Pope Leo XIV Prays at Lourdes Grotto, Begins Pilgrimage in Southern France
Pope Leo XIV prayed silently at Lourdes' Grotto of the Apparitions and drank its holy water, starting a pilgrimage that includes an outdoor Mass and a meeting with abuse survivors.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lourdes on Saturday evening, opening a pilgrimage at one of the Catholic Church's most visited shrines with a silent prayer at the Grotto of the Apparitions, where he also drank the holy water.
He landed at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées airport after celebrating a large outdoor Mass at Place de la Concorde in Paris that drew hundreds of thousands of worshippers. On arrival, the pope greeted crowds, unveiled a statue with local authorities and travelled by popemobile before approaching the grotto.
Inside the shrine, he knelt in prayer, touched its walls and lit a candle, with the Statue of the Immaculate Conception nearby. In a French-language address, he said that at Lourdes the Immaculate Conception had spoken with gentleness and tenderness to Saint Bernadette, a humble daughter of the French people, to carry a message of prayer, conversion and hope to the world.
The site's history dates to 1858, when, according to the Church, a shepherdess named Bernadette Soubirous saw a "Lady dressed in white" in the grotto. After she repeatedly asked the figure who she was, the reply came: "I am the Immaculate Conception." The Church later declared the grotto a Marian sanctuary, and it has officially credited Our Lady of Lourdes with 72 cases of miraculous recoveries. Millions of pilgrims visit each year, many of them seriously ill and seeking relief from waters they believe have healing powers.
On Sunday, the pope is scheduled to meet French bishops before celebrating an outdoor Mass on the Prairie of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, followed by the Angelus prayer. In the afternoon, he will meet staff and sick people at the Accueil Notre-Dame and hold a private meeting with contemplative religious sisters.
He will also meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse by priests and other Catholic personnel. The outcome will be closely watched by critics who say the Church has not done enough to confront the problem, and some survivors' groups have criticised the decision to select individuals rather than representatives of established organisations.
The visit is to conclude with the Rosary and a torchlight procession on Sunday evening, one of the sanctuary's signature rites.