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.
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.'"
