Sheila Clark: paediatrician and Francophile who accompanied children with disabilities on annual pilgrimages to Lourdes

One Easter in the 1970s Sheila Clark, a paediatrician working in Sheffield, was on a pilgrimage to the Catholic shrine at Lourdes, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, when she joined a large group of children with disabilities and their helpers from Britain and Ireland. They were with Hosanna House and Children’s Pilgrimage Trust (HCPT), which since 1956 has provided an annual holiday-cum-pilgrimage, the ethos of which is not so much to search for a miracle as to enjoy a holiday with Our Lady.

Clark fitted in immediately thanks to her Catholic faith and dedication to children, tempered with her sense of mischief and enthusiastic Francophilia. She also had a good grasp of both colloquial and medical French. Before long she had become an invaluable member of the trust’s team and for many years was the main paediatrician on its annual Easter pilgrimage. Before each pilgrimage she spent considerable time reviewing the medical information supplied for each of the several hundred participants, making sure her team was ready to meet their needs.

The 1000 mile (1600 km) drive from her …