11th February, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
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. Come and experience this wonderful festival in a place where the sick are always at the forefront.
Programme:
8.00 am: Lauds at the Rosary Basilica with the Sanctuary “chapelains”
10.00 am: International Mass at the Basilica of Saint Pius X, presided over by His Eminence François Cardinal Bustillo.
12 noon Angelus at the Grotto and recount of the Apparition
12.30 Rosary in Ukrainian
1.00 pm Rosary in Portuguese
1.30 pm Rosary in Arabic
2.00 pm Rosary in Polish
2.30 pm Rosary in German
3.00 pm Rosary in English
3.30 pm Rosary in French
4.15 pm Rosary in Spanish
4.15 pm Conference by Fr. Jean-Marcel Rossini: « Come here in procession » (FR).
5.00 pm Adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Basilica of Saint Pius X
6.00 pm Rosary in Italian
8.30 pm Torchlight procession
It was on 11th February 1858 that a young 14-year-old girl left a damp, dark and dirty cachot to fetch soke fallen branches, and thus bring a little light and warmth to the sad life of the cachot. She decided to go to the grotto of Massabielle, because it was a place owned by the local community, and no one would accuse her of being a thief. Such a disreputable place… A place whose position prevented even the sun from entering.
It was there that the light of heaven came to illuminate the life of poor Bernadette. This is where today huge crowds come together to find the light of heaven. Crowds that come to seek the living water, the water of baptism... Come and see!
In this year of preparation for the 2025 Jubilee, Lourdes unites behind the words of Pope Francis and dedicates this year 2024 to prayer.
Let us pray to Our Lady together, whether we are in Lourdes physically or in our hearts.
Recalling the first apparition:
“Accompanied by her sister and a friend, Bernadette went to Massabielle, along the Gave, to collect bones and fallen branches. Taking off her stockings to cross the stream and go into the Grotto, she heard a noise that sounded like a gust of wind. She looked up at the Grotto: “I saw a lady dressed in white: she was wearing a white dress, also a white veil, a blue sash and a yellow rose on each foot.” Bernadette made the sign of the Cross and recited the rosary with the Lady. When the prayer was over, the Lady suddenly disappeared.”
