A Season of Thanksgiving
Mary's Meals Pilgrimage of Thanksgiving
This autumn, the global Mary’s Meals family has been united in profound gratitude. On the Feast of Our Lady’s Nativity, the charity joyfully announced that it is now feeding more than 3 million children every school day – a milestone that speaks to the power of the little acts of love performed daily by many of its volunteers and generous supporters. Just weeks later, individuals gathered in the very place where Mary’s Meals has its roots – Medjugorje, a Marian shrine in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Mary’s Meals annual pilgrimage of thanksgiving, initiated by Mary’s Meals Founder and CEO Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow and his wife Julie, brought together more than 140 pilgrims from across the world – including volunteers, staff, and supporters from countries as far as Australia, Malawi, South Sudan, the United States and Zimbabwe.
At the heart of the three-day gathering was prayer, with pilgrims taking part in climbs of the Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain, reciting the Rosary, and attending Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It was also a time of reflection where many spoke of the origin of Mary’s Meals and its recent milestone.
"In the time since we gathered here last year we have added over half a million children into the Mary’s Meals programme," Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow explains. “That is possible because of the work you all have been doing.”
During the pilgrimage, Bishop John Keenan offered Holy Mass for all members of the global Mary’s Meals family, emphasising the maternal love and intercession of Our Lady in the charity’s mission.
“Our Lady is a mother like any other mother,” he says.
The pilgrimage also included inspiring reflections from Fr. Zvonimir Pavičić, the parish priest of Medjugorje, who encouraged participants to put their faith into action, and from Milona von Habsburg, a long-time friend and supporter of Mary’s Meals. Each voice echoed the same message – that the roots of Mary’s Meals in prayer and community remain its greatest strength.
As the sun set over Medjugorje, the gathering closed with a renewed sense of purpose and peace – a shared understanding that every meal, every act of love, and every prayer continue to change lives, from the quiet hills of Bosnia-Herzegovina to the classrooms of Malawi and beyond.