Lourdes Sanctuary - Havas Events

LOURDES SANCTUARY E-PILGRIMAGE

LOURDES UNITED

For the first time in its history, the Sanctuary of Lourdes had to close its doors in 2020 due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The Grotto of Lourdes was used to host an international continuous prayer, conducted by the 30 priests who had remained at the Sanctuary. This continuous prayer broadcast on television, radio and social media attracted an incredible global audience, becoming a worldwide prayer chain that brought comfort to millions of believers and seekers of God. The first worldwide digital pilgrimage, “Lourdes United” on 16 July 2020, was the culmination of this effort.

In order to mobilise the world around Lourdes, the date of 16 July, the anniversary of the last of the 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous, was chosen for the event. In less than a month, we organised an event with worldwide resonance for the faithful and for other people, too.

Subscribe

LOURDES UNITED: A 15-HOUR LIVE BROADCAST IN 10 LANGUAGES!

As part of a programme organised by the Sanctuary’s ecclesiastical and communication teams, the Agency produced a live broadcast lasting almost 3 hours, with numerous talks on the themes of solidarity, fraternity, commitment, (self-)help, hope and the search for meaning, as well as reports, archive videos, live music, and link-ups with contributors abroad.

From identity, through the communication kits & Social Media campaign, to video testimonials, a huge range of content was created by the agencies involved (Havas Events Paris, Havas Paris & HRCLS) and in close collaboration with the Sanctuary’s COMM/content teams, in order to create a specific territory for the event and to bring together as many pilgrims as possible from all over the world. The press conference followed by press relations in the main countries generated over 300 articles and gave the event real visibility.