Lourdes: A place of comfort, healing and gratitude

By Isabella H. de Carvalho – Lourdes

Over 150,000 pilgrims and faithful from around the world gathered Sunday morning on the Prairie of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to participate in the Mass Pope Leo XIV celebrated on September 27 as part of his Apostolic Journey to France.

Some were elderly and in wheelchairs with blankets to protect them from the chilly mountain air; children were sitting on the ground, playing with Holy See flags; volunteers were carefully assisting those most in need; pilgrims from the Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes pushed up against the fences with blue hats and scarves with Pope Leo’s face on them.

The crowd was varied, and people came first and foremost to see the Pope, but also to give thanks or continue to show their devotion to the Church and the Virgin Mary, as this Shrine has a different significance for every person present.  

“I’m here to thank the Holy Father and Heaven for keeping me alive,” Annie, a 58-year-old French woman, told Vatican News. “I suffered from encephalopathy, and by the grace of Heaven, I survived.” She was accompanied by her sister and her niece, who found her just in time when she fell ill. For us it’s an exceptional day,” Sonia, Annie’s niece, said.

Annie (L) and her niece Sonia (R)

Lourdes is one of the most visited Marian shrines in the world. It welcomes around 3 million visitors per year and is known to be a place of healing – both physical and spiritual – since the apparitions of Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.

The Virgin Mary, a mother for those who have lost their parents

Cristiane, from the nearby city of Tarbes but of Lebanese origin, also holds the Shrine dear in her heart. “It’s my mother Mary; she helped me at the age of 8-years-old when I lost my parents because of the war,” she explained, recalling how she saw Our Lady’s closeness during that time.

“She is the one who has guided me my whole life. I come here every week to the Grotto even if it’s a little far. She is really my mother.”

To see the Pope now in her beloved Shrine is “very special.” “I’ve got goosebumps, and my heart is racing. Yesterday, when I saw the Pope right there at the Grotto, it was amazing,” she insisted, as she held a Lebanese flag with her 14-year-old daughter standing by.

Cristiane (center with the flag) and her family and friends

“The Pope is our guide, our saviour and our hope,” she insisted.

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His visit to Lourdes shows “that when we have faith, when we believe in our Lord, when we believe in our Mother Mary, anything is possible. As it says in the Bible, nothing is impossible for God.”

Regarding her home country, which has been affected by conflict and violence, she also said she appreciates the attention Pope Leo XIV gives to Lebanon: “It gives hope that one day we will be able to go back to our country and have peace.”

Coming to Lourdes to serve others

Volunteers were also a constant presence at the Pope’s Mass, as they are every day at the Shrine. To help welcome the high number of pilgrims, volunteers come from across the globe to dedicate their time to helping others.

Raquel, from Miami, is one of them, as she volunteers annually at the Shrine. This year she planned to come around her birthday on the 25th of September, in order to “give back to Our Mother.” Little did she know that these dates would coincide with the Pope’s visit.

Raquel, a volunteer in Lourdes

“I feel like it was a gift from God. It’s already a gift to be here and to serve, but it’s also a gift to see the Pope in person. It gives me great joy,” she said. “I’m excited to serve everyone who comes here today.”

Her group, called Hospitalité de Miami, came with 120 people, including volunteers, people who are sick and nurses.

“In Lourdes we have miracles every day, but sometimes you see them, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes the miracles come from the heart,” Raquel explained.

She hopes that everyone who has a strong spiritual experience in this Shrine – whose “heart is touched” – can share it with other people in their lives “because God exists, Our Lady exists, they’re here, they’re in our hearts, they’re in our lives and we need to spread that word.”

Like Raquel, 73-year-old Wilma, originally from Brazil but now living in Miami, also comes once a year to volunteer at the shrine. This year she made 4,000 rosaries to distribute to the pilgrims in Lourdes during the Pope’s visit. “I have distributed them all. I wanted to make 10,000, but I didn’t manage,” she said.

“I feel like a missionary; I have a responsibility with God to do my part on earth before I go.”

Wilma, a volunteer in Lourdes

For her, Lourdes is a place where she can feel welcome: “I can meet people from all over the world. I speak Portuguese, a little English, and Spanish, but here there’s only one language—it’s the language of God—because we all believe, and this is a holy place. It’s amazing to see so many people being healed. You bathe in this water, and you come out feeling renewed—it’s incredible.”