The Beautiful Lady
Our Lady of Lourdes
It was 165 years ago on Feb. 11, 1858, that the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to the 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous at the Grotto of Massabielle near the village of Lourdes in France. It was the first of 18 apparitions. Bernadette did not know who she was until later. She described her to others as ‘the beautiful lady.’ She was beautiful in every way, not just physically. She was beautiful in the way she smiled at Bernadette, beautiful in the way she spoke to her with such tenderness and love. In that first apparition on Feb. 11, Bernadette first saw a light, then she saw the beauty of Mary who she said was “beautiful, more beautiful than any other”.
Back Story:
The story of Lourdes is well known. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared eighteen times to fourteen year-old Bernadette Soubirous in that small town located in the foothills of the Pyrenee Mountains of Southern France. Bernadette was born on January 7, 1844, the eldest of six children. She was a delicate girl who suffered from asthma and cholera. Her family was sinking into poverty, and the day the first apparition took place she went to gather firewood along the bank of the River Gave to help her mother. Her attention was drawn to the noise of rustling bushes near the Grotto of Massabielle. Then Bernadette saw a beautiful young girl of sixteen or seventeen. She described this girl as "dressed in a white robe, girded at the waist with a blue ribbon. She wore upon her head a white veil which gave just a glimpse of hair. Her feet were bare but covered by the last folds of her robe and a yellow rose was upon each of them. She held on her right arm a rosary of white beads with a chain of gold shining like the two roses on her feet."
Bernadette knelt and began to pray the rosary. At the end of the five decades, the woman smiled and disappeared. The young visionary returned and on February 18 Our Lady began her message by telling young Bernadette, "I do not promise to make you happy in this life but in the next." On February 24, Mary asked for penance and prayer for the conversion of sinners, and the following day, she instructed Bernadette to dig the ground near the Grotto. From that, a spring came forth which to this day is used for the bath by pilgrims to Lourdes.
At the apparition of March 2, Bernadette was instructed by Our Lady to "tell the priests that people should come here in procession and that a chapel should be built on the site." On the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, the Blessed Virgin told Bernadette in the dialect of Lourdes, “I am the Immaculate Conception."
The Basilica at Lourdes was consecrated in 1876 and the faithful, countless in number, flock in pious pilgrimage.
Original Spring discovered by Bernadette in 1858
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes' medical miracles
The grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette
Lourdes is a famous pilgrimage site in France where the waters are believed to have healing powers and associated with medical miracles for more than 70 of the past 165 years. The latest (and 69th) approved miracle involving healing in the water of Lourdes took place in May 1989 and after extensive investigation was approved by the Church in July 2013. Everything changed when Bernadette heard the Lady say, “Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself there…” Since that day, millions of pilgrims and visitors have come to Lourdes every year to drink, wash, and bathe in the spring water of Lourdes.
Our Lady of Lourdes represents the healing power of faith. February 11 is the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. Bernadette was made a Saint by Pope Pius XI in 1933. and February 18 is the feast day of Saint Bernadette.
According to various Catholic Interpretations, the three secrets of Our Lady of Lourdes involve Hell, World War 1 and II, and 20th Century persecutions of Christians. The statue that is currently in the Grotto was created by French sculptor Joseph-Hugues Fabish in 1864. The town receives an impressive 5 million pilgrims and visitors each year, making Lourdes the most visited Christian shrine in the world.
The Celebration
There are many important religious events that take place throughout the year at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. International pilgrimages are organized regularly, with celebrations, processions, masses, and times of prayer. There are two particularly important pilgrimage periods: the International Pilgrimage to Lourdes in February, and the International Pilgrimage of the Sick in September. These pilgrimages are organized by the Shrines of Lourdes and attract thousands of pilgrims from different countries. Pilgrims can also participate in the Eucharistic procession, the procession of the sick, and the procession of the Virgin. There are also prayer vigils, conferences, concerts and exhibitions that take place regularly. Pilgrims take part in a Torchlight Marian procession which has occurred every evening since 1872 before a service of Mass in the Grotto.
There is a close link between Our Lady of Lourdes and healing, as many miraculous cures have been reported after visiting the grotto of Massabielle and after using the water from the miraculous spring. Pilgrims come from all over the world to ask for physical and spiritual healing, and to thank the Virgin Mary for the cures obtained. Many young people who go there to pray and to serve and help the sick and the suffering and the poor.
Ways to Commemorate Our Lady of Lourdes as a Family:
Retell the story. The story of Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes is one of faithfulness and perseverance. There are many children’s books and websites that recount the story of Bernadette especially for children to understand and remember. Consider reading one of these with your family.
Watch the movie. The Song of Bernadette (1943) is a Hollywood adaptation. The movie is a great way to help visualize and remember the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Remember your baptism. The miraculous, healing spring that runs through Lourdes can remind us of our Baptism. Speak about each family member’s baptism and how we too are offered the water of life at our first sacrament.
Visit a grotto. The apparition at Lourdes is so popular that most dioceses have at least one replica of the original grotto in France. Visiting is a great way to help us pray for Mary’s intercession and to imagine what Bernadette might have experienced during the apparition.
Build a grotto. Not all grottos need to be made of stone. It can be as big or as small as you and your family can assemble.
Pray the litany. The Litany of Our Lady is a great way to close the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes as a family.
Mary, the lowly handmaid of the Lord, was magnificent with the glory of her Son and the beauty of holiness.
Mary invites us to walk with her along the path of true beauty, the way of the Gospel. She helps us to turn away from the ugliness of sin and to love the beauty that comes from the Holy Spirit, the beauty of living in God’s grace.
Ave Maria!!!
Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes:
"O Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
you appeared to Saint Bernadette
with words of comfort and love.
You brought healing waters
to flow from the Grotto,
a symbol of your maternal care
for those who are sick and suffering.
As we stand before you,
we humbly ask for your intercession.
Pray for us, dear Mother,
that we may be strengthened in faith,
comforted in times of illness,
and filled with hope in our trials.
May the waters of Lourdes
wash over us, body and soul,
This page is compiled and written by Mallika Prabhakar, our spiritual ministry head.
bringing healing, peace, and grace.
Help us to draw closer to your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
through your loving guidance.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
pray for us and for all who seek your help.
Amen."
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