Our Lady of Lourdes is one of the most famous Marian apparitions of the modern age. The whole story is fascinating, so we put together some fun facts about it.
1. The apparitions started soon after a major dogma.
In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (Mary was preserved from sin from the moment of her conception). Just over three years later, this term became an important part of the apparitions.
2. Mary appeared to a poor, sickly 14-year-old girl.
Bernadette Soubirous was uneducated and lived a simple life. She only knew basic prayers: the Our Father, Hail Mary, the Creed and the prayer of the Miraculous Medal.
On Feb. 11, 1858, she reported seeing visions of a lady dressed in white, with a blue sash, a white veil and a rosary over her arm.
3. Mary talked to Bernadette in a special way.
Mary addressed Bernadette in her regional dialect with the formal form of “you,” a sign of dignity and respect. They also prayed the Rosary together.
4. Mary called herself “the Immaculate Conception.”
Bernadette asked the lady what her name was several times. After multiple apparitions she was told, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Bernadette did not understand the theological meaning of the phrase, making the message all the more remarkable.
5. The Lourdes grotto has a spring of miraculous water.
At one point during the appropriations, Mary told Bernadette to dig in the ground. A spring of water bubbled up, which has since been the source of countless miraculous healings. The Church has officially recognized 72 of them. The most recent was from 2009, when an Italian woman recovered from primary lateral sclerosis.
