The sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, in France, adds a new miracle officially recognized by the Catholic Church. This is the 70th case declared supernatural in the history of the famous Marian pilgrimage site. The announcement was made on February 11, World Day of the Sick and the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, during a Mass presided over by Bishop Jacques Benoit-Gonin of Beauvais, France. Bishop Nicolas Brouwet of Lourdes announced the news to the faithful gathered in the basilica of the sanctuary.
The protagonist of the miracle
The beneficiary of this extraordinary healing is Sister Bernadette Moriau, a 79-year-old French nun. Since 1980, she suffered from serious spinal complications that kept her confined to a wheelchair and totally disabled. In addition, she depended on morphine to control pain. In 2008, Sister Moriau made a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Lourdes, but, according to her statement to the Associated Press, «she never asked for a miracle.» However, after attending a blessing for the sick at the sanctuary, something began to change.
«I felt a wave of well-being throughout my body, a relaxation, warmth… I returned to my room and there a voice said to me: ‘take off your orthopedic devices,'» the nun recounted. «Surprise. I could move,» she added, noting that she immediately got up from the wheelchair, left behind the supports, and stopped taking pain medication.
Process of ecclesiastical recognition
The case of Sister Moriau was submitted to the International Medical Committee of Lourdes, which thoroughly investigated her recovery. The experts concluded that the healing could not be scientifically explained. After the committee’s ruling, the file was sent to the nun’s diocese of origin, where the local bishop has the final say. With the prelate’s approval, the healing was officially declared a miracle by the Church.
The sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, located in southern France, is a very popular pilgrimage destination for those with special devotion to the Virgin Mary and seeking miraculous healings. It was there that the young Bernadette Soubirous witnessed Marian apparitions starting on February 11, 1858. The site also houses a spring whose waters are considered to have miraculous healing properties.
Although more than 7,000 recoveries attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes have been reported, only 70 cases have been officially recognized by the Catholic Church. To be declared a miracle, a healing must be complete, spontaneous, and immediate, and must correspond to a documented medical condition. The last official miracle before this one was declared in 2013.
Original source: www.ewtnnews.com (published on September 26, 2025)
Photo: Erica Viana on Unsplash
