Pittsfield draws global community as Catholic relics come to town

Dozens of parishioners gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Pittsfield to receive the relics of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, as part of a U.S. tour of the Catholic saint’s holy remains.

A diverse group of believers from down the street or out of state, born in New England or overseas, converged on the town for three days of prayer and worship, beginning on Oct. 27.

For Pittsfield Catholics, the presence of the relics — which are usually located at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France — provided a physical and spiritual closeness with a part of Catholicism they may not otherwise have encountered. For others who came from beyond the small central New Hampshire town, the services presented an opportunity to commune with Saint Bernadette in a new context and share their faith with a broader cross-section of believers.

Sue Bosniak, a parishioner and staff member at Our Lady of Lourdes Pittsfield, described feeling pleased that the town had received the relics twice in only four years. The first was in 2022, when the French church hosted its inaugural nationwide tour, with the aim of bringing the message of Lourdes closer to congregants across the country. She was honored as a saint for protecting the sick, the poor and those mocked because of their faith.

“We don’t get this opportunity unless you go to Lourdes, so this is a really huge opportunity because four years ago, we did have her here,” Bosniak said. “That was a real surprise that that was even happening because they had been in Europe forever. So this is a real honor to have her here.”

Those who had never been to Pittsfield also found meaning in the relics’ visit. Alexis Hilborn was born in Nashua and has since moved to Manchester. She said she recently completed a study abroad program in Lourdes, where she would visit Saint Bernadette’s remains at the church some days after class.

“It’s very profound for me. I’ve been kind of homesick for France, even though I was born and raised here,” she said. “So just seeing the statue of Our Lady and the rocks and the relics — it makes my heart so warm.”

Matthew Newton is the van driver for the 11-month run of the tour, called “Our Journey of Grace.” He’s charged with transporting the holy objects across every region of the United States. Originally from the Bay Area, he also worked with the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in 2022 as they completed their first 45-stop tour. This week marked his second visit to Pittsfield.

“Pittsfield, New Hampshire, is actually one that I remember very fondly,” he said. “I think maybe it’s just because it’s so different than home.”

Newton described learning New Hampshire’s state motto on the last Saint Bernadette tour, when a parishioner wore a shirt that said “Live Free or Die.” He said that when he left Pittsfield, he took a bit of New Hampshire with him.

“It’s cool to go around, meet different personalities and what they hold dear and what they’re proud of,” Newton said. “That always stood out to me, ‘Live Free or Die.’ I even joke about it with my wife back at home. It’s something that I carry now, even though I’m not from New Hampshire.”

For still others, the relics transformed Pittsfield into an unlikely place of solace and homecoming. Sophie Graney was born and raised in Lourdes, and moved to the United States about thirty years ago. When she saw that Saint Bernadette’s relics would be in Pittsfield, she said she knew she would have to make the drive from her home in Chelmsford, Mass.

“It somehow felt like home a little bit, and the procession, I loved that. The candle procession is so beautiful,” she said. “So I was happy to see that over here.”

Worshippers concluded almost twelve hours of Mass and veneration with a candlelight procession on Wednesday night. They said prayers of Ave Maria and Gloria Patri as they wound up River Road, their votive candles blazing in a long column.

The believers who formed this procession raised their voices in common reverence of Saint Bernadette, a French peasant to whom the Virgin Mary appeared as the young girl gathered firewood near a Lourdes grotto. Bernadette’s testimony resulted in the construction of several churches at the site of her visions, and the establishment of one of the most trafficked Catholic pilgrimage sites worldwide. She was canonized in the early 20th century.

For Mary Jane Colbert, a local parishioner, welcoming Saint Bernadette and her followers to Pittsfield is a source of pride.

“Having outside people come and the amount of people that we had here — it wasn’t just our little community, it was outside people that came, strangers,” she said. “But they are part of our Catholic community.”