It is 6am, when most of us souls would normally be tucked under the duvet, but this was the beginning of no ordinary week.  Early – yes, bright – no, but shining like a beacon in the darkness was the beaming face of tour leader, Pat Bolger.  Was his heightened state of euphoria due to the fact that all of us pilgrims had arrived on time at O.L.O.L. or that his beloved Spurs had less than 24 hours earlier recorded their first win of the season? Who said it’s nearly Christmas?

After an uneventful journey along the North Circular and M.11 we arrived at Stansted Airport – with time to spare!  After we checked in some of us headed towards Starbucks for coffee and croissants (I’m sure I ordered a builder’s brew and a bacon sandwich).  However, disappointment was soon to surface as one of our aeroplane’s engines developed the “Monday morning blues” and refused to start. We disembarked and waited for Titan Airways to summon up a replacement.  After two and a half hours delay, we belatedly arrived in Lourdes and, after a hasty meal at the hotel, we all headed to the Domain of Lourdes for Mass in the magnificent Rosary Basilica.

Parishioner Elizabeth Coleman went to the World Youth Day in Sydney and here is a record of her experiences there. You'll know Liz as the talented flautist who plays at 11.15am Mass. Take it away, Liz.

On July 10th I arrived in the Diocese of Parramatta in The Blue Mountains, Australia after 42 hours of travelling and three long flights! I was one of the youngest (16 years) among over 170 young pilgrims aged between 16-25 from the Westminster Diocese, and we were all heading to Sydney to join thousands of other young people from hundreds of different countries for an amazing event - World Youth Day 2008.

The idea of World Youth Day came from Pope John Paul II to reach out to the youth of the world. We are the next generation and he wanted to bring as many of us together as possible to celebrate and learn about our faith.

- Stephen Coleman, born 1920, remembers first serving Mass at New Southgate when he was 11 years old.

I became a member of the Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes, New Southgate, in Autumn 1931 after my family moved from Stamford Hill to Durnsford Road and then to 22, The Drive, Bounds Green.  My father was the Head Master of St. Paul’s Primary School in Wood Green at that time.

The Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes had been established in the Diocese of Westminster in 1923.  As the church wasn’t built until some years later, Mass was said in the Presbytery - the same house that is the Presbytery today. It was a huge house, complete with integrated coach house, stable and hay loft ( which was used later to garage the Priest’s car, and for Parish Society meetings).

The house was probably Georgian with many servants’ rooms and a separate staircase. The house was purchased with at least an acre of orchard surrounding it. In modern times this provided enough space for the church (built 1935), the Primary School (built 1975), and the extended church with car parking space (1990).  

Fr Tom, Fr Damian and the Parish Council welcome you to the Our Lady of Lourdes parish website. We hope that in the months and years to come it will prove a great resource for us all.

So, what can you find here? On the home page you will find the newsletter, news stories and, on the right-hand column, the newest and most popular items on the site, the readings from Sunday's Mass and people who need our prayers. From the home page you'll find links to the other sections of the website, so take a few minutes and browse around. There's a gallery of pictures from parish events and outings (and a friendly wave - scroll down a little to see it); the times of Masses and prayer groups; details of all the many ministries that go towards running the Parish; and information about the many social and prayer groups in the Parish. Until I set about compiling this website I had not the slightest idea of the range of activities that go on here, so this is your chance to explore some of them (and then, don't forget to bookmark the site).