The Apparitions of Mary in Lourdes

The mountain air was cold on February 11, 1858, in Lourdes. Food was scarce and the firewood was all gone in the "cachot" (the squalid room where Mr. Soubirous found refuge for his wife and 9 children). So that day young Bernadette went out with a few friends, to gather dead wood at the grotto of Massabielle near the Gave River.

Suddenly, she heard a sound like a gust of wind, and she raised her head to look at the grotto. Bernadette saw a Lady dressed in white. Her body was not different from ours except for its ineffable beauty. She was of medium height and seemed very young. The curve of her oval face had heavenly grace and her blue eyes were so sweet that they could melt anyone's heart. Her mouth breathed God's goodness and kindness. Entering a supernatural stupor but filled with joy, Bernadette dared to approach the Lady, reciting her rosary. The apparition ended.

Bernadette came out of her ecstasy, and egged on by her companions, she shared with them what she should have kept to herself. On hearing the story, Mrs. Soubirous was wary and forbid her daughter to return to the grotto of Massabielle. But the following Sunday, she gave in to Bernadette's friends and gave them permission to go. Arriving at the grotto, the visionary announced: "There she is." Then she threw holy water in the Lady's direction, saying: "If you come from God, stay or else go away!" The Lady smiled and bowed her head. The more Bernadette threw holy water, the more she smiled.

On February 18, 1858, the Lady asked Bernadette: "Will you be good enough to come to the grotto for fifteen days?" Filled with joy, the young girl promised, and the Lady continued: "I promise to make you happy, not in this world, but in the next."

On the 21st, Bernadette had to make her way through a crowd of 100 or so people to get to the grotto. The Lady had a distant gaze, her face seemed sad; then she spoke: "Pray for the sinners."

On the 24th, Bernadette, bathed in tears, could only repeat to the crowd the injunctions of the Lady, which she summed up in one word: "Penance!"

On the 25th, Bernadette crawled on her knees to the center of the grotto preceded by the Lady. "Now go drink at the fountain and wash at the spring," she said to her. Bernadette dug with her fingers at the deposit of sand. From the deep rock, a spring had found its way to Bernadette's hand. The child drank the first sip of that still muddy water and washed her face with it. The spring would soon become an inexhaustible fountain, a divine instrument of many amazing cures. Many people call it the miraculous water of Lourdes.

Adapted from a text by Dom Antoine Marie OSB, Abbot of Clairval

MULTIMEDIA : Lourdes - Padre nuestro (Nacho Cano)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.