Tim Martin – ‘Love In Action’
As a healthy, energetic twelve year old, Tim Martin suffered severe
brain damage after falling off a beam in a gymnasium. Plunged into a coma almost immediately, Tim regained consciousness but
his speech did not return, (having to resort to the use of an alphabet board), and he eventually became wheelchair-bound.
His first time to Lourdes opened up a new world to him along with a vast network of friends who he amazed with his characteristic,
raucous laugh, sharp intelligence and inner spiritual life. Since his death, family and friends continue to talk about him
and a legacy that bore countless fruits. ‘What I believed, I witnessed being lived
through Tim.’
Gregory
Tobiasiewicz – ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’
Third in a family of five children, Gregory Tobiasiewicz excelled in many areas of life: not only did he obtain
eleven A* at GCSE level but he was all-rounded and extremely popular. Aged sixteen, he was told that he had leukaemia. The
diagnosis was hopeful with an “80% chance of recovery”. Almost a year later, after much chemotherapy and a failed
bone marrow transplant, he was told that his cancer was terminal. Family and friends accompanied Gregory to Lourdes on the
Arundel and Brighton pilgrimage in the summer, by which stage only blood transfusions were keeping him alive. Though only
in Lourdes for just over two days, Gregory captivated the pilgrims, particularly when he rose out of his wheelchair to be
confirmed in front of over eight hundred witnesses. Less than a week later, he died in the middle of the night with his parents
at his side. ‘We felt very close to God, with him and led by him [...]’
Holly Keen – ‘A Hidden Treasure’
Holly Keen, aged five, was admitted to hospital after developing severe
fever and constantly fitting for two and a half hours. She had suffered oxygen starvation, destroying more than half of her
brain. Holly was taught how to walk again but never recovered her speech and became only capable of minimal communication.
When Holly reached adulthood, after she had been sponsoring five people’s trips to Lourdes per year, she travelled to
Lourdes with her mother, Joy, which soon turned into an annual event. Many have commented on Holly’s endlessly loving
nature, her mysterious, soulful eyes and her perfect focus during the Consecration in Mass which has never faltered. ‘There
is another dimension.’
Harry
Hughes – ‘Amazing Grace’
As
a young man riddled with doubt and dark thoughts, Harry Hughes attempted to take his life. He was left instead in a comatose
state for months until one day, just before an operation, one of the nurses at the hospital sang to him. When he came out
of the operation, he was singing ‘Doe a deer’ at the top of his voice. This was the beginning of the new wheelchair-bound
but charismatic and inspiring Harry. His pilgrimages to Lourdes were times of encounter and happiness but also of painful
recollection and healing. ‘He found a reward that was very different.’
Ann Collard – ‘The Passion’
Ann Collard’s youngest son, Joe, contracted a severe form of
autism as a young child. Joe lost the ability to speak, knew no fear of danger and knew no codes of social conduct. Taking
Joe to Lourdes helped Ann to love Joe as he was and face up to the challenges of daily life with a group of newfound friends.
When her older son, Danny, was stabbed and died, Ann fell apart and Ann’s mother, who lived with her, died of shock
a week later. Ann never lost faith in God and continued going to Mass whilst uplifting and cheering up others with her amazingly
strong spirit. The annual pilgrimage to Lourdes became her lifeline. Joe, her only family member left, was her sole reason
for living. Just after her fifty-third birthday, Ann died of a heart attack. ‘How
can humanity be so extraordinary?’
Stuart Murrell – ‘Still Fire’
Stuart
Murrell was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in his twenties. Now forty-seven, he is bedridden and slow in speech. His only
son, Luke, died on his seventeenth birthday after having been diagnosed with cancer three weeks previously. Stuart converted
to Catholicism soon afterwards, following regular conversations with friends and visitors. In 2007, he travelled to Lourdes.
The journey was physically exhausting for him but his witness, particularly his sense of humour and fierce spirit, touched
countless people. ‘My heart is where I get the strength from.’
Joshua Milne – ‘A Spring Of Youth’
Diagnosed with Aspergers at the age of thirteen, Joshua Milne had always wondered what made him different from
other people. After an argument with his father one day, Josh left home and ended up in foster care, switching regularly in
between foster families and children’s homes, in which he was severely bullied. His first trip to Lourdes left a deep
impression on him. At a talk during the week he spoke about his faith and reflected on Lourdes, leaving everyone in the room
tearful and speechless. His honesty and ability to communicate deep spirituality have shown others one of the paths which
lead into God’s kingdom.
‘There
must be more than this.’
Jane Bowyer – ‘In The Communion of Saints’
Born blind and with cerebral palsy, Jane Bowyer needed a place where she could be looked after. A nun at Holy
Cross Hospital in Haslemere then had a dream in which Our Lady told her that Jane was a very special girl and that she must
take Jane. Holy Cross Hospital became Jane’s home. As a young girl, Jane could barely speak but she listened to the
other patients talking amongst themselves about going to Mass. Jane decided that she wanted to be received into the Church.
When she discovered Lourdes, she went as often as she could, always on her stretcher clutching a statue of Our Lady in either
hand. Those who met her were taken aback by her devotion to Our Lady and the pure joy etched into her radiant face. ‘I’d
never seen anything as beautiful as her face that night.’
Jean-Pierre Bély – ‘The Happy Pilgrim Of Lourdes’
Jean-Pierre Bély developed Multiple Sclerosis as a husband and father to two children. By the time that
he was asked whether he would like to join a pilgrimage to Lourdes, severe pain and the leather feel of the wheelchair had
both become normality. A few days into the pilgrimage, he was anointed, provoking an inexplicable, inner transformation. That
night, he was woken by a voice telling him to get up and walk. After trying to ignore it, he eventually rose with the help
of a nurse and took his first steps. When he arrived home, he was walking. Incredulity, thanksgiving and media attention followed.
After years of inquiry, his cure from MS was deemed medically inexplicable and soon after became the sixty-seventh miracle
of Lourdes. ‘... bathed in the light of the resurrection.’
