The Spanish presence in the 2026 International Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes

This weekend, the Catholic sanctuary in the French city of Lourdes is hosting a major international military event.

The Army and Navy in the Holy Burial procession in the city of Pontevedra
Excellent photos of the Legion's landing in Malaga with the ship 'Galicia' L-51

The International Military Pilgrimage began in 1958 and has now become a major gathering of soldiers, sailors, and airmen from various countries. This year marks the 66th pilgrimage, taking place from May 22 to 24, and includes an International Meeting of Military Personnel for Peace. This year's event brings together more than 17,000 pilgrims from 40 nations.

Spain plays a very prominent role in this pilgrimage, as it is a traditionally Catholic country that contributes a large number of pilgrims to the Sanctuary of Lourdes, located in southern France. Spanish participation in this pilgrimage is organized by the Military Archbishopric of Spain and includes members of the Armed Forces, the Civil Guard, and the National Police. In the following video, published yesterday by Special Pictures, we can see this year's large Spanish contingent (point 00:26), singing the famous pasodoble "La Banderita":

This Friday, the official YouTube channel of the Sanctuary of Lourdes broadcast live the opening ceremony of this pilgrimage, in which we also see Spanish military and police personnel. Specifically, the musical accompaniment for much of the ceremony was provided by a Spanish band made up of members of the Civil Guard and the Joint Corps of the Armed Forces. You can see images of the Spanish contingent (with many Civil Guard officers) at 0:15:22 in the video. The torchlight procession, with members of the Royal Guard and the Civil Guard, accompanied by a Spanish processional march, can also be seen at 1:07:30.

At 1:38:02 in the video, we can see another very Spanish moment: soldiers from different countries marching to the tune of "Ganando Barlovento," a beautiful Spanish naval march. At the end of the video (1:41:51), the Spanish band performed a militarized version of the popular song "Que Viva España" by Manolo Escobar. Below, you can see some images of the Spanish participants in this pilgrimage, taken from both videos.