LOURDES

Since the apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette in 1858, Lourdes has been a centre of pilgrimage particularly associated with healing. The Holy Father Pope John Paul II, recently instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes as international World Day of Prayer for the Sick. During this year of jubilee we are invited to remember in our prayers, especially on the 11^th February, all those who are sick and all health-care workers.

PRAYER

Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother too, help us to live and love like Jesus. Bless all who are sick this day and all who care for them. Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for us. Saint Bernadette, Pray for us.

SAINT BERNADETTE

Bernadette was born in Lourdes, a small village in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains in South West France, on 7th January 1844. Her father, Francois Soubirous, worked as a miller at the Boly mill. At a very early age Bernadette developed asthma. The poor conditions in which her family lived didn't help Bernadette's delicate condition.

Louise, her mother, did her best to keep the family together. Unfortunately, Francois was a very bad manager of money. Very often at the mill he gave away more than he sold and often his family didn't have enough money for even the basic necessities of life. The Soubirous were always moving from place to place because they couldn't pay the rent. Louise, Francois and their six children ended up homeless and out of pity somebody let them live in a room of the old, damp and abandoned prison in Lourdes called the "cachot".

When this happened, Bernadette was sent out to a tiny village called Bartres in the country, a few miles from Lourdes, to live with relations of her family. Her parents felt that the air in the country would be good for Bernadette and also that they would have one less mouth to feed. Bernadette missed her family but loved Bartres where she minded sheep in the fields and helped with the housework. After a while she came back to Lourdes to prepare for her First Holy Communion. At this stage Bernadette had just turned. fourteen.

On 11^th February 1858, Bernadette was out collecting firewood with her sister and a friend when a very beautiful lady dressed in white with a blue sash appeared to her in a grotto called Massabielle on the banks of the river Gave. The Lady appeared to her eighteen times altogether in the following weeks. Sometimes she spoke. She told Bernadette: "Pray to God for sinners", "Go and drink from the fountain and wash yourself in it". She also asked Bernadette to do a message for her "Go and tell the priests that people should come here in procession and ask them to build a chapel here."

Up to this nobody knew who the lady was. During one of the apparitions she told Bernadette "I am the Immaculate Conception". When Bernadette told this to her Parish Priest, Father Peyeremale, he started to believe that it really was Our Blessed Lady who was appearing to Bernadette. From that day on he was one of Bernadette's greatest supporters. Even during the apparitions people began to claim healing from various illnesses. People started to come in procession and a statue was placed in the Grotto. Very soon building work started on the first chapel.

Meanwhile Bernadette decided to become a nun in the order of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. For almost all of the rest of her life Bernadette was sick. She lived at the motherhouse of her order in Nevers until she died on 16^th April 1879. Her body rests in a casket in front of the main altar of the convent and is preserved completely intact. Pope Pius XI declared Bernadette a Saint on 8^th December 1933. Right to the end of her life Bernadette tried to do what the Lady had asked of her. Today millions of people go on pilgrimage to Lourdes to fulfil the message given by Mary to Bernadette, which she passed on so wholeheartedly.

LOURDES AND HEALING

Already in 1862 the Bishop of Tarbes had officially recognised seven cures to be miraculous. Although thousands of people have claimed healing of physical illness at Lourdes, the Church has officially recognised only 66 of these as miraculous. The last officially recognised healing was that of Jean-Pierre Bely which was declared miraculous earlier this year (1999). Before a claimed healing is accepted as true by the church a thorough investigation is conducted through the Medical Bureau of Lourdes and the International Medical Committee, each composed of panels of renowned medical specialists. Every avenue is explored to find a natural/scientific explanation for the alleged cure before the miraculous intervention of Jesus through the intercession of Mary is admitted.