In May 2023, shortly before she graduated from Detroit Mercy with a Nursing degree from, Allison Molloy ’23 received a scholarship to go on a spiritual journey. She had no idea how much of an impact it would have on her.
The Our Lady of Lourdes Pilgrimage Charitable Fund is a scholarship set up through the Catholic Foundation of Michigan to honor Sr. Rose Mary Sam IHM and the 45 years of service she provided to Lourdes, France. It is used to send Detroit Mercy healthcare students to Lourdes with the Order of Malta, a lay religious order of the Catholic Church that dates back to the 1100s. The students would tend to malades — pilgrims seeking spiritual healing from the shrine.
Molloy and fellow nursing student Emma Pehote ’23 received scholarships in 2023.
“I had no idea what I was in for,” Pehote said. “No other student had gone before, so we didn’t know what to expect.”
The two traveled to Baltimore where they met up with the Order of Malta, nursing students from other Catholic universities from across the United States, and the pilgrims who were to journey with them.
“It was cool because we each had our own malade we were assigned to,” Molloy said. “We would be there for them throughout the whole experience, including the flight. Our task was to provide company, spiritual conversation or any other care they needed.”
“We would go to Mass every day with our whole group,” Molloy said. “There were also different events weaved through the trip such as Stations of the Cross, eucharistic adoration and processionals. It was also not only the American chapter of the Order of Malta who were there, it was every country that had a chapter.”
Molloy says she was moved by the experience.
“There are no words for how beautiful Lourdes is,” she said. “I always have a hard time explaining it because that place has a spiritual feeling like no other. It was like I was drawn there.”
The experience also changed how she viewed her future profession of nursing.
“Being with one person for a whole week helped me get to know my malade. He was an older man who was wheelchair bound. I was able to help transport him and give him the company he wanted. It showed me how giving care to people who do not have much time left on Earth can be so impactful. I have carried that sentiment back with me and use it every day in my care as a nurse.”
Molloy returned to Lourdes with her mother this past summer with Joseph Francis ’24, this year’s Order of Malta scholarship recipient from Detroit Mercy.
“I just felt like I needed to go back,” Molloy said. “I knew it was a place my mother would love. As soon as I got back, I told her that I had to go again with her. We were able to travel with Sr. Rose Mary Sam herself and see Lourdes from a different perspective. I will always cherish both experiences forever.”
To learn more and donate to the Our Lady of Lourdes Pilgrimage Charitable Fund click here.
