Order of Malta in Idaho helps 1,500 to visit Lourdes annually

Malta Knights and Dames also support World Day of the Sick Mass at Boise Cathedral

The Grotto at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes marks the site where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858, and where a miraculous, living spring is often attributed to miracles of physical and emotional healing. (catholicjourneys.com)

By Deacon Charles Corbalis

St. Paul’s Parish

NAMPA–Making a “pilgrimage of hope” is close to the heart of every Knight and Dame of the Order of Malta.

Every May for the past 67 years, this centuries-old international religious lay order, dedicated to “defense of the faith” and “service to the poor and sick,” takes 1,500 “malades” (French for “sick” or “pilgrims in need of care”) together with one companion each, on a week-long “pilgrimage of hope” to the healing waters of Lourdes, France.

The Grotto at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes marks the site where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858, a living spring that is attributed to many miracles of healing following her appearance.

The “hope” spoken of here is not just that common human emotion, although that is present as well. Rather, it encompasses that superior kind of hope, the kind that Pope Francis describes in “Spes non confundit,” his Bull of Indiction for the 2025 Jubilee year, as “hope born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus on the cross.”

It is hope which, beginning at our baptism, opens us to God’s grace, “constantly renewed and confirmed by the working of the Holy Spirit.” It is an openness that, as Idaho Bishop Peter F. Christensen described at this year’s World Day of the Sick Mass, turns our faith in God into an active form of trust. It is an openness that allows us to accept that, perhaps, in the mystery of Divine Providence, “things are not falling apart, but rather they are falling into place.”

Established in 2021, the Boise location, or chapter, of the Order of Malta, has been fortunate to host nine Lourdes pilgrimages for the “malades” over the past four years.

“The Masses were amazing, as were the underground Cathedral, the prayer services and all of the activities,” said Amy Urian, a malade from Holy Apostles Church in Meridian. “I still find the fact that we were at the actual site of an appearance of the Blessed Mother and many miracles very surreal. The famous ‘baths’ were a very intimate moment with my daughter, going through the same motions of washing and drinking the Lourdes water as St. Bernadette; I would not have wanted to share that experience with anybody else.”

One of Amy’s fellow pilgrims had a similar reaction, stating, “This was my second trip to Lourdes, and I didn’t know quite what to expect.”

She added, “The first time I went, I was in remission, and I wondered how different it would be going as a malade. But it was just as equally powerful and amazing. I could feel the presence of God and the presence of Mary, sustaining me and interceding for me”.

Amy’s pilgrim friend concluded, “Every activity—the foot washing, the baths and the Mass in the grotto—was amazing. The candlelight procession was just beautiful! So many people, sick and healthy, from all over the world, praying the rosary and singing together. It lets you know just how united our faith really is.”

The malades are not the only pilgrims on this spiritual adventure. The 5,000-plus Knights, Dames, Chaplains, Bishops, doctors, nurses and other assistants who come to minister and attend to them come on a kind of pilgrimage as well. They, too, are hopeful that they can, and will, be faithful to their ministry as “missionaries to the sick.” They leave behind their regular occupations and vocations for the week to focus exclusively on the well-being of the malades and their companions.

“Our job was listening,” said Dame Beth Ann Kavanaugh, a parishioner at St. John’s Cathedral. “We were always in listening mode for what they (the malades) wanted to share with us. We were asking how we could serve them better—what they wanted to do, where they wanted to go—to be able to provide the full experience they chose based on their level of capability.”

This is not to say that their experience was any less spiritual.

Beth Ann’s husband and Boise Knight, U.S. Navy Captain Cole Kavanaugh (Ret.), described being deeply moved at the foot washing ceremony.

“I know that I really got a lot out of the foot-washing ceremony,” he said. “I got chosen, and I found it to be extremely profound. They talk about having to ‘humble yourself’ to wash feet. I didn’t feel humbled at all. I felt elated and honored to wash this poor man’s feet and to see the dignity on his face as I did so. That was all the blessing I needed.”

 Almost no one— malades, their companions, or the pilgrims who support them—return from the pilgrimage unchanged. Even if the physical healing from the bath waters of the miraculous spring they had been hoping for did not occur, a more profound spiritual transformation does take place.

“It is an experience that is hard to describe, but the care and comfort I received was amazing,” Amy Kavanaugh said. “There is a presence there for you; it is healing. I am so thankful and grateful to have been chosen to go on such an amazing pilgrimage.”

Unfortunately, the 1,500 pilgrims hosted by the Order is a drop in the bucket compared to the many thousands who are nominated to visit Lourdes each year. The number of potential malades nominated this year far exceeded what the Western Association of the Order of Malta and its 14 locations could support.

The Knights and Dames wish they could do more, but they have their own vocations, jobs, and families to look after as well. For this reason, the Boise location hosts the World Day of the Sick Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in early February each year, on or around the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. “Stay-at-home” pilgrims can received a little taste of Lourdes here in Boise by receiving the Sacrament of Anointing, during which Bishop Christensen and Father Tim Segert prayed over those who came forward. Those attending the special Mass at the Cathedral received a small bottle of Lourdes water collected from the previous year’s pilgrimage. Personal petitions were also collected to be placed in the Grotto the following May.

The Order of Malta is proud to be one of the many organizations working to keep the “Hope”—the deep kind of hope meant by Pope Francis—alive and well in Idaho. Medical, business and former military professionals find the opportunity to serve the poor at Lourdes in this unique manner particularly gratifying.

To find out more about the Order, please get in touch with Deacon Charles Corbalis at ccorbalis@stpaulsnampa.org or Susan Karpiel at susankarpiel@verizon.net .

Knight and Dame couple, Capt. Cole Kavanagh (USN Ret.) and his wife Beth Ann Kavanagh. (Courtesy Photo/Dcn. Charles Corbalis)

Bishop Peter F. Christensen, far left, and Father Timothy Segert anoint attendees at the February World Day of the Sick Mass held at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in January. (ICR Photo/Philip A. Janquart)