes was when the whole 'Blue Crew' met at midnight to go to the Grotto. One of the reasons for doing this was to light our school candle, which was blessed at our end-of-school-year mass, and to pray for our school communities, and our family and friends back home. This year our time at the Grotto was very intense and special because it gave many people the chance to pray about important things in their life.
Another special moment from this year was when one elderly couple who had a disabled daughter described their week in Lourdes as one of the best of their whole lives because they had just loved spending time with the NBS students and the other members of the 'Blue Crew'. In fact since coming back from Lourdes many people have written to Mr Jakszta to say just how lovely they thought the students who came to Lourdes from NBS were. It is fantastic to know that so many of our Sixth Form students were putting our school mission into practice through the summer holiday.
As one of the sixth form students put it: "Going to Lourdes made me realise how powerful and inspirational this holy place is. It made me realise how special Lourdes is because it is so sacred and because of all the millions of people that visit it. Being a Redcap and helping people to have the best experience they can is so rewarding because you are really touching someone and making them happy."
