Order of Malta Oklahoma City region participates in Lourdes pilgrimage

Members of the Oklahoma City region joined over 7,000 knights, dames and volunteers from 45 countries to participate in the annual international Order of Malta Lourdes Pilgrimage, taking thousands of sick and wheelchair pilgrims. 

Led by the grand master, knights and dames learned firsthand what belonging to the Order of Malta really means—devotion, service and fellowship. Dressed in distinctive uniforms and ministering to the sick and disabled (referred to as “Malades” in French), the members of the order are part of an international community of faith and service. 

For Peter de Keratry, hospitaller of the Oklahoma City region, this was his first time making the pilgrimage since being invested as a Knight in 2011. 

"The Lourdes Pilgrimage experience was a highlight of my time in the Order of Malta. Experiencing the love of Our Blessed Mother in the suffering of the sick in our care was deeply moving," de Keratry said. "It was a great privilege to escort and pray alongside people from all over the world who came to Lourdes. There is a tangible and profound peace there that I hope to carry with me." 

Carolyn Synovitz, from Altus, was part of the medical team of doctors and nurses on the pilgrimage who monitored and provided treatment as needed for the malades throughout the trip. 

"The Lourdes Pilgrimage experience has been a profound and transformative journey for me as a dame of the Order of Malta and a physician," Dr. Synovitz said. "Witnessing the immense love of Mary manifested through the trials of the sick under our care was an incredibly moving experience. It was a true honor to accompany and pray alongside individuals from various corners of the world who sought solace and healing in Lourdes." 

Other pilgrims from the Oklahoma City region were Gov. Frank Keating, KM, and his wife Cathy; their son Chip Keating and his wife Brittany; and Jason Zimdars, KM. 

The Oklahoma City region was officially recognized in the United States by the Order of Malta Federal Association in 2020. Started by Peter de Keratry, KM, and Gov. Frank Keating, KM, - the only members in the area up until that point - the region now boasts 21 knights and dames, with six members of the Class of 2023 who will be invested this fall. 

Lourdes is situated in the Pyrénées of southern France, where in 1858, in a cave named Massabielle, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on 18 occasions to Bernadette Soubirous, a very poor, 14-year-old girl. The first of the apparitions took place on Feb. 11 and the last on July 16. 

The lady - wearing a white dress with a blue sash and with gold roses at her feet - asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision and told Bernadette to drink from a fountain in the Grotto. "Go, drink of the waters and bathe yourself there." Though no fountain was to be seen, when Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition a spring began to flow. The water, which has flowed from the grotto since the apparitions, is reputed for miraculous healings. 

In the years to follow, pilgrims began to arrive in Lourdes by the hundreds, then thousands. Today more than six million people visit Lourdes each year. 

The Church has officially recognized 69 miracles, the last of which occurred in 2016. The International Medical Committee of Lourdes, a group of about 30 physicians, has certified another 7,000 unexplained cures. Many of the pilgrims are sick, hoping for physical healing and often experience interior miracles - people who are ill, even dying, who are able to leave Lourdes with an inner peace they did not before experience. 

"The atmosphere in Lourdes is imbued with a tangible and profound peace, a serene presence that resonates deeply within all pilgrims. I am filled with gratitude for this pilgrimage, and I carry the blessings and grace I received there, hoping to radiate them in my vocation and beyond," Dr. Synovitz said. 

To learn more, follow Order of Malta – Oklahoma City on Facebook or e-mail [email protected].