Our Lady of Lourdes is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in honor of the Marian apparitions that reportedly occurred in 1858 in the vicinity of Lourdes in France.
The first of these is the apparition of 11 February 1858, when 14-year old Bernadette Soubirous told her mother that a “lady” spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle a half from the town while she was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend.
Similar apparitions of the alleged “Lady” were reported on seventeen occasions that year, until the climax revelation of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception took place.
Over the course of 18 apparitions, the Blessed Virgin Mary revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception. Members of the family and countless visitors had implored Bernadette several times to ask the identity of the Lady. Bernadette had done so, but the Lady had not responded. During the sixteenth apparition on March 25, 1858, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bernadette asked once more. This time the Lady responded in the Bigourdane dialect, “Que soy era Immaculada Conceptiou,” which means, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
The ‘Lady’ urged Bernadette to pray, do penance, and encourage others to come to the spring that had miraculously appeared. Many who visited the spring experienced physical and spiritual healing. Lourdes has became one of the most beloved pilgrimage sites in the world.
The message of Our Lady of Lourdes continues to inspire millions to seek God’s grace through prayer, repentance, and acts of faith.
Let us follow Our Lady’s instructions to St. Bernadette and pray and do penance.
St. Bernadette pray for us!
Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception, pray for us.