The Sanctuary of Lourdes invites you to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes at the Grotto of Massabielle. Thousands of pilgrims are expected to gather to celebrate and pray to Our Lady of Lourdes. Come and experience this wonderful festival in a place where the sick are always at the forefront.
In this year, when the Church is calling for a year of prayer to prepare for the Jubilee of 2025, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes would like to help all those who come into the Sanctuary to embark on “pilgrimages of prayer”; to set out on a journey to follow Christ and put into practice the theme that the Sanctuary is proposing to pilgrims for 2024: “that they come here in procession ”.
11th February: World Prayer at Our Lady of Lourdes
11th February marks the date of the first Apparition of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous. In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared this day World Day of the Sick.
In this year dedicated to prayer, the Sanctuary of Lourdes is inviting the whole world to pray to Our Lady of Lourdes, in a major worldwide prayer movement. The World Day of Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes, invites everyone to unite in prayer with all the pilgrims who will be present in the Sanctuary or joining us from their homes.
“Shrines are special places, where the holy faithful people of God gather to pray, to be consoled and to look to the future with greater confidence.”
(Pope Francis 2nd International Meeting of Rectors and Agents of Shrines)
Stay united in prayer with the Grotto of Massabielle by downloading the new app: Praying with Our Lady of Lourdes
It is aimed at those who are new to or already familiar with Lourdes, those who practise their faith regularly or occasionally, those who are curious… and those who are friends of Lourdes. It is 100% free to download and is available in 4 languages: French, English, Spanish and Italian.
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes from 3rd to 11th February 2024
Blessed Virgin Mary, under your tutelage,
Bernadette entered into a relationship with the Holy Trinity through the sign of the Cross.
By teaching her prayer and penance for sinners, you showed her the joy of salvation.
You revealed to her the beauty of your most pure heart when you told her, “I am the Immaculate Conception”.
With Bernadette, we turn to you full of trust in your maternal intercession.
Accept the intentions that we carry in our hearts during this novena of prayer (especially for…)
Our Lady of Lourdes,
We pray to you especially for our own conversion and that of all sinners.
Watch over all those who suffer in body or soul.
In the hope that Life will triumph over death, we want to sing with you, here and now, the glory of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Every day: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys,
1 Glory be to the Father.
Confession and communion are particularly recommended during the novena.
XXXII WORLD DAY OF THE SICK
The theme chosen by Pope Francis for the XXXII World Day of the Sick is: “It is not good for man to be alone”. Healing the sick by healing their relationships.
The Pope reminds us that “we came into the world because someone welcomed us; we were made for love; and we are called to communion and fraternity. This aspect of our lives is what sustains us, above all at times of illness and vulnerability. It is also the first course of treatment that we must all adopt in order to heal the diseases of the society in which we live.”
On this World Day of the Sick, Lourdes welcomes pilgrims from all over the world to experience a time of fellowship and not to be alone, for “it is not good for man to be alone” (Gen. 1:18).
The “Lourdes February Days” for pilgrimage organisers
On the 9th and 10th February, the “Lourdes February Days” at the Sanctuary will bring together more than 850 international pilgrimage organisers (pilgrimage directors, hospitality presidents, religious tourism professionals, Sanctuary partners, etc.).
The Lourdes February Days is an annual event that is eagerly awaited by all those involved in international pilgrimage, at the Sanctuary’s invitation, around the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
These days provide an opportunity for discussions, catechesis and workshops to prepare the 2024 pilgrimage season in the best way possible.
Full details of the days and catch-up videos of the plenary sessions can be found on the journeesdelourdes.org website
