February 11 – Our Lady of Lourdes
Year of Origin: 1858
Country of Origin: France
Attributes: white dress, blue sash, rose on each foot, rosary beads
Patronage: Lourdes, France, South Korea, Tennessee, Diocese of Lancaster, bodily ills, sick people, asthmatics, protection from diseases
Added to Liturgical Calendar: 1907 by Pope Pius X
On this day the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, commemorating the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl in Lourdes, France.
Mary first appeared to Bernadette on February 11, 1858 in the grotto of Massabielle. She introduced herself in one apparition as the “Immaculate Conception.” The last apparition, of which there were 18 in total, occurred July 16 of that year and the local bishop approved them after a four year inquiry.
Three years later, a basilica was built upon the rock of Massabielle.
The fountain from which the Blessed Mother told Berndatte to drink has become a very popular pilgrimage destination, especially following the 1854 dogmatic definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception.
Of the millions of pilgrims that have visited the site, thousands have reported that their medical conditions and spiritual maladies have been healed as a result of their visit and the miraculous properties of the water from the fountain.
St. Bernadette’s feast is February 18.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.