Information:

The pilgrimage of Lourdes is founded on the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to a poor, fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubiroux. The first apparition occurred 11 February, 1858. There were eighteen in all; the last took place 16 July, of the same year. Bernadette often fell into an ecstasy. The mysterious vision she saw in the hollow of the rock Massabielle was that of a young and beautiful lady. "Lovelier than I have ever seen" said the child. But the girl was the only one who saw the vision, although sometimes many stood there with her. Now and then the apparition spoke to the seer who also was the only one who heard the voice. Thus, she one day told her to drink of a mysterious fountain, in the grotto itself, the existence of which was unknown, and of which there was no sign, but which immediately gushed forth. On another occasion the apparition bade Bernadette go and tell the priests she wished a chapel to be built on the spot and processions to be made to the grotto. At first the clergy were incredulous. It was only four years later, in 1862, that the bishop of the diocese declared the faithful "justified in believing the reality of the apparition". A basilica was built upon the rock of Massabielle by M. Peyramale, the parish priest. In 1873 the great "national" French pilgrimages were inaugurated. Three years later the basilica was consecrated and the statue solemnly crowned. In 1883 the foundation stone of another church was laid, as the first was no longer large enough. It was built at the foot of the basilica and was consecrated in 1901 and called the Church of the Rosary. Pope Leo XIII authorized a special office and a Mass, in commemoration of the apparition, and in 1907 Pius X extended the observance of this feast to the entire Church; it is now observed on 11 February.

Never has a sanctuary attracted such throngs. At the end of the year 1908, when the fiftieth anniversary of the apparition was celebrated, although the record really only began from 1867, 5297 pilgrimages had been registered and these had brought 4,919,000 pilgrims. Individual pilgrims are more numerous by far than those who come in groups. To their number must be added the visitors who do not come as pilgrims, but who are attracted by a religious feeling or sometimes merely by the desire to see this far-famed spot. The Company of the Chemins de Fer du Midi estimates that the Lourdes station receives over one million travellers per annum. Every nation in the world furnishes its contingent. Out of the total of pilgrimages given above, four hundred and sixty-four came from countries other than France. They are sent by the United States, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, England, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Bolivia, etc. The bishops lead the way. At the end of the year of the fiftieth anniversary, 2013 prelates, including 546 archbishops, 10 primates, 19 patriarchs, 69 cardinals, had made the pilgrimage to Lourdes. But more remarkable still than the crowd of pilgrims is the series of wonderful occurrences which take place under the protection of the celebrated sanctuary. Passing over spiritual cures, which more often than not escape human observance, we shall confine ourselves to bodily diseases. The writer of this article has recorded every recovery, whether partial or complete, and in the first half-century of the shrine's existence he has counted 3962. Notwithstanding very careful statistics which give the names and surnames of the patients who have recovered, the date of the cure, the name of the disease, and generally that of the physician who had charge of the case, there are inevitably doubtful or mistaken cases, attributable, as a rule, to the excited fancy of the afflicted one and which time soon dispels. But it is only right to note: first, that these unavoidable errors regard only secondary cases which have not like the others been the object of special study; it must also be noted that the number of cases is equalled and exceeded by actual cures which are not put on record. The afflicted who have recovered are not obliged to present themselves and half of them do not present themselves, at the Bureau des Constatations Médicales at Lourdes, and it is from this bureau's official reports that the list of cures is drawn up.

The estimate that about 4000 cures have been obtained at Lourdes within the first fifty years of the pilgrimage is undoubtedly considerably less than the actual number. The Bureau des Constatations stands near the shrine, and there are recorded and checked the certificates of maladies and also the certificates of cure; it is free to all physicians, whatever their nationality or religious belief. Consequently, on an average, from two to three hundred physicians annual visit this marvellous clinic. As to the nature of the diseases which are cured, nervous disorders so frequently mentioned, do not furnish even the fourteenth part of the whole; 278 have been counted, out of a total of 3962. The present writer has published the number of cases of each disease or infirmity, among them tuberculosis, tumours, sores, cancers, deafness, blindness, etc. The "Annales des Sciences Physiques", a sceptical review whose chief editor is Doctor Ch. Richet, Professor at the Medical Faculty of Paris, said in the course of a long article, apropos of this faithful study: "On reading it, unprejudiced minds cannot but be convinced that the facts stated are authentic."

(Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia)

EWTN Document Library:

Lives of Saints - Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Virgin, Patroness of Lourdes
Celebration of Feast Day is February 11. Taken from 'Lives of Saints', Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.

Andre Ravier, S.J. - The Body of St. Bernadette of Lourdes
Based on documents in the archives of the Convent of Saint-Gildard, of the Diocese and the City of Nevers. St. Bernadette died on April 16, 1879. Her incorrupt body has not been embalmed or specially treated in any way.

Stephen Breen - Lourdes and St. Bernadette
The story of the apparitions at Lourdes, France. Taken from "Recent Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary" by Stephen Breen.

ZENIT - Authentication of a Cure at Lourdes
ZENIT. Many inexplicable cures occur at Lourdes but only a few every go through and satisfy the rigorous procedures of the Lourdes Medical Bureau. On Feb 11, 1999, the World Day of the Sick, it was announced that one had done so.

Anonymous - Meditation on the Rosary in Relation to Lourdes
This meditation on the rosary and its relationship with the events of the Apparition of Lourdes reveals the deep relationship between the two.

NA - Litany of Our Lady of Lourdes

ZENIT - How Lourdes Cures Are Recognized as Miraculous
The Catholic Church has officially recognized 67 miracles and some 7,000 inexplicable cures since the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Lourdes in February 1858. In this article, the process is reviewed of how a team of medical experts at Lourdes determines when an inexplicable cure should be recognized as a miracle.

Pope John Paul II - Homily and Other Words of the Holy Father, at Lourdes 2004
During his pilgrimage to Lourdes, 14-15 August 2004, the Holy Father gave the homily for Sunday Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption. He spoke of the joy of the Blessed Mother, as expressed in the Magnificat, for being "looked upon" by God in her lowliness, for the service she was able to give her cousin Elizabeth, and for the blessedness promised to those of "low degree." Also the Holy Father's Introduction to Recitation of the Rosary, Introduction to the Torchlight Procession, and the Angelus message.

Cardinal James Francis Stafford - Plenary Indulgence Decree
On the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Grotto of Massabielle near Lourdes, a daily Plenary Indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, from 8 December 2007 until 8 December 2008, devoutly and in accordance with the established conditions, visit the Grotto of Massabielle, as well as those who, from 2-11 February 2008, visit a blessed image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes solemnly displayed for public veneration in any church, oratory, grotto or suitable place.

Pope Benedict XVI - For the 16th World Day of the Sick: 11 February
This is the Holy Father's Message for the 16th World Day of the Sick, held on 11 February 2008. The Message, dated Friday, 11 January 2008, was a reminder to the sick that "pain, received with faith, becomes the door by which to enter the mystery of the redemptive suffering of Jesus and to reach with him the peace and happiness of his Resurrection."

ZENIT - The Relevance of Lourdes at 150
Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes et Lourdes describes the pilgrimage site in his diocese as like a promise that never betrays. At the beginning of this jubilee year, 2008, marking the 150th anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous, the prelate spoke with ZENIT about the current relevance of the message left by the "beautiful lady."

For More CLICK HERE to Search the EWTN Document Library

EWTN Audio Library: