The Hospitalité’s Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 1st February 2020 at 11am at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in London. The Hospitalité would like to thank its members for attending. A copy of the meeting minutes are duly enclosed below. The 2021 AGM has been tentatively set for 6th February - an invitation will be circulated to all members well in advance, as per usual.

In the meantime, we encourage you to get in touch with any queries, comments or thoughts.

Pilgrimage Safeguarding Training

Looking after and keeping our Assisted Pilgrims safe is at the very heart of our pilgrimage. To ensure we keep this objective at the forefront of all we do, it is important we all make time to ensure we have enough training to carry this out effectively.

We, the CA, organisers of our pilgrimage, want all helpers to have completed a recent relevant piece of safeguarding training in preparation for their pilgrimage role. Please note that if you have previously provided evidence of relevant safeguarding training to the pilgrimage this remains valid for this year’s pilgrimage. 

There is an online resource available commissioned by the Catholic Church. It is available for anyone with a role within the church where safeguarding is relevant - that can be for anyone - a parent, grandparent, teacher, liturgy leader, visitor to the housebound/sick etc and of course those serving others on a pilgrimage e.g. you! You do not have to be a Catholic but you will be ministering to others in the church community so it is still available to you. 

Many of you may already work in a profession where regular safeguarding training is already mandatory. If that is the case then a copy of your most recent dated training certificate or other appropriate evidence will suffice however, we would suggest if your professional role is with children there is still much to be learned by completing the Vulnerable Adults module online and vice versa. 

 To get the username and password to log in to the system to complete the training all you need to do is email (if you phone - they’ll ask you to email your details anyway) your details to your Diocesan Safeguarding team (see below). All you have to say is that your role is as a volunteer helper on a Lourdes pilgrimage. It doesn’t matter which Diocese, the one you live in or the one you travel to Lourdes with…..like the church, the training is the same through whichever Diocese you go through.

Now, all you need to do, is get comfy with your computer for an hour or two’s easy reading and answering of multiple choice questions with the click of a box. You can even go back and look up the right answers…they want you to pass. You can stop and go back to it and it will pick up where you got to as well. 

There is a whole variety of courses to choose from but for most helpers the suggestion is you complete the Vulnerable Adults course. If you work with Glanfield or HCP then the children’s one may be more appropriate but being mindful there are vulnerable adults in the groups too. 

Once complete, please download, save your certificate and send a copy to the safeguarding officer - Cliona Devereux at safeguarding@catholicassociation.co.uk by the end of June. It is important that not only do we practise good safeguarding procedures but that we are seen to be doing so too. It offers reassurance to our most vulnerable pilgrims and their families that we care about them and their wellbeing.

Diocesan Safeguarding Teams

Details for each of these teams below has been taken from Diocesan websites - there are a lot more safeguarding details and links available via the websites via the following links (alternatively, please copy and paste the relevant link into your browser):

 East Anglia: https://www.rcdea.org.uk/e-learning/

Northampton: https://tinyurl.com/y3hre6lp  

Clifton: https://cliftondiocese.com/departments/safeguarding/safeguarding-e-learning/

Southwark: http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/Safeguarding%20Training.html

Salford (Stonyhurst): http://www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/safeguarding/reps/ (please scroll down the page - it’s definitely there, lower on the page under parish reps)

We hope this is helpful! As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on contact@catholicassociation.co.uk if you have any questions!

Wondering what it’s like volunteering in Lourdes with the CA? Sophie, one of our returning volunteers, has recorded a podcast with the Clifton Diocese all about her Lourdes experience!

You can listed to Sophie’s podcast by clicking here!

Every wondered what it’s like travelling to Lourdes with the CA as an assisted pilgrim? The wonderful Jean Mellows provides an account of her time with the CA!

“It was the year 2010 and my husband had died thirteen years before. We had a very large and wonderfully united family, but they had all left home to follow their own careers and inevitably our family house was too big for me. I had moved to a more appropriate dwelling just for myself and my memories.

One of my families was much involved with the Lourdes Pilgrimage and they asked me, tentatively, if I would like to join them on a Pilgrimage. I simply jumped at the chance and everything was set in motion. I was to share a room in a hotel with a lady in similar circumstances to mine and we became great friends and indeed shared a room for eight years. Accepting the suggestion that I should go was the best decision that I could have made. It is a wonderful experience in every way and I have now been every year for nine years! 

I was nervous to start with, wondering if I was going to “fit in” but all fears were dispelled from the moment we arrived. The feeling of a Christian welcome and friendship is tangible as you gradually meet your fellow Pilgrims, and the programme for each day’s activities is displayed in the hotel foyer, giving times and meeting-points for Mass and the other activities. 

I am one of the “wheelchair” brigade and there are a number of young people – mostly sixth formers or students, who have previous training and wear recognisable uniforms, who are ready with wheelchairs to take to any of the appointed activities, whether it be Mass, to the Grotto where Our Lady visited Bernadette, or to any of the outings arranged on the Pilgrimage. 

I am now 93. At the beginning of this year I was told that I could not reasonably be looked after in the hotel anymore and that I should transfer to the Accueil (the hospital). This completely threw me and I envisaged a sparse ward with a considerable trek to the showers and facilities! In fact I almost decided to stop going, but a “Higher Power” told me that I would be miserable at home while the Pilgrimage was going on! I decided to take a leap of faith and go. On arrival my fears were flipped away in an instant. I was taken to a delightful bedroom for two people with a shower and all facilities. My companion and I were chosen for each other so that we were compatible and the volunteer staff were all eager and anxious to help and give us all the aid we needed (I can no longer shower and dress myself). We were even brought a cup of tea to wake us up! 

The bedrooms in the Accueil are placed in a wide arc, leaving a large empty space in front of them with plenty of chairs, making a friendly, companionable meeting place at leisure times. The dining room is light and cheerful and the Pilgrims are allocated to seats at the tables so that you get to know your companions. The “wheelchair pushers” are organised to take you to each of the Masses or activities at the correct time, and altogether the Accueil experience is relaxed and totally pleasurable.

I am looking forward to next year already!” 

Have you seen our pilgrimage brochure? You can download this by clicking on the button below (both full & mini versions available)!

We encourage all volunteers, pilgrims and members of the CA community to circulate this to anyone interested in travelling with us to Lourdes this summer!

As always, if you have any questions, get in touch on contact@catholicassociation.co.uk!

We’re starting to plan for our 2019 pilgrimage to Lourdes by reflecting on some stunning photos from our 2018 pilgrimage! You can also check them out on our Facebook page here! ©Photo Lacaze