About ARMF
History
ARMF was set up in 2002 in memory of Alistair Roberts (1983-2001). It aims to provide financial support to young adults who wish to participate as helpers in an organized pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, or as Stagiaires under the jurisdiction of the Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes, and who lack the financial means to do so.
Twice in his short life, Alistair travelled to Lourdes as a volunteer, caring for the sick and infirm. He found his experience there to be very humbling and profoundly rewarding.
ARMF was set up by Alistair’s family to give other young people the opportunity to have this experience. It is hoped that by doing so, something spiritually uplifting and beneficial may be born from Alistair’s untimely death.
About Alistair
Alistair Roberts was killed on December 19th 2001 in a car accident in France, one month before his 19th birthday. A former student of Ampleforth College, he had been working in Val d’Isere on his year off before going to university.
Some of the things people have said about Alistair:
“Alistair had a quiet dignity and immense courage born out of love and respect.”
“He made a difference, and few of any age can claim that. We may be diminished by his death but all of us have been enhanced by his life.”
“A gentle giant – a member of the big man’s club.”
“The responsible one who looked out for his friends all the time. One couldn’t fail to have a good time when together.”
“His friends and family were the most important thing in his life but he had so much love for everybody.”
Helping Young People to Help Others
From the very early days of the Christian Church, the sick, the dying, the elderly and disabled people have been given special place in its prayer and ministry. They teach us that weakness and vulnerability are a part of human life and that suffering can be embraced with no loss of dignity.
On a visit to England in May 1982, Pope John Paul II urged all who enjoy good health to treasure and recognize with gratitude the debt we owe the sick. ‘We begin,’ he said, while presiding over the anointing of the sick in Southwark Cathedral, London, ‘by imagining that we are giving to them. We end by realizing that they have enriched us.’
Caring for the sick is, for many young people, the most powerful and memorable experience of their time in Lourdes. Alistair, who was killed in a car accident in December 2001, always spoke with enthusiasm about his experience there and what it taught him, and looked forward to his return. It is the wish of Alistair's family and the aim of the Alistair Roberts Memorial Fund that it helps provide an opportunity for others who might otherwise not be able to go.
