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11th February: Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes & 28th World Day of the Sick

On 11th February, nearly 20,000 pilgrims are expected to commemorate the first apparition of Mary to Saint Bernadette, to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the 28th World Day of the Sick. 

The day was instituted by Saint John Paul II in 1992, and celebrated for the first time in Lourdes on 11th February 1993.

Message from Pope Francis for the 28th World Day of the Sick

See the message from Pope Francis

Watch Documentary

“The primary evangelisers of the Sanctuary of Lourdes are the sick” Bishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation, presides over the International Mass

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

Say the novena prayer.
Pray a decade of the rosary.
Invocations: “Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!”
“Saint Bernadette, pray for us!
“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!”

Mary,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
You appeared in the hollow of the rock of Massabielle
To Bernadette, a small and simple shepherdess from Bigorre.
You brought her the radiant light of your smile,
The gentle, resplendent brightness of your presence.
Day by day, you built a relationship with her
Where you looked at her like one person talking to another.
We, too, come here before you in our poverty, and we humbly pray to you.
May those who doubt discover the joy of trust,
May those who despair sense your unobtrusive presence.
Mary,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
You revealed your name to Bernadette
By simply saying “I am the Immaculate Conception”.
May we discover the joy of a forgiveness that never falters,
Instil in us the desire for a rediscovered innocence and a joyful holiness.
Help the blinded sinner.
You who gave birth to the Saviour of the world,
Look tenderly on our beautiful but tragic world.
Open in us the path of hope,
Guide us to the One who is the Living Source,
Jesus, your Son, who teaches us to say
Our Father…