APPARITION
Apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared eighteen times to the fourteen-year-old peasant girl Marie-Bernarde 'Bernadette' Soubirous at the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes between February 11 and July 16, 1858. Mary identified herself as 'the Immaculate Conception,' confirming the dogma defined four years earlier by Pope Pius IX.
background
The apparitions were approved by the Bishop of Tarbes in 1862. The spring uncovered by Bernadette at Mary's direction has been the site of over 70 medically documented miraculous healings recognized by the Church. The Sanctuary of Lourdes receives over six million pilgrims annually. Pope John Paul II established the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11 as the World Day of the Sick.
location
Lourdes
country
France
approved Status
approved
year Of Apparition
1858
visionaries
- Saint Bernadette Soubirous
message Highlights
- I am the Immaculate Conception.
- Penance, penance, penance.
- Pray for sinners.
- Go and drink at the spring and wash there.
associated Marian Title Slug
immaculate-conception