Leaving a legacy of love in Lourdes

JULY 2026 marks an incredibly special date for the organisers, volunteers and pilgrims, past and present of an incredibly special group of people—St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group (SMSYG)—as they celebrate their Golden Jubilee. Yes, 50 years of organising, planning and journeying to Lourdes on a transformative quest of quite some magnitude by all accounts. To celebrate this group and their momentous pilgrimages, I’ve tracked down some of the people who’ve walked the walk and encouraged them to talk the talk.

In 1976, parish priest of St Joseph’s Tollcross, Fr Hugh Lowrie was asked by Archbishop Thomas Winning to form a youth group to take pilgrims to Lourdes. Fr Lowrie went round various schools in Glasgow asking fifth and sixth year pupils to go as voluntary helpers for the sick—you had to be 16. Lillian Murphy—then just 15—attended Charlotte Street, but because her parents knew Fr Lowrie he agreed she could go.

A family affair

“There were five of us from my school and my parents helped Fr Lowrie organise the trip,” Lillian recalled. “Fundraising back then consisted of Fr Lowrie buying a truck load of continental quilts then going around big companies like the Savings Bank at Cowglen and the Hoover factory selling them at a profit. The cost to go at the time was £50 a head.

“We travelled by bus, one without a toilet I might add. So, you can only imagine how many stops we had to make. To be honest no one really had a clue what we were doing on that inaugural trip and it’s fair to say we were on a wing and a prayer. My mum had a shop in Shettleston so she donated pallets of Coca-Cola and Irn-Bru and big cans of corned beef with no labels on them to sustain us. The corned beef turned out to be chopped ham and pork which Fr Lowrie literally scooped out of the cans onto baguettes and passed them round.”

I laugh out loud at Lillian’s story as I feel it brings a whole new facet to the parable of the five loaves and two fish!

“I made up tapes that I’d recorded from the top 40 on the radio, so by the end of the trip we were all singing along word for word songs like Sailing by Rod Stewart,” she continued. “On our way home the bus actually broke down at Hamilton service station and my dad had to come help us. There was no tool box. Nothing. Can you imagine if we’d broken down in Lourdes?

“Fr Lowrie had asked us to get some sort of white jacket to wear as a group uniform. I managed to get my hands on one of those white jackets the McKellar-Watt van delivery drivers used to wear. You know the guys who delivered the pies and sausages around Glasgow from the factory in Shettleston. It did the job!”

I remember those guys only too well so I’m howling with laughter.

“Looking back, I think we were a total culture shock to the people organising the pilgrimages,” Lillian said. “Nowadays they couldn’t run it without us. St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group is integral to these pilgrimages. But it was a learning curve, and it’s true what they say, practice does make perfect because we learned so much on that first trip.

“We stayed in a hotel beside the police station so we knew we couldn’t pass up on a photo opportunity of the local police pretending to arrest Fr Lowrie, Archbishop Winning and Bishop Charles Renfrew. It was a great laugh.

“I returned again and again consistently from 1976-1981. 1981 was the International Year of Disabled and ten of us did a sponsored cycle there. My sister started going in 1985, then my brother in 1987. He also met his wife there. In 2019 four generations of my family were there together. That’s what Lourdes does to you. It totally changes your outlook on life and impacts your spirituality in a profound way.

“In 1976 I did a shift at the baths. The leader was Sheila Gagen and she gave you a prayer card called Notre Dame du Oui. When in Lourdes you never say no to anything that is asked of you. You always say yes. This has stayed with me all my life.

“And of course I’ve experienced miracles. Everyone gets their own miracle in some shape or form because something happens, perhaps it’s the acceptance of something, a healing of some kind, a deeper understanding of your faith maybe. I remember speaking to a lady at the baths and asked if I could sit in the seat next to her. She immediately said yes, my son who is in the baths just now won’t need it when he comes out. Her faith was so incredibly strong she believed her quadriplegic son would walk again. I spoke with her for some time and to this day I believe I was meant to be there. Right place right time kinda thing. I told her that Lourdes is not always about physical healing, you may receive a different kind of miracle. I also explained that if it were to happen it would happen at the Blessed Sacrament procession. She listened and most importantly, she understood what I was saying.”

“The legacy of Lourdes is ‘family’ because your Lourdes family become as much a part of your own family” she continued. “I have friends in my life now that I met there over the years. I also look at the young people now and I have to commend their example of giving up a week of their life to do what they do. How they attend to the elderly and the sick and the children. It’s phenomenal. Our young people always seem to get such bad press and I wish the people of Scotland could see first-hand what these young volunteers do. I want to leave you with this wonderful quote from the Song of Bernadette: ‘For those who believe in God no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible.’

“This year I’m returning to Lourdes again. But 50 years ago, I was the youngest in the group and this year I’m probably the oldest!”

Work hard, play hard, pray hard

Fr Eddie Toner has been chaplain of the St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group for three years. Prior to this he went with St Bridget’s Toryglen and with HCPT (Hosanna House and Children’s Pilgrimage Trust) during Easter week.

“Going with SMSYG combines the diocesan experience with the experience of being with HCPT group,” Fr Toner said. “They take families and kids, people with disabilities and other physical and mental illnesses. It’s quite unique in that way. Each time I go I get something different from it. As a seminarian it was about your pastoral experience and your own intentions. Now I feel I have the best job in the world looking after the spiritual wellbeing of the youth group who are all perhaps at different stages and places in their own faith. I’m also carrying the intentions of friends and family, my granny, aunties who all go too.

“The miracles I see are in the youth themselves. The kids who come back more than once and get more comfortable with their faith and being part of the community. It’s hard in Glasgow and the west of Scotland in general to stand up and count your faith. I try and help them understand how good they are and think about the good they are doing and to see God in those who are sick and suffering, which ultimately helps them deal with their own struggles. We all need healing, and it’s wonderful to see people embrace that healing, because we all have struggles.

“Social media portrays perfection and it’s not the case at all. We are a Church of broken people and I think Lourdes provides us with an opportunity to see and accept that; allowing ourselves to grow spiritually from within, attending daily Mass and the candlelit Mass. But we must remember, the fantastical experience of Mass can happen at home too, not just in Lourdes. I help them to see that.

“It’s such a humbling experience to see hundreds of thousands of people from all corners of the globe go to Mass. There are 1.6 billion people worldwide who believe God and Our Lady have called them there, and you may not know that’s what you are doing at first, but it is. The group work hard, play hard and pray hard. The finest balance of life. Christianity was never meant to be lived in isolation so we need community and that’s what SMSYG is about—community. Jesus created a community to come together and encounter His love through each other.”

“St Margaret was known for her compassion,” Fr Toner added. “A queen who fed the poor and was passionate about education and inspired by Jesus’s call to love. She’s an example of goodness, no matter where you’re from and who you are or your position in society, we all have love to give. There’s a statue of her in the domain. It was gifted by the Scottish Catholics to the grotto. We all gather there to start the pilgrimage each year and finish it there too. The pilgrimage is for everyone, not just the sick.”

I asked Fr Toner if he had a party piece for Lourdes?

“Well of course I do,” he replied. “It’s Our Lady of Knock.’ I just hope Our Lady of Lourdes isn’t offended!”

A peaceful homecoming

Michael Canning is a retired English teacher and headteacher who initially was told he should go to Lourdes following an MS diagnosis. He was married with a one year-old.

“The parish priest said we need to get you to Lourdes and my reaction was ‘no way!’ I went inwards on myself,” Michael said. “I was told to give up work at the time but felt my work, my job sustained me enough. The parish priest then gave me money to go and my wife Mhairi forced me. I didn’t want to go with sick people, so I went with the SMSYG. I was 28 at the time. It was 1988. And as soon as I arrived I had an enormous sense of peace—a sense of coming home.

“I was taught my first lesson by an old lady. She was wearing one of those raised boots; she was very lame. She came over to me and introduced herself and told me she was praying for me. This lesson taught me something; that is we must always remember others. It’s not all about you and your problems and worries.

“I really embraced working with the sick it was amazing. After my third year I was asked to run the group but it was a huge undertaking. There were around 50 kids. But people would say ‘it’s you, Michael, you should be doing it.’ What I saw was the value of the Lourdes family and caring for others—the same ethos as my own family. I could see the potential and knew it could work with a bigger group. Although I was reluctant, I saw the potential, and within two years we had totally upgraded the fundraising, which allowed us to take more sick. We, and when I say ‘we,’ I mean Mhairi and I, because she was then as involved as I was.

“We officially left the bus behind and started to fly direct to Lourdes, adding on a couple of days at the end for reflection. The youth could see the impact it was having—they were part of something so much bigger than themselves. We were taking kids who had their own trauma, coming from rough backgrounds and so on. I committed to three years, and I did then recognise my role was about helping the young ones facilitate for the sick. As well as Mhairi and I, all of our own kids have been too.

“Every night we had night prayer and talked of practical things like how to cope with the heat, care plans for the sick. Sleeping in after late-night partying. I always remember the boys weren’t frightened of showing their caring side, but that didn’t last long. We were always looking for team players, smilers, good people with compassionate hearts.”

Michael added: “I’ve done Lourdes now for 35 years, 32 of them as a leader, and I always loved speaking to sixth year pupils about Lourdes. They were so encouraging, all of them on different levels of their faith journey. I just wanted them to know how good they were. I have former pupils who came to be our best friends, one is Godparent to our son. I also wanted to take families with sick kids or those who had lost a parent, so a lot of the money goes on supporting those families.

“When the sick go away on the last night we would go down to the grotto and encourage the youth to light three candles for their intentions. One for the sick, a second for everyone who helped us get here and a third for them and all the goodness they have shared with others. Lourdes gives them permission to be themselves. And they carry that back home. Some have gone into the care profession, more confident about their faith, their values and the friendships they made.

“What’s the legacy of Lourdes? Well, it’s a small pilgrimage in comparison to Italy or Ireland, but when we arrive in Lourdes those in charge always look to give Glasgow the prime spots. They are impressed by the way we turn up for duty; all dressed smartly in shirts and ties, the girls in their dresses and sashes. We are continually asked to lead the torchlight procession by the Chef (boss) and given a prime spot for two reasons. They look at how we care for the sick and how we dress. This happens every year. An Irish cardinal once asked how we got the youth to be the way they are. We emphasise personal responsibility to them and they learn quickly. That’s it. We don’t have curfews. And sure, we’ve had a few sleep ins over the years, but they never do it again.

“In terms of Lourdes hospitality, well the medical team need to give a thumbs up to the sick before they’re allowed to travel. My own mother-in-law is coming this year. She has dementia but the hospitality team have given her the seal of approval. There’s much to consider when taking entire families. We need medical details for everyone, but it’s become a lot easier regards insurance and so on. Years ago it wasn’t uncommon for people to die on pilgrimage. Two people have died on my pilgrimages, but for some that was their dying wish.

“The hard part was always restarting the fundraising. You felt you’d achieved so much, then you realise you need to go back and start all over again for the next year. More than £100,000 is probably needed nowadays.

Life-changing journeys

Sean Henderson (Boss/Chef) is a teacher who had a place on the Lourdes pilgrimage with SMSYG back in 2011.

“I was also preparing to go to World Youth Day, so I ended up turning Lourdes down,” Sean said. “But I do believe that when I went in 2013 it was all meant to be. It was a God-incidence, because I met my wife, Hayley. I was also in university but didn’t yet know where my path my life would lead, however, after going to Lourdes and meeting Hayley, who also attended Strathclyde University and was in the same year, I realised I wanted to become a teacher. My brother Owen also met his wife Vhari in Lourdes, so we seem to have something of a tradition going of the matchmaking variety.

“Fast forward ten years and Hayley and I found ourselves more involved with the group as we joined the committee. Leaders like Michael and Mhairi Canning and Karen Parker taught us all we know. They are absolute legends who we still look up to now. In 2003, Michael decided that he was going to step down as Chef and I was asked if I would like to take over. At that time we had two young children, which is challenging in itself, but we wanted to keep the template that was already firmly in place, the foundation, the ethos of what the group was all about. Michael, Mhairi and Karen continued to support and guide us which we are forever grateful for. But something we’ve all recognised over the years is this: It’s the group who make the pilgrimage, not the leader. All of us together are making a difference doing what we do.”

Hayley is firmly by Sean’s side in their marriage as well as their Lourdes journey. Even after their honeymoon, they went straight to Lourdes to volunteer, and they continue to go now with three children on tow. I asked Hayley what Lourdes means to her.

“I liken it to being a mum,” Hayley said. “At home I’m constantly on the go, keeping everything ticking over, kids fed, warm, nurtured and loved. Lourdes is much the same because we are watching over the young volunteers, making sure they too are fed and watered, looking after themselves. It’s wonderful to watch them grow in confidence, realising their full potential. It’s all the little things we see throughout that week that makes the difference. Watching the youth care for the sick and needy, taking time to talk to people who don’t see anyone from one end of the week to the other. Watching lives become interwoven. Friendships solidified.”

The simplicity of Hayley’s analogy warms me to my core, and I can see that it takes incredibly special people to want to undertake a mission such as this. I asked Sean the same question.

“Lourdes is a deeply spiritual and transformative experience. It’s that simple. It brings out the very best in people and it’s inspirational to watch that happen. These are miracles in themselves.

“With regard to fundraising, nowadays it costs £1100 per head, so our Ladies Lunch and annual dinner is a huge part of that, but we also rely heavily on individual volunteers to raise money too. We normally take four families, but this year we are taking ten, so our costs are continually rising. A few years ago Flourish did an article about us and we had a random donation of £500 from a wee woman in Carntyne. Acts like that restore your faith in humanity. Much like the goodness we see daily in Lourdes.”

Humbling experience

Kevin Toner is just an ordinary guy, laughing away to himself, as if he’s suddenly going to rip open his shirt and be wearing a Superman outfit.

“I’m just a plumber from Tollcross and my first experience of Lourdes blew me away,” Kevin said. “I went in 2008 when I was just 17 and I’m now 35 and haven’t missed a trip since, other than during Covid-19.

“For me, I doubt I’d be married to Sarah-Jayne or have the faith I have today were it not for my Lourdes trips. It’s a special place that helps you keep your feet firmly on the grass. I can honestly say it’s the most humbling experience, because each time I go back I’m hit square in the face with something new.

“My family have always gone—parents, siblings, aunts, uncles cousins and grandparents, so it was inevitable I’d go, but I’m not sure I was aware of the impact the place would have on me. When you see all the sick and disabled and the way they are cared for and respected, that’s what keeps you going back doing what we do. To know that your time and care have allowed a couple to go and have a coffee or a sandwich together, possibly for the first time in months, giving them some much needed time and respite, makes it all worthwhile.

“Now I’m older I get to hang out with the other 17 year-olds and we have great craic. The boys always meet up when we finish for the day round 6pm and go for a beer and it’s brilliant to listen to them and hear what they have to say and the impact Lourdes is having on them. I have such respect for the young ones nowadays because they have a whole load of other distractions in their lives to deal with, ones we never had. It’s also probably a lot more appealing and more accessible for them to book a week in Spain with their mates than to give up a week to help the sick. Young people have it hard and the world is not always a good or nice place. The internet doesn’t help either as it’s not always there for their betterment.

“Another huge impact is the family we’ve created as a group. I’ve taken my daughter, Orlaigh—who is now seven—since she was months old. A couple of years ago we took her to Orlando on holiday, but when we asked her would she like to go back to Disney World to see Cinderella in the starlight parade she said no daddy, I want to go to Lourdes to see Mary. So, there you have it. But it shouldn’t shock me because every time we get into the car she insists on playing the SMSYG choir’s CD. She knows every hymn!

He continued: “In years gone by when the volunteers stayed on for another couple of days for reflection, we used to fly back into Stansted and get the bus back up the road to Glasgow. Our work was done so we knew we could all kick back and really relax. We do work hard, play hard and pray hard. It’s kind of our motto now. We have designated jobs for everyone. Some pick up the cases, some go for the beers, other pick up the Burger Kings; each job equally as important and valued as the next by the way.

“We used to have such a brilliant laugh on that bus. It was like the last of the celebrations of the Lourdes Pilgrimage and the final stretch of our trip up the road. I miss that bit! But now I’m older and have my own family it’s equally lovely to travel home, everyone together, to reflect and share stories.

“I have so much respect and admiration for Sean and Hayley and all they do in preparation for our pilgrimage. Sean will give me odd jobs to do before we leave and I think I’m stressed. God alone knows how they do it! But they do. And I thank God for them and for SMSYG and having them in my life.

“My youngest, Aoibheann is going in July as a volunteer for the second time with the group and I couldn’t be prouder, especially now I’ve taken the time to gain a deeper insight into the tremendous work they do in Lourdes. Not that I doubted her! Good luck to all of you and I pray this pilgrimage is as fun and uplifting as the last 49 have been. God bless you all.”

If you who would like to make a donation, big or small towards the group’s ongoing fundraising. If so, please contact Sean Henderson on: 07711 825899 or via e-mail: smsyg@live.com

L J Sexton, mum of four, returned to university to pursue her passion for the written word. She achieved her Honours Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing and hasn't stopped writing since. Lyn is born of Irish parents and lived in Donegal for eight years. She is also the press officer for Irish Minstrels CCÉ music group based in St Roch’s Secondary School