During the Holy Father’s visit to Lourdes on 14 and 15 August 2004, over 220,000 pilgrims, many of whom sick or disabled, gathered in the great “La Prairie” area. They had come to this sanctuary, one of the symbols of the European Christian tradition, to participate with great emotion in this extraordinary apostolic journey.

This was an event for which the Order of Malta’s French Hospitaller organisation (OHFOM) was required to provide first-aid posts and medical personnel for the hundreds of thousands of people present in cooperation with the French health units (SAMU 65, SDIS – Fire Brigade, Sanctuary PC, French Red Cross).

OHFOM set up 14 first-aid stations in strategic points of the city, with 133 doctors, health workers, nurses and ambulance staff ready to offer first-aid to pilgrims over the two days, including the night of 14 August.

OHFOM performed 345 first-aid interventions during the first day and 615 the second, with 89 of the more seriously sick being transported to hospitals. The experience of these two days was particularly significant for our people, who had the opportunity of running a very large and complex emergency unit as well as working in close contact with other institutional health structures.