Lourdes

Lourdes is a French town near the Pyrenees. There the Immaculate Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous. From February 11 to July 16, 1858. Bernadette was fourteen years old.

We summarize the main events: 1st apparition — 11.II.1858: Our Lady accompanies Bernadette in praying the rosary; she moves the beads but does not move her lips. The rosary will be present in all the apparitions.

4th — 19.II: For the first time, Bernadette carries a candle with her. From here on she will carry it in the other apparitions. From this arises the custom of carrying candles at Lourdes.

8th — 24.II: Our Lady says: "Penance! Penance! Penance! Pray to God for sinners." Then she adds the request to "go on her knees through the interior of the grotto, and kiss the ground as a sign of penance for sinners." From then on, Bernadette will repeat these acts of penance at each apparition.

9th — 25.II: In this apparition, the spring has its origin. Our Lady pointed with her finger to where she should drink water. Bernadette dug in that place and a spring gushed forth that turned out to be quite abundant. Around these days, Catherine Latapie places her hand in the spring and is cured of her paralysis. Likewise, Louis Bouriette applies water from there to an eye he had lost due to some splinters; the eye is completely cured. Days later, a dying child — Justin Bouhort — is immersed there and recovers his health...

13th — 2.III: Our Lady asks for the construction of a sanctuary, and that pilgrimages be made there. The parish priest asks for the name of the beautiful Lady.

16th — 25.III: This time, the Blessed Virgin answers the question about her name and says: "I am the Immaculate Conception."

17th — 7.IV: The miracle of the candle. During the ecstasy, Bernadette's lit candle is consuming, and with the wind the flame reaches her hands. For 10-15 minutes, the flame passes between her fingers without Bernadette showing any pain. As soon as the ecstasy ended, she withdrew her hands and let the candle drop. A doctor — Dr. Dozous — immediately examined her hands, which showed no sign of burning. The doctor was an atheist, and from then on he accepted the faith and the apparitions.

Throughout the apparitions, our Lady spoke at length with Bernadette, but from these conversations we have only a few phrases available. The message of Lourdes can be summarized in these points:

• A clear and express call to penance. — Penance is present in many of the apparitions. At Saint Mary's urging, Bernadette performs some penitential exercises that serve as an example. Our Lady requests it expressly in the eighth apparition: "Penance! Penance! Penance!"
• An invitation to pray the rosary. — Bernadette prays it during the apparitions, and our Lady appears to her with a rosary in her hand.
• A call to avoid sins. — The Blessed Virgin calls herself by the title of Immaculate — without the stain of sin. Moreover, the fact of asking that penance be done is another way of urging the avoidance of sins. Even the water touches on this idea of spiritual washing and purification.
• A call to attention toward the supernatural. — As if our Mother were shouting: Remember God; honor the Lord; turn toward Him! To this contributes the construction of a sanctuary, and the pilgrimages she requested. The miracles also help in this direction.

The miracles are frequent and characteristic of Lourdes. Many of them are perfectly documented and studied. We are speaking of thousands of cures, of which more than 6,000 have been examined carefully. The number of officially accepted miracles is much smaller — about 70 — but to the people cured this official recognition matters very little. Their health and their faith have come out strengthened. And so has the faith of their friends and family.