Pope Leo heads to Lourdes: What to know about one of Catholicism's most famous pilgrimage sites

 
Pope Leo XIV will visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes this weekend as part of his four-day apostolic journey to France, which is the first official papal state visit to the country in 18 years.   

The site near the Spanish border draws millions of pilgrims annually, including sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from the famed spring water in the Lourdes grotto. Here is what to know about Lourdes, one of Catholicism’s most important pilgrimage sites.

The popularity of Lourdes is intrinsically linked to Bernadette Soubirous. A young girl who came from a modest background, she was uneducated, with no knowledge of religion, and suffered from asthma when she reported 18 visions of a lady dressed in white in the Grotto of Massabielle near Lourdes, between February and July 1858. The Catholic Church later accepted that the visions were of the Virgin Mary.  Bernadette’s visions, and the subsequent discovery of allegedly healing spring waters, led the church to build a sanctuary there.

...  Among the millions traveling to Lourdes, many seek physical and spiritual healing, hoping for a miracle. The Catholic Church has officially recognized 72 healings as miraculous at Lourdes, out of more than 7,000 cases examined since 1858.

 ...The Lourdes sanctuary said the pope will land at the Tarbes airport on Saturday and begin his pilgrimage with a prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions...He closes the visit with one of Lourdes’ signature rites: the Rosary and torchlight procession through the sanctuary. (Read More)

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Senior Researcher Brad Myers comments,

You might be surprised to learn that the average devout, practicing Roman Catholic will recite an incredible 53 Hail Mary prayers that contain 42 words in English when praying the rosary. Here are the words that are addressed directly to Mary:

"Hail Mary, full of grace,The Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen" 

One has to wonder what Jesus would think about Roman Catholics who repeat the same 42 words 53 times.

What is a little disturbing is that, according to Roman Catholic tradition, Mary appeared in a 15th-century apparition to Blessed Alan de La Roche, holding a rosary and giving him 15 promises for those who recite it.

According to the website nationalshrineofmarymotherofthechurch.com, here are only 

Pope Leo XIII  in the 19th century known as the" Rosary Pope" said this astonishing statement:

"O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, attains salvation except through thee; none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee."

Pope Leo XIII fully endorsed the Roman Catholic teaching found in the original Baltimore Catechism:  

'Q. 1125. Is it enough to belong to God's Church in order to be saved? A. It is not enough to belong to the Church in order to be saved, but we must also keep the Commandments of God and of the Church.' " 

The following words about the Blessed Mother of Roman Catholicism come from Pope Pius  IX, who officially declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 (the belief that  Mary was conceived without original sin).

This is what the Bible says:

Psalm 39:7 "And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you." (NLT)

John 14:6 "Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the          Father except through me."" (NLT)

Romans 3:23 "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." (NLT)

Acts 4:11-12 "For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures...There is salvation in no one  else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." (NLT)

Galatians 1:6 "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel  contrary  to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!" (HCSB)

2 Thessalonians 2:9 "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders." ( NKJV)

Why is any of this spiritually important for us to understand? Listen carefully to the words of well-respected Roman Catholic apologist Dr. Scott Hahn from his book, Rome Sweet Home (p. 142) :

"The Catholic Church is not just another denomination—it is either true or diabolical.'"

Israeli settlers try to seize springs in the West Bank

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers have intensified attempts to take control of natural springs on which Palestinian communities depend. Water from these springs is used for irrigation and tourism, Euronews reports.

Water diverted from the village of Fasayil

In summer, water from a natural spring that supplied the Palestinian village of Fasayil was diverted to a nearby ancient pool. The site was declared a new tourist attraction and named after Herod, the Roman-appointed king of Judea.

Palestinian farmer Saad Nemer said that the water cutoff dealt a devastating blow to his fields. The Israeli military body COGAT, which handles civilian affairs in the West Bank, acknowledged that the water had been diverted without permission and said it would conduct an investigation.

The time when the pool was built is unknown. The archaeological unit of Israel’s Civil Administration noted that other ruins in the area date back to the 1st century BCE, the period of Herod’s rule.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram. (Read More)

US treasury secretary claims successes in sanctions campaign to isolate Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that he had sent envoys around the world to pressure countries to economically isolate Iran, hailing new restrictions targeting the country’s airlines and banks.

“At my direction, teams were dispatched across the globe to engage with countries and demand action against the Iranian regime,” he says on X. “These efforts are delivering results.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

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Following the launch of Operation Economic Outcast, @USTreasury imposed targeted financial measures against banks and aviation service providers. At my direction, teams were dispatched across the globe to engage with countries and demand action against the Iranian regime. (Read More)

Trump: Iran strikes resume after midterms

US president tells aides he will restart airstrikes on Iran immediately after November elections, rejecting Tehran's ceasefire offer and waiting to avoid hurting Republican candidates' chances in Congress.

US President Donald Trump has informed his advisers that he intends to resume the bombing campaign against Iran immediately following the November midterm elections, according to a report published in the Wall Street Journal. The decision comes as Trump has rejected a ceasefire proposal submitted by Tehran.

Senior officials in Washington said Trump is currently avoiding launching a large-scale military operation out of concern that it would deplete US military ammunition stockpiles. Instead, the president prefers to combine diplomatic leverage, rapid strikes and strengthened sanctions.

Trump himself addressed the issue in his speech to the UN General Assembly, emphasising that domestic political considerations are not guiding him on this matter. His central objective remains preventing Iran from achieving nuclear capability. (Read More)

Saudi Nuclear Deal Lets Enrichment Rise to 20% Without Tough IAEA Inspections

Classified documents sent to Congress say Saudi Arabia hasn't ruled out a nuclear weapons program, raising alarm over Trump's civil nuclear deal with Riyadh.

U.S. intelligence has assessed that Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing nuclear weapons, according to classified documents provided to Congress, U.S. officials told the Washington Post on Friday.

The assessment deepens concerns in Washington, and in Israel, about the civil nuclear cooperation agreement President Donald Trump signed with Riyadh in July. Critics warn the 30-year deal could give the kingdom a path to a bomb and set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The documents were sent to Congress last month as lawmakers review the agreement. They also included the State Department's assessment, which was more confident in the deal's safeguards and in assurances from the Saudi government. The State Department told the Post that the United States "does not and will not support a Saudi nuclear weapon program." The CIA declined to comment. (Read More)

Iran awaits US move after WSJ report says Trump rejects peace plan

Iran on Saturday awaited a US response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting in the Middle East war after the Wall Street Journal ​reported that President Donald Trump had rejected the deal.

Iran raised the diplomatic initiative at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans ‌via Qatari mediators and could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days.

But Trump is privately sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and has told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November US midterm elections, the Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials.

Earlier, a US official had said discussions with Iran through mediators were "positive and constructive".

IRAN WON'T ACCEPT 'BULLYING, COERCION', PRESIDENT SAYS

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding ​the strait, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping lanes and taken a toll on the global economy.

Iranian Foreign ​Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday the proposed deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause ⁠in regional fighting. (Read More)

CNN left off Air Force One for Trump’s upcoming trip, White House signals in new media restriction

The White House signaled Friday night that CNN would be left off Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s Saturday trip, the latest media restriction from the administration in an ongoing dispute with First Amendment implications.

The news organization was replaced by Real America’s Voice, a conservative network, for the president’s trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to White House guidance. Trump is scheduled to attend a college football game between the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas at midday Saturday.

The news came just after journalists from CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, which Trump banned last week from the White House grounds, returned to the executive complex with TV cameras in hand after a judge handed the organizations a reprieve.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly temporarily struck down the ban in an overnight ruling early Thursday, but his decision addressed “hard passes” to the White House grounds and didn’t directly address pool duties. (Read More)

US Senate rejects resolution curbing Trump's Iran war powers

 

The Senate voted 50 to 49 to reject the resolution, which had passed the House of Representatives in July. The vote was largely along party lines.

The US Senate on Thursday narrowly rejected a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the Iran war until hostilities are authorized by Congress.

The Senate voted 50 to 49 to reject the resolution, which had passed the House of Representatives in July. The vote was largely along party lines, with most of US President Donald Trump's Republicans rejecting the measure and almost every Democrat voting for it.

Seven Republicans back Iran war powers resolution, widening GOP split with Trump

Earlier in September, in the House of Representatives, seven Republicans joined Democrats in backing a similar resolution directing Trump to remove American forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress formally authorizes the war. (Read More)

Danny Danon offers Starlink device shown in Netanyahu's speech to Iranian UN delegation

 

"I thought it appropriate to give you the Starlink," Danon said to the delegation. "It can be very useful for you to allow the Iranian people to get their freedom after what you did to them."

Israeli United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon posted a video on social media on Thursday, showing him approaching the Iranian UN delegation, offering the Starlink internet device shown during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech for the people of Iran. 

"I thought it appropriate to give you the Starlink," Danon said to the delegation. "It can be very useful for you to allow the Iranian people to get their freedom after what you did to them. So you want to take it and deliver it back to Tehran?"

Receiving no response from the delegation, Danon added: "We love the Iranian people and we pray for the regime change there." (Read More)

‘We are not alone:’ Coalition of UFO whistleblowers call on Trump to let them publicly reveal secrets

The world’s most prominent UFO whistleblowers have formed an unprecedented coalition to ask President Trump to waive their government nondisclosure agreements — which they say are preventing them from sharing what they know about extraterrestrial life with the American public. 

Dylan Borland, David Grusch and Matthew Brown say they accumulated the information while working in highly classified government programs and are legally barred from discussing it publicly without White House intervention. 

“For the first time in history you have a direct public plea, not private . . . to the president of the United States, to have their NDAs waived and have them protected, so they can disclose what they know to the American population, because they feel like it’s that important that everyone should be entitled to know that we’re not alone,” filmmaker and disclosure advocate James Fox told The Post. (Read More)

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Senior Researcher Brad Myers Comments,

"David Grusch, an Air Force officer, testified to Congress in 2023 that the US government has operated secret UFO crash retrieval programs for decades. He tells The Post in this article, “This included photographs and video of the [recovery] operations including the craft and the non-human occupants. And I’ve seen this evidence with my own two eyes.”" 

"Dylan Borland, an Air Force veteran who testified in 2024, also told The Post, “Disclosure has to come from [President Trump]. He needs to rip the Band-Aid off himself and needs to go out there and confirm we’re not alone. We’ve recovered materials and entities—biologics.”" 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 foretells a time in the future when hundreds of millions of people from all over the world will suddenly be caught up and taken into the clouds to be with Jesus Christ in Heaven.

The Bible warns in 2 Thessalonians 2;9:

"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders..."( NKJV) 

"What if President Trump or any other future president were to actually tell the American public and the world that 'we are not alone,' and that the US government 'recovered materials and entities—biologics'?" 

When the time comes that hundreds of millions of people are taken from the Earth, how confident are you that the family and friends you told about Jesus and the Bible will finally believe you were taken to Heaven to be with Him for eternity?

______________________________

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UFO Update! Bill Salus UFO Encounter! (WATCH)

Netanyahu Tells UN: Iran's 'Evil Regime Will Fall'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted Thursday that Iran's government will eventually be overthrown by its own people, declaring during his United Nations address that the country's "evil regime will fall."

Netanyahu made the prediction after displaying a Starlink terminal at the General Assembly podium and saying the Iranian government fears its people having unrestricted access to information. (Read More)

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Senior Researcher Brad Myers Comments,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted Thursday that Iran's evil government will eventually fall. Netanyahu declared during his 2026 United Nations address the following words: 

... "it’s only a matter of time before something incredible happens in Iran. The power of the people will overcome the people in power... One day, and it may not be far away, the Iranian people will be free. Their murderous regime will be toppled.... This evil regime will fall, and fall"... 

Is it possible that the Lord in Jeremiah 49:35-38 predicted the same thing over 2600 years ago in the Prophecy of Elam? 

Could the Lord be fiercely angry with Iran's Islamic jihadist regime, which seeks to launch long-range ballistic missiles to destroy Israel? Would it make sense for the Lord to enable their enemies to chase down and kill Iranian military and government officials to bring down this murderous regime?

Israel ready to resume strikes on Iran as regime aims to rebuild nuclear program - report

 
"We will move to strike nuclear facilities and any site belonging to them again if Tehran crosses any of the red lines, whether with or without the participation of the US," an Israeli official said.

Israeli officials believe that it's only a matter of time until the resumption of strikes against Iran, according to a report by Saudi state-owned news outlet Al Hadath on Thursday.

The official told the outlet that the Israeli intelligence has detected an attempt by Iran to revive and activate its nuclear program in anticipation of a strike, following reports in Israel about the regime transferring its remaining nuclear project to Jabal al-Fas, near the Natanz nuclear facility.

The report also cited the official saying that Israel is "defensively and offensively prepared for the possibility of renewed war on Iran and on other fronts as well, at any time." (Read More)

Russian, Iranian foreign ministers say only diplomatic solution to conflict around Iran

Russia and Iran called for a diplomatic solution to tensions after the US-Israel war with Tehran, as foreign ministers Lavrov and Araghchi met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart met on Thursday, and Moscow said both agreed that only a diplomatic settlement could end tension in the Middle East sparked by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

"Current regional and international issues were discussed with emphasis on the situation around Iran," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement after Lavrov and Iran's Abbas Araghchi met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"It was stressed that there is no alternative to a diplomatic settlement of the crisis provoked by the illegal actions of the United States and Israel." (Read More)

 

US to open 2 new military bases in Greenland as part of Tuesday deal, sources say

In agreement set to be signed at UN General Assembly, United States said set to reopen Cold War-era base, take over another site currently used by Danish dog sled patrol.

The US plans to reopen a former Cold War-era military base in southern Greenland and set up a military presence at an east coast base now used by the Danish dog sled patrol under an agreement to be signed by the US, Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Those sites are Narsarsuaq, whose population has dwindled to a few dozen people since the US closed its Bluie West One military base in the 1950s, and Mestersvig, a military outpost currently used by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish special forces unit, said two of the people.

Denmark, Greenland and the United States are expected to sign their new agreement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City at 10:30 a.m. ET (5:30 p.m. Israel time) on Tuesday.

The text of the agreement has not been made public, and the three people familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said its details are not finalized until it is signed.

The governments of Denmark and Greenland did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Read More)

France Sends Forces to Protect Saudi Oil Sites

Macron announced deployment of troops and air defense systems to protect Yanbu facilities from Iran-backed militia that also fires on Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced France will send troops and air defense systems to Saudi Arabia to strengthen protection of the kingdom's critical Yanbu oil export facilities, according to Open Source Intel reports. The deployment comes in response to ongoing Houthi attacks targeting Saudi infrastructure.

The move adds a European military presence on Israel's southern front, as the Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles at both Saudi Arabia and Israel throughout the regional conflict. The militia recently struck Riyadh and an Aramco facility, and earlier knocked a Saudi oil pipeline offline with missile fire. (Read More)

Houthis claim attacks on Saudi military sites near Yemen’s border

The Ansar Allah Houthis say they have attacked various military sites in Saudi Arabia.

The group says it struck the al-Tuwal area of Jizan and missile sites at Al-Dagharir camp. Saudia Arabia has not confirmed the attacks.

Katz: Gaza City to be ‘evacuated’ if Hamas kidnaps Israeli soldier or civilian

 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning to Hamas on Tuesday against attempting to kidnap a soldier or a civilian, during an address at a memorial ceremony for the fallen of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

“In light of various intentions and intelligence reports, I hereby warn the terrorist organization [Hamas] and its supporters, from Iran to [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan,” Katz said at the National Memorial Hall for Fallen Soldiers at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem.

“If even one Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted, the city of Gaza—with its homes and terrorist towers—will be evacuated southward of its one million residents,” he continued, “and it will be dealt with in the same manner in which Rafah and Beit Hanoun and 70% of the Gaza Strip were dealt with, until he is returned.”

He further stated, “This is the language that the jihadist terrorist organizations in Gaza and Lebanon understand, and this is the language we speak: evacuating the population, destroying the infrastructure, and taking the territory.”

The Israel Defense Forces currently hold roughly 54% of the Gaza Strip, deployed along the so-called Yellow Line that runs through the territory from north to south.

The IDF is deployed today in Lebanon, in Syria and in Gaza in “powerful” security zones beyond the borders as a lesson of the Hamas-led cross-border invasion into the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, which left roughly 1,200 people dead and 251 more abductees, Katz continued in his speech.

“We will not allow jihadist elements to be present near our borders and communities,” he said.

These security zones are empty of residents and the IDF operates within these areas, constructs military posts, and dismantles terrorist infrastructure, above and underneath the ground, the defense minister added.

He pledged not to withdraw from the Yellow Line in Gaza as long as Hamas remains in Gaza and the Strip does not become a demilitarized zone. (Read More)