‘And the pain just disappeared into insignificance’: The healing response in Lourdes – Performance, psychology and caring

Abstract

Three academic/practitioners from different disciplines (performance, medicine and psychology) describe the ways in which observing, and importantly, participating in the healing rituals of the French pilgrimage site of Lourdes challenged their ways of thinking about both their discipline's research approaches and their understandings of community, caring and healing. By positioning themselves as both first-person and third-person researchers, they suggest that a new type of 'trans-disciplinary', longitudinal, reflexively sensitive methodology is needed in order to investigate activities involving groups of people and spiritual practices as a whole system in order to better understand how they can positively affect our innate healing response.

Spiritual, Religious, and Faith-Based Practices in Chronicity

“…Previous research trips led us to believe that many pilgrims to Lourdes come for reasons other than a miraculous cure, and people we spoke to had described profound spiritual experiences resulting in relief from chronic pain (Goldingay et al 2014a). We found the concept of the noetic to be central to this.…”

“…This decision is, in formal, policy-driven language, a clear indication of the informal ways that disability and infirmity are valorized and celebrated at the shrine. In our previous work, we noted that in Lourdes social power structures are inverted and the malades, who are often hidden away when the pilgrims return home, are celebrated (Goldingay et al 2014a). This power inversion is indicative of how the malades are perceived more widely in Lourdes; others have noted that "for the week they were VIPs.…”

“…Our team's strengths involve the proactive consideration of researcher positioning and careful examination of our cultural beliefs along with a sensitive exploration of best practice in the studying and representing the religious "near" and "other" (Albera and Eade, 2019;Asad 1986Asad , 2009Geertz 1974Geertz , 1988Eade and Albera, 2015;Hufford 1993Hufford , 1995McCarthy Brown 1999). SG and PD had visited Lourdes previously to study pain relief there (Goldingay 2010;Goldingay et al 2014a) and had become fascinated by stories they heard of people having life-changing experiences rather than the miraculous cures of disease (Agnew 2019;Harris 2013;Higgins and Hamilton 2019). They then teamed up with SW and ER to submit a successful research grant application to the Institution of Public Utility (Fundacao BIAL) 3 to explore these observations further.…”

“…These large pilgrimage communities come together for Mass, prayer, processions, outings, and entertainment, and we joined them in many of these activities. Elsewhere we have spoken about the importance of community and connectivity to the process of healing (Goldingay et al 2014a;. And within these well-functioning communities, a number of elements come together to create the nexus of a nourishing exchange.…”

Transformational Changes in Health Status: A Qualitative Exploration of Healing Moments

“…Physical connection has a precedent as a healing mechanism, both in the therapeutic touch used in holistic nursing 10 and in the 'definite touch' used to heal pilgrims at Lourdes. 13 Human connection in healing is a recurring theme in previous healing research. [26][27][28] Among the healers interviewed by Warber, trust was explicitly cultivated to create a safe space for their clients, and some saw connection as the basis for healing.…”