The Miracles of Lourdes
From the very year of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, Lourdes has witnessed numerous miraculous healings. Crowds of pilgrims immediately flocked there. So, faced with the fervor and number of declared healings, the religious authorities had to establish a very strict protocol. Religious figures and doctors therefore work together to examine the healings declared miraculous.
Today, 70 healings at Lourdes have been recognized as miraculous by the Church between 1858 and 2018, out of 7300 healings recorded at the Medical Bureau of Verifications. There are also healings that have been classified as remarkable.
It is estimated that every year, six million pilgrims go to Lourdes, including 60,000 invalids or sick people.
The Steps and Actors in Recognizing a Miracle at Lourdes
The Medical Bureau of Verifications of Lourdes
This Bureau is responsible for investigating unexplained healings that occur in Lourdes. Its role is, in reality, not to provide medical follow-up for the pilgrims and sick people coming to Lourdes hoping to be healed.
The Bureau is composed of a permanent lead physician and any volunteer in Lourdes practicing a medical or paramedical profession, who was present at the time of the said unexplained healing, claimed to be miraculous. These members receive about 35 files to analyze per year. The recognition process is therefore very long and takes several years.
Indeed, all medical examinations, diagnoses, treatments, notes, and tests performed on the sick person before their healing, presumed miraculous, are carefully analyzed. Furthermore, other tests and examinations are performed after the healing.
Out of 35 files, generally, three to five catch the attention of the Medical Bureau of Verifications of Lourdes and lead to an in-depth investigation. In this case, another bureau is called upon: the International Medical Committee of Lourdes.
The International Medical Committee of Lourdes
Composed of about twenty experts, of different nationalities, different medical disciplines, and even different beliefs, the International Medical Committee of Lourdes examines every detail of the files entrusted to it. This study lasts from five to twelve years, on average. But it has already happened that it takes much longer and that the investigation lasts 54 years!
Here is the list of criteria to be met for the healing to be declared unexplained:
The diagnosis prior to the healing must be confirmed beyond any doubt
The diagnosis must be considered totally incurable
The healing must be associated with a visit to the sanctuary of Lourdes
The healing must be immediate, complete, and permanent.
After this investigation, the Committee votes. If two-thirds of the members are in favor of classifying the healing as "medically inexplicable," then the file is transmitted to the Church.
The Church
It is then the bishop of the city where the miraculously healed person lives who takes over the file. With experts and the Vatican, they study all the documents made available to them and decide if they consider that the healing is miraculous, or not.
The First Miracle of Lourdes in 1858
The first miracle of Lourdes, officially recognized by the Church in 1862, dates from the night of February 28 to March 1, 1858. Catherine Latapie, paralyzed in her right hand for two years after a fall, gets up in the middle of the night. She walks to the sanctuary of Lourdes. Once arrived, she dips her hand in the pool dug by Bernadette Soubirous at the request of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When she takes her hand out of the water, it is perfectly functional. Catherine permanently regained the use of her hand.
The Last Miracle of Lourdes in 2018
The last miracle to be officially recognized by the Church (by the Bishop of Beauvais, to be precise) was on February 11, 2018, dating from the same year. Sister Bernadette Moriau, a 69-year-old nun, was suffering from a serious and disabling illness. She then went to the sanctuary to pray to Our Lady of Lourdes and obtain graces. The nun returns home with all her physical capacities, completely healed.
This is the seventieth recognized miracle.
Here is her testimony:
"Before 2008, I was disabled. I had a significant back brace. I had splints on both feet... I was paralyzed and I was on morphine. I had a neurostimulator to calm the leg pain." […]
"My name is Bernadette so for me, I thought it was a sign from heaven... I finished the pilgrimage and returned to Bresles. I spent time in the chapel with my sisters, a time of prayer, of adoration, and it was there that I felt a relaxation of my whole body and then a warmth." […]
"*I didn't know what was happening and I finished the adoration and at 6 pm I went back to my room. Then, I had this inner voice that told me: 'take off your devices'. And I took everything off. I did it in an act of faith. Like Jesus in the Gospel: 'take up your mat and walk!' And then, I realized when I took everything off that my foot was straightened and I had nothing left. I stopped everything: treatment, neuro-stimulator. Finally, I stopped everything that same day.*" […]
"It's true that it's a surprise. You wonder what is happening to you and at the same time it's a great joy and it shakes you. And you say to yourself: 'Why me, Lord?' but that's all."
Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes
"Immaculate Virgin, mother of mercy, health of the sick, refuge of sinners, comforter of the afflicted, you know my needs, my sorrows and my sufferings, deign to look favorably upon me. By appearing in the grotto, you willed it to become a privileged place from which you bestow your favors, and already unfortunate souls have found there a remedy for their sorrows, for their spiritual and temporal infirmities. I also come, with full confidence, to implore your maternal favors; grant, O tender Mary, my humble prayer and fill me with your blessings, and I will strive to be worthy and to imitate your virtues to share one day in your glory. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us! Saint Bernadette, pray for us!"
Discover other beautiful prayers to Our Lady of Lourdes!
Prayer for the Miracles of Lourdes
"Lord, we come to you to thank you for the many miracles that have taken place in Lourdes.
We thank you for the physical and spiritual healing that you have granted to so many people who have sought your help.
We thank you for your infinite love and mercy that have been manifested through these miracles. We ask you to continue to bless Lourdes and to protect this holy place.
We ask you to guide all the pilgrims who come to Lourdes, and to give them the strength and peace they seek.
We ask you to bless the doctors and scientists who study the healings of Lourdes, and to help them understand your healing power. We thank you for all the blessings you have given us through the miracles of Lourdes and we entrust our life and our health to you. Amen"
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