News Items about Lourdes French Newspaper Says Pope is Planning September Trip to France ROME (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI is planning a September trip to France, traveling to Paris and the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes, a French newspaper reported. The pope's Sept. 12-15 trip will begin in Paris, according to the newspaper Le Figaro. He will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy shortly after his arrival, it said. On Sept. 13, the pope is expected to celebrate Mass in Paris in the morning and have an evening encounter with cultural leaders. He will fly to Lourdes later in the day. In Lourdes, the pope will take part in jubilee year celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions there. The commemorative year ends Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The pope is expected to celebrate an open-air Mass Sept. 14 at the Marian shrine and later meet with French bishops, the newspaper said. The Vatican had no immediate comment on the report, but Vatican trip planners were said to be traveling to France in mid-March to prepare the details of the visit. Tags: Lourdes, Benedict XVI

Reporter Impressed by Lourdes Research ROME, FEB. 19, 2008 (Zenit.org).- To mark the 150th anniversary of Mary's apparitions in Lourdes, renowned Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli interviewed Father René Laurentin, perhaps the foremost expert on Our Lady's appearances to Bernadette Soubirous. The book-interview resulting from Tornielli's dialogue with Father Laurentin is called "Lourdes, inchiesta sul mistero a 150 anni dalle apparizioni" (Lourdes: An Investigation of the Mystery 150 Years After the Apparitions), and is published in Italian by Ediciones ART. Read more > Tags: Lourdes

Lourdes and the modern world Feb 15, 2008 (The-Tidings.com) One hundred fifty years ago, on Feb. 11, 1858, an illiterate, impoverished 14-year-old girl received the first of 18 visions of Mary, who eventually revealed herself to Bernadette Soubirous as "the Immaculate Conception." In mid-19th century Europe, Lourdes, a small town in the French Pyrenees, was about as backwater as backwater gets. Today, as for the past century and a half, Lourdes is one of the world's great pilgrimage sites, a place of decency, fellowship and spiritual healing where inexplicable physical cures have also taken place. In "Lourdes: Font of Faith, Hope, and Charity" (Paulist Press), Elizabeth Ficocelli tells the story of the shrine of Lourdes through the prism of the three theological virtues. Her description of Bernadette --- whom the Church recognizes as a saint, "not because she saw visions, but because of her heroic virtue in responding to God's mysterious call" --- is a powerful reminder that sanctity is for everyone, and that the extraordinary enters the ordinary in order to call us to our true vocations. Genuine conversion, not spectacle, is what visions are for. Read more > Tags: Lourdes

Historian reveals how Pius IX decided to proclaim dogma of Immaculate Conception Vatican City, Feb 13, 2008 / 05:04 pm (CNA).- In an article published by L’Osservatore Romano, Italian historian Francesco Guglietta, an expert on the life of Pius IX, revealed how the Pontiff decided to consult with the bishops of the world to proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854. Guglietta points out that the revolution that ended with the proclamation of the “Roman Republic” in 1848 and that forced the Pope to take up residence for nine months in Gaeta, south of Rome, had a profound effect on the Pontiff, who like Cardinal Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, had openly sympathized with the European revolutionary movements. “During this lapse of time, in fact, Pius IX progressively lost trust in the processes of the ‘revolution’ that were taking place in Europe and distanced himself from the liberal Catholic environment, beginning to see in the insurrection movement, as well as in the ‘modernity’ of that time, a dangerous snare for the life of the Church,” Guglietta writes. The expert points out that “understanding what happened with the thinking of Pius IX in Gaeta is of significant historic relevance” and is an “area of research not yet explored.” Nevertheless, he said, the Pope’s sojourn in Gaeta was fundamental for his decision of proclaiming the Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception. According to tradition, Pope Pius IX spent a long period in prayer in Gaeta before a painting of the Immaculate Conception by Scipione Pulzone preserved in the so-called Chapel of Gold, and that moment of encounter with God convinced him to proclaim the dogma. However, French historian and professor Louis Baunard said that while gazing upon the Mediterranean from the city, “the Pope mediated on remarks made to him by Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini: Holy Father, you will not be able to heal the world unless you proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Only this dogmatic definition will reestablish the meaning of the Christian truths and bring minds back from the paths of naturalism upon which they have become lost.” According to Guglietta, naturalism, which rejected all supernatural truth, could be considered the “backdrop” for the Pope’s proclamation of the dogma. “The affirmation of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin laid a strong foundation for affirming and strengthening the certainty of the primacy of grace and the work of Providence in the lives of men.” He said Pius IX, despite his enthusiasm, welcomed the idea of consulting with the bishops of the world, who expressed their agreement, leading him to finally proclaim the dogma. Tags: Lourdes

Pilgrims touch, bathe, drink for Mary's intervention at Lourdes LOURDES, France (CNS) -- Pilgrims come to the Massabielle grotto to slide their fingers and run their hands along its damp walls smoothed by years of touching. They touch the walls with scarves, rosaries and folded pieces of paper with written prayer intentions. They toss photos of loved ones, written intentions and bouquets of flowers into the grotto's crevices. Men and women on their knees silently pray, facing a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes placed where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous 150 years ago. Groups of pilgrims walk through the grotto holding candles and sometimes spontaneously singing "Ave Maria." They place the candles at the outdoor votive stations, where the words "The flame continues my prayers" appear in several languages. Read more > Tags: Lourdes

Healing of religious would be first miracle attributed to Our Lady of Lourdes for a Latin American Bogota, Feb 14, 2008 / 01:29 pm (CNA).- The inexplicable cure of a Colombian religious — whose identity remains a secret—would be the first miracle attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes and officially recognized in Latin America. Up to now, there are no Latin American or Spanish cases among the 67 people whose cures have been recognized as a miracle of Lourdes by the Catholic Church. According to chaplain Teotimo Gonzalez, coordinator of Spanish-speaking pilgrims in Lourdes, a Spanish woman and a Colombian nun are among those who have begun the process of having their cures recognized as miraculous during this year’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The cases are examined by a committee of doctors who determine whether or not there is a scientific explanation for the cures. Tags: Lourdes

Lourdes bishop says Mary sought devotion to Jesus, Eucharist LOURDES, France (CNS) -- Mary did not seek devotion from St. Bernadette Soubirous and Catholics but instead sought devotion to Jesus and the Eucharist, said Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes. In the apparitions at the Massabielle grotto, Mary led St. Bernadette to Jesus and today intercedes for pilgrims and leads them to Jesus, the bishop said at an outdoor international Mass in Lourdes Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick. At the grotto in the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes, a statue of Mary stands on the right side and the altar for the Eucharist is at the center, he said, because the Eucharist is the center of devotion. "The mission of Lourdes is to be a school of prayer, a place where it is easy, natural to pray," said Bishop Perrier. Read more > Tags: Lourdes

Pope OKs plenary indulgence for Lourdes' 150th anniversary VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To mark the 150th anniversary of Mary's appearance to St. Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, France, Pope Benedict XVI authorized a special indulgence to encourage renewed holiness. Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence for taking part in any public or private devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes, said U.S. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with indulgences and matters of conscience. Read more > Tags: Lourdes, Benedict XVI

Our Lady of Lourdes, the Eucharist, hope for the sick, says the Pope Courtesy of AsiaNews The following is the text of the Message of Benedict XVI for the 16th World Day of the Sick, which will be celebrated on February 11th 2008 (Unofficial translation by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of the Sick). Dear Brothers and Sisters! 1. On 11 February, the memorial of the Blessed Mary Virgin of Lourdes, the World Day of the Sick will be celebrated, a propitious occasion to reflect on the meaning of pain and the Christian duty to take responsibility for it in whatever situation it arises. This year this significant day is connected to two important events for the life of the Church, as one already understands from the theme chosen ‘The Eucharist, Lourdes and Pastoral Care for the Sick’: the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions of the Immaculate Mary at Lourdes, and the celebration of the International Eucharistic Congress at Quebec in Canada. In this way, a remarkable opportunity to consider the close connection that exists between the Mystery of the Eucharist, the role of Mary in the project of salvation, and the reality of human pain and suffering, is offered to us. Read more > Tags: Lourdes, Benedict XVI

Keep God, religion in society, Pope tells French Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:44am EDT By Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan PARIS (Reuters) - Pope Benedict began a four-day visit to France on Friday with a plea to the French to keep God in their lives and let religion help create a better world. Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in central Paris, the German-born pontiff praised France both for the deep Christian roots of its culture and the "serene and positive dialogue" between faith and power. Sarkozy, who has broken a political taboo by speaking openly and positively about the role of religion in society, said it would be "a folly" for France to ignore its long history of Christian thought about God, man and nature. Church bells rang out across Paris to greet the pope as he arrived at the Palace after his arrival from Rome for his first trip to France as pontiff. "It is fundamental, on the one hand, to insist on the distinction between the political realm and that of religion," Benedict said in fluent French. It was also necessary, he added, "to become more aware of the irreplaceable role of religion for the formation of consciences (and) the creation of a basic ethical consensus within society". Roman Catholic France maintains a strict separation of church and state that has long limited faith to the private sphere. The French Church struggles with a shortage of priests and Sunday Mass attendance is below 10 percent. But religion has re-emerged as a factor in public life in recent years, especially because of the growth of Islam, and French Catholics have increasingly spoken out on social issues. BREAK WITH PROTOCOL Benedict was due to expand on his message later on Friday in a major speech on faith and culture to a select audience of 700 intellectuals and artists at a Catholic cultural centre just opened in a freshly renovated medieval college on the Left Bank. The speech comes two years to the day after his lecture in Regensburg, Germany, which triggered riots in Muslim countries because he seemed to say Islam was violent and irrational. The twice-divorced Sarkozy, who considers himself a "cultural Catholic" but does not attend Mass regularly, broke with protocol to greet Benedict at Orly airport. His wife Carla Bruni, the Italian-born singer and former supermodel, was also present at the airport and the palace. She wore a simple but elegant grey skirt-suit. Tags: Lourdes