Quality of life and Pilgrimage to Lourdes

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Quality of life and Pilgrimage: An exploratory study into the impact of a Pilgrimage to Lourdes on patient quality of life.

• IRAS ID

  163815

• Contact name

  Jennifer M Klimiuk

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 3 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Lourdes is a town in the French Pyrenees with a population of 15,000 and has been a site of Roman Catholic pilgrimage since 1858. Lourdes attracts millions of pilgrims from across the world, many of whom have physical or mental illness, and the Lourdes Sanctuary recognises around 50,000 registered ‘sick’ pilgrims annually. The shrine in Lourdes is acknowledged by the Roman Catholic Church as the site of the visions of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. Since then there have been 69 ‘miraculous cures’ recognised by the Church. However, there is evidence that there have been many thousands more unexplained cures, which have been reported to the Lourdes Medical Bureau. Despite this, it is generally accepted that many sick pilgrims who travel to Lourdes, though not experiencing a ‘cure’, gain significant benefit from the experiences they have. This has been thought to be due to the complex, multidimensional nature of the pilgrimage experience. Spiritual renewal; the sense of community and common purpose and the value of a holiday have been just some of the factors felt to be beneficial to pilgrims. As a result of these factors, it is hypothesised, that pilgrimage to Lourdes impacts on general well-being and health-related quality of life.
  This study is designed to explore if there is a change in quality of life in sick pilgrims who travel to Lourdes on the Salford Diocesan annual pilgrimage. Those pilgrims aged over 18 and considering themselves a ‘sick’ pilgrim will be included. Participants will be asked to complete a short standardised questionnaire measuring quality of life, before, after and 2 months after pilgrimage to Lourdes. Results will then be analysed to explore if there is a statistically significant change in quality of life after pilgrimage to Lourdes.

• REC name

  Social Care REC

• REC reference

  15/IEC08/0031

• Date of REC Opinion

  12 May 2015

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion