In the end, 17,000 pilgrims are present this year for the Rosary pilgrimage.
Obviously the authorities, in order to ensure the protection of the pilgrims, have taken security measures.
More than 180 personnel (national and municipal police, gendarmes, soldiers, sanctuary security agents, etc.) are deployed until 8 October.
A presence necessary for the security of the event
→ In this context, every year a very important security system is put in place in a context of diffuse terrorist threat.
Thus for this 2022 edition, more than 180 personnel in charge of security are mobilized between October 5 and 8:
internal security personnel:
- the DDSP of Hautes-Pyrénées, the SDRT and the BAC;
- zonal reinforcements;
- and a mobile gendarmerie squadron;
soldiers from the sentinel operation;
the Hautes-Pyrénées gendarmerie is also mobilizing to carry out dynamic patrols around Lourdes;
personnel assigned to aerial and video surveillance missions;
the municipal police of Lourdes also deploys personnel;
the Sanctuary deploys daily teams reinforced by the presence of video-protection cameras;
A PCO (operational command post) is installed within the Sanctuary, according to the identified highlights, which includes representatives of the prefecture (the director of the Cabinet services and an agent of the SIDPC), the Sanctuary, the City of Lourdes , CRS, SDIS, DMD and police services.
→ But this security system is not limited to the holding of the event.
Effective since 2016 significant work has been carried out at the instigation of the State, which has enabled the City of Lourdes and the Sanctuary to become real players in security.
In this respect, the State has financed passive security means within the City of Lourdes and the Sanctuary using FIPD credits.
→ It is also useful to specify that the legal tools made available to us (and in particular by the SILT law) were used:
Protective perimeter decree for the Sanctuary and the City of Lourdes; Order prohibiting the overflight of the city of Lourdes by drone; Municipal decree prohibiting navigation on the Gave crossing the Sanctuary; Municipal decree relating to the operation of retractable security bollards, parking and traffic in Lourdes; a temporary restricted area that can be activated during pilgrimages to monitor a pre-established perimeter and to regulate all overflights of the site.
The Rosary pilgrimage: an essential pilgrimage
The Rosary pilgrimage was founded in 1908, by the Dominican fathers. Each year it brings together between 15,000 and 25,000 people. The date of the Rosary pilgrimage is around the October 7 which results from the date of the feast “Our Lady of the Rosary”.
History of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
In gratitude to Mary for the victory of Lepanto over the Turks on October 7, 1571, Pope Saint Pius V instituted, in 1572, the feast “Our Lady of Victory” on the first Sunday of October. In 1573, his successor Pope Gregory XIII called it “Our Lady of the Rosary” feast. This feast was finally extended to the whole Church in 1715 after a new victory over the Turks. Pius X, in 1913, set the date for October 7.
The Rosary pilgrimage is designed as a spiritual retreat on the theme of the year. It is different from the August 15 pilgrimage which is centered on the feast of the Assumption. Throughout this pilgrimage, many meetings are proposed: four days of prayer and reflection.
This 2022 pilgrimage is organized around the theme “Like Bernadette, Go say…”.
The daily course of the pilgrimage of the rosary includes several celebrations: mass in the morning, procession in the afternoon and torchlight procession in the evening.
The sick and disabled also have their place in the Rosary pilgrimage. About 5,000 hospital staff (doctors, stretcher-bearers, nurses, companions) accompany sick and disabled people registered for the pilgrimage. There is a dedicated Stations of the Cross for the sick and it is possible to benefit from an Anointing of the Sick celebration.