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Tue 09 Sep 2008Benedict's blessing a balm to the suffering
POPE BENEDICT XVI devoted his last Mass in Lourdes yesterday to the sick, reconfirming the priority that is conferred upon those suffering from handicaps or illness, writes Lara Marlowein Lourdes.
In Lourdes there are red wheelchair lanes painted on the pavements. Men walk through the streets shouting "Les Malades, Les Malades" to clear the way for the sick. Hundreds of thousands of believers volunteer each year to be hospitaliers - those who care for a disabled person non-stop for several days.
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