Our Lady of Lourdes

Devotions

The 1858 apparitions to St. Bernadette Soubirous in a small French town that became one of the world’s great centers of Marian pilgrimage.

Our Lady of Lourdes refers to a series of eighteen reported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France, in 1858, later declared worthy of belief by the local bishop after formal investigation. The devotion, centered on the shrine’s grotto and spring, is one of the most widely received Marian apparitions in the Church, though belief in it remains, as with any private revelation, non-obligatory.

Quick Facts

  • Category: Marian Apparitions and Shrines — Major International Devotions
  • Associated saint: St. Bernadette Soubirous
  • Country: France
  • Feast: February 11 (Optional Memorial)
  • Church status: an ecclesially recognized Marian apparition and shrine devotion, approved by the competent diocesan authority
  • Private revelation: belief in the apparitions is not required of Catholics

What Is This Devotion?

Devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes centers on eighteen apparitions that a fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, reported receiving from a lady she later identified as the Blessed Virgin Mary, at a grotto beside the Gave de Pau river near Lourdes, France, between 11 February and 16 July 1858. The devotion today centers on the grotto itself, the spring that emerged there, and the vast shrine complex built around it, which draws millions of pilgrims, including many who are sick or suffering, seeking Mary’s intercession.

Origin and History

Bernadette, from a poor local family, reported the first apparition on 11 February 1858 and further appearances over the following months. During one apparition, on 25 March 1858, the Feast of the Annunciation, she reported that the lady identified herself, in the local dialect, with words Bernadette rendered as “I am the Immaculate Conception” — a title Bernadette, largely unschooled, would not have been expected to know, and which the Church had solemnly defined as dogma only four years earlier, in 1854. Following a rigorous canonical investigation, the local bishop, Bishop Laurence of Tarbes, declared the apparitions worthy of belief in 1862, authorizing public veneration. Bernadette later became a Sister of Charity of Nevers and died in 1879; Pope Pius XI canonized her in 1933. Pope St. Pius X extended the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Lourdes to the universal Church in 1907.

The spring that emerged at the grotto became associated early on with reports of healing, and the Church has approached these claims with notable caution: a medical bureau was established at the shrine in 1883 specifically to investigate reported cures, and to this day a case is only recognized as medically inexplicable, and then separately examined by Church authorities before any declaration of a miracle, after rigorous scrutiny. Over the site’s history, more than seventy healings have been formally declared miraculous by the Church through this careful process — a small fraction of the vastly larger number of reported favors, reflecting how demanding the standard of verification actually is.

Catholic Theology

Like other approved Marian apparitions, Lourdes is presented by the Church as a call to conversion, penance, and prayer rather than as new doctrine — Bernadette’s account records the lady asking for prayer and penance, not the revelation of any new teaching. February 11 is also kept as the World Day of the Sick, established by Pope St. John Paul II in 1992, reflecting how closely the site’s spirituality of healing and acceptance of suffering has become woven into the wider life of the Church.

How to Practice It

  • Pray a novena to Our Lady of Lourdes, especially in the days leading up to February 11.
  • Make a pilgrimage to the shrine at Lourdes, if possible, or unite spiritually with those who do.
  • Pray for the sick and those who suffer, especially on February 11, the World Day of the Sick.
  • Use blessed Lourdes water, where available, as a sacramental — a sign supporting prayer and faith, not a substitute for either.

Associated Prayers

When It’s Observed

February 11 is kept as an Optional Memorial on the General Roman Calendar, marking the date of the first reported apparition in 1858, and is also observed as the World Day of the Sick.

Church Status

The competent authority in this case was the local diocesan bishop, Bishop Laurence of Tarbes, who conducted a formal canonical investigation and declared the apparitions worthy of belief in 1862 — an ecclesiastical approval at the diocesan level. That judgment has been reinforced ever since by sustained papal support, a universal liturgical feast added in 1907, and the canonization of the visionary herself in 1933. As with any approved private revelation, this diocesan-level approval means the Church finds nothing in the apparitions contrary to faith and morals and recognizes their spiritual fruit; it does not elevate the events to the certainty owed to the Church’s public, defined teaching.

Private Revelation

Lourdes is an approved private revelation, associated with the reported apparitions to St. Bernadette Soubirous and recognized by the competent Church authority following formal investigation. As with every private revelation, belief in it is not required of Catholics as an article of faith (CCC §67); what the Church offers is its judgment that the events are worthy of belief and spiritually fruitful, not a demand that every Catholic accept them personally.

Common Misconceptions

“Lourdes water heals automatically, on its own power.”

The Church has never taught this. Lourdes water is treated as a sacramental, a sign meant to accompany and support prayer and faith, not a substance with power of its own; the healings the Church has formally recognized as miraculous were established only after rigorous, independent medical investigation found no natural explanation, followed by a separate Church judgment, precisely because the Church does not treat extraordinary claims casually.

“Every reported healing at Lourdes has been declared a miracle by the Church.”

The opposite is true: the vast majority of reported favors at Lourdes have not received a formal declaration of miraculous healing. Only a small number, each investigated for years by both medical and ecclesiastical authorities, have met the Church’s demanding standard for such a declaration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Our Lady of Lourdes an officially approved apparition?

Yes. The local bishop, following a formal canonical investigation, declared the apparitions worthy of belief in 1862, and that judgment has been consistently upheld and reinforced by the Church ever since, including a universal liturgical feast and the canonization of St. Bernadette.

Do Catholics have to believe the apparitions happened?

No. Even an approved private revelation like Lourdes does not bind Catholic belief the way the Church’s public, defined teaching does. Catholics are free to find the devotion spiritually fruitful, as many millions have, without that being a requirement of the faith.

How many miracles have been recognized at Lourdes?

More than seventy healings have been formally declared miraculous by the Church after rigorous medical and ecclesiastical investigation, out of a far larger number of reported favors — a reflection of how demanding and careful that process is.

What is the significance of Bernadette’s words, “I am the Immaculate Conception”?

Bernadette reported these words in 1858, only four years after the Church had solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception as dogma in 1854. Many Catholics see it as significant that an unschooled fourteen-year-old would report a phrase matching so precisely a theological title she would not have been expected to know, though this remains a matter of pious conviction rather than something the Church requires anyone to accept as proof.

Sources

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