On February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Leo prayed in the Vatican gardens’ Lourdes grotto with a group of the sick.
The World Day of the Sick was initiated by Pope St John Paul II in 1992, who himself endured many long years of ill health. This year marks the day’s 34th celebration, which was initially chosen to coincide with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The Lourdes shrine, situated in the south west of France, has long been associated with healing. Dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, who appeared there to St Bernadette 18 times between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the shrine attracts about 3 million visitors each year, according to official figures from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Its association with healing originates from a command Our Lady gave St Bernadette. During the ninth apparition she told her to “go and drink at the spring and wash yourself there”, which led to the discovery of a now famous spring that produces roughly 32,000 litres of water per year. In the same year as the 1858 apparitions, Catherine Latapie, whose arm had been paralysed two years earlier after an accident, dipped it in the uncovered spring. The mother of three, who was pregnant with her fourth child, had felt an inexplicable urge to visit the grotto. Instantly, after placing her damaged hand in the water, it regained full mobility.
Today, 72 medical miracles from Lourdes have been certified by the Catholic Church, while more than 7,000 people have reported cures at the shrine which have yet to be authorised.
Pope Leo told the gathered pilgrims: “It is a very beautiful day that reminds us of Mary’s closeness, our mother, who always accompanies us and teaches us so much: what suffering means, what love means, and what it means to entrust our life into the hands of the Lord.”
He then thanked them for making the journey before imparting his Apostolic Blessing and praying for the sick, as well as their carers.
