Sunday, May 26: Open-air mass at the Lourdes Grotto Mission House

The annual open-air mass will take place at the Lourdes Grotto in Cadier en Keer on Sunday, May 26th. Chaplain Huub Horstman of the Holy Cross Parish will officiate. Music will be provided by the African choir Kimba Zabula from Eijsden, led by Boaventura Gouveia from Angola.

The tradition of holding an open-air mass at the Lourdes grotto in May was started years ago by the fathers of the Society for African Missions. When they settled in Cadier en Keer in the late ^19th century, they first built a Lourdes grotto and then the Mission House, where hundreds of missionaries have been trained over the years. The Mission House is also named after Our Lady of Lourdes.

The monks currently occupy only a small part of the Mission House, but the tradition of holding an open-air mass at the Lourdes grotto every May during a week of Lourdes prayer has continued. In recent years, this has been done in collaboration with the parish of Cadier en Keer and the pilgrimage organization Huis voor de Pelgrim in Maastricht. Residents of the Mission House and De Keerderberg care center also participate in the celebration.

Those interested can submit Mass intentions. The proceeds will be used for the work of the SMA Fathers with Africans in both Ghana and the Netherlands. Intentions can be submitted for this specific open-air Mass or for the regular celebrations held daily in the Mission House chapel. Intentions can be submitted via fondswerving@sma-nederland.nl or visit this page.

The open-air service begins on Sunday, May 26th, at 11:00 a.m. at the Lourdes Grotto in the park near the Mission House in Cadier en Keer. Afterward, free coffee and pie will be served for everyone.