Dear Western Association Members,
On behalf of the leadership of the Western Association, it is my pleasure to open General Registration for the 2025 Lourdes Pilgrimage. In addition, it is my privilege to reveal the names of the Knights and Dames who will be responsible for planning and coordinating this year’s Pilgrimage.
2025 Lourdes Pilgrimage Flyer
The dates for the upcoming Lourdes Spring Pilgrimage are April 29 – May 7, 2025. The base cost of the Pilgrimage remains at $3,800 for the Air and Land option, which includes hotel and charter airfare from Los Angeles, California to Lourdes, France. The cost of the Land Only option remains $2,900. Please note that all Pilgrims participating in the air and land option are responsible for their own travel to and from Los Angeles.
2025 Lourdes Leadership Flyer
Registration
You will recall from our early September letter that we have revised our General Registration process for 2025 in the hope of making it fairer to those unable to get to a computer on the first day of registration, and to help us prioritize the applications of our Dames and Knights. We have established an open period for General Registration of five days, from the morning of Monday, November 4th through 5 p.m. on Friday, November 8th. The application of every person registering during that window will be considered for participation in the Pilgrimage, though that registration will not yet guarantee a place on the Pilgrimage. Following the five-day registration period, the Leadership Team will promptly confirm the compliance by proposed registrants with our policies and procedures, and then, if there is oversubscription, we will select from among the applicants in each registration category through some randomized process. We expect to notify all of those who have registered of their status within one week, by November 15th.
As a result of this new process, we are not asking you for your credit card or other payment information as part of the initial General Registration process, instead, once we have confirmed your registration (and, as applicable, your confirmation for any air travel upgrades you have requested – see below), we will at that time ask for your payment data. Please respond promptly to any request for such information you may receive.
We think that this process will lead to less pressure during the initial days of General Registration. We also, though, want to remind everyone that demand for Pilgrimage spots remains strong, and that our General Registration prioritization process will focus on Dames, Knights and Men and Women Religious. Last year, even with the extraordinary demand, we managed to get every Member of the Western Association who wished to join us in Lourdes admitted as a Pilgrim, and we are optimistic that this result will obtain again this year. For any Auxiliary Members or Volunteer candidates who are not able to be accepted, please consider reapplying for involvement in future Pilgrimages.
A complete registration package includes:
1) Online registration form
2) Recent personal photo
3) Current VIRTUS (or Comparable) Certificates
In order to be confirmed as Pilgrims, Members also must be current with their Yearly Contribution.
Current Auxiliary Members must be in good standing, meeting the 15 hour minimum service hour requirement in the last year. Any questions regarding this can be addressed to Shawn Sylvia.
2025 Lourdes Pilgrimage General Registration
VIRTUS Instructions
Protection of the Vulnerable Policy (Updated 9.15.2023)
Flight Upgrades
As in the past, we will make charter flight upgrade options available to our Members and other Order-related Pilgrims. But for reasons of fairness to our fellow Members, we are no longer allocating our upgraded seating on a first-come, first-served basis (which by definition favored the Early Registration participants and those who first got online).
Instead, we will ask you to express your interest in such upgrades at the time of your initial registration submission. Then, when all of the registrations are in and all proposed Pilgrims are confirmed (including General Registration Pilgrims), the Pilgrimage Leadership will allocate those upgraded spots on what we hope will be a fair and equitable basis, considering, among other factors, need, seniority and prior service. Please trust us to make these decisions fairly and neutrally.
In terms of seating options, there are again three distinct seating areas: First Class (additional $2,500), Premium Economy (additional $1,500), and Economy (included in the price). Upgrades may be purchased by any Pilgrim for themselves, for others, and especially for Malades. Members of the Order who are not participating in the Pilgrimage may purchase upgrades for Malades and their caregivers as well. The money raised through the purchase of upgrades will help offset the cost of the Pilgrimage.
Let us emphasize again that General Registration applicants are not being asked at this time to provide any payment amounts or information in connection with your registration submission, whether for accommodation, base air transportation or requested upgrades. Instead, when and if you are confirmed as a Pilgrim (and for an upgrade, if applicable), we will then contact you, asking for payment.
2025 Flight Upgrade Flyer
Clergy Sponsoring Procedures
Our current Chaplains will be invited to join us at the expense of the Pilgrimage. We invite you to reach out to Chaplains whom you know to encourage them to join us this year, but each of them will receive a registration link directly from the Office.
With respect to Provisional Chaplains and volunteer Members of the Clergy who might wish to join us, we have over the years strongly encouraged Knights and Dames to help underwrite these expenses.
Clergy Sponsoring Procedure
Malade Nominations
We encourage you to help us identify prospective Malade candidates. If you would like to nominate an individual for consideration as a Malade for 2025, please complete the online nomination form below.
2025 Malade Nomination Form - Online
2025 Malade Nomination Form - PDF
SPECIAL NOTE: Although we are planning for a safe and normal pilgrimage, we will of course follow all applicable governmental regulations. If we must cancel your participation in the Pilgrimage for public health or comparable reasons, you will receive a full refund. However, Pilgrims seeking a refund of their payments – except in the case of such a general cancellation - will need to provide notice of their withdrawal from the Pilgrimage by February 1, 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact me at either the e-mail address, or the mobile number, listed below.