NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES

Q: About Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary when she appeared in Lourdes, France. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette Soubirous went to gather firewood with her sister and a friend in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern France. Bernadette was weak from her asthma and fell behind the other girls. Near the river, she heard a rushing sound in the grotto at the bottom of the mountain. She turned to see a bright light and within the light, there stood a beautiful lady dressed in white. As she approached, she saw that the lady had yellow roses at her feet and was holding a rosary. After Bernadette knelt and prayed the rosary, the lady disappeared. Three days later, the lady appeared again in the grotto but only Bernadette could see her. The lady asked Bernadette to continue to come to the grotto and as she did, more and more people followed her. On February 25th, the lady told Bernadette to dig in the dirt and drink the water that would come from her digging. With hundreds of people watching, she drank the muddy water. By the next day the water was flowing from the place where she had dug. Then on March 1st, a woman was cured of paralysis after dipping her hand in that spring water. The Lady then told Bernadette to tell the priests to have a chapel built and processions held there. The priest told Bernadette to ask the Lady her name. When Bernadette returned and told him that she was the Immaculate Conception, the priest knew that the apparitions were real because Bernadette would never have heard those words. The Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette a total of eighteen times and a large Basilica was built there near the grotto. The Church has recognized 67 known cures in those same waters at Lourdes which still flow endlessly for the million of pilgrims that visit each year. Our Lady of Lourdes

About Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary when she appeared in Lourdes, France. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette Soubirous went to gather firewood with her sister and a friend in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern France. Bernadette was weak from her asthma and fell behind the other girls. Near the river, she heard a rushing sound in the grotto at the bottom of the mountain. She turned to see a bright light and within the light, there stood a beautiful lady dressed in white. As she approached, she saw that the lady had yellow roses at her feet and was holding a rosary. After Bernadette knelt and prayed the rosary, the lady disappeared.
Three days later, the lady appeared again in the grotto but only Bernadette could see her. The lady asked Bernadette to continue to come to the grotto and as she did, more and more people followed her. On February 25th, the lady told Bernadette to dig in the dirt and drink the water that would come from her digging. With hundreds of people watching, she drank the muddy water. By the next day the water was flowing from the place where she had dug. Then on March 1st, a woman was cured of paralysis after dipping her hand in that spring water.
The Lady then told Bernadette to tell the priests to have a chapel built and processions held there. The priest told Bernadette to ask the Lady her name. When Bernadette returned and told him that she was the Immaculate Conception, the priest knew that the apparitions were real because Bernadette would never have heard those words.
The Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette a total of eighteen times and a large Basilica was built there near the grotto. The Church has recognized 67 known cures in those same waters at Lourdes which still flow endlessly for the million of pilgrims that visit each year.
Our Lady of Lourdes

Novena Begins:	February 2
Feast Day:	February 11

Patron Saint of France, Bodily Ills

Name Meaning: Town in France

Day 1- Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, virgin and mother, queen of heaven, chosen from all eternity to be the Mother of the Eternal Word and in virtue of this title preserved from original sin, we kneel before you as did little Bernadette at Lourdes and pray with childlike trust in you that as we contemplate your glorious appearance at Lourdes, you will look with mercy on our present petition and secure for us a favorable answer to the request for which we are making this novena.

(Mention your request here…)

O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your Assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.