Archbishop of Canterbury to join Anglican pilgrimage to Lourdes

LONDON (CNS)—Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, England, will make a historic pilgrimage to the Marian sanctuaries in Lourdes, France. Archbishop Williams’ Sept. 22-24 visit will be the first to Lourdes by an archbishop of Canterbury. The pilgrimage will include 11 bishops from the Church of England, some 60 Anglican priests and about 400 lay Anglicans. Archbishop Williams will take part in Catholic celebrations, such as a eucharistic procession, and will preach at a Sept. 23 international Mass celebrated by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Archbishop Williams also will pray at the grotto where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. Anglican Father Graeme Rowlands, an organizer of the pilgrimage, said Archbishop Williams was making the visit at the invitation of Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes.