The memorial commemorates the eighteen (18) apparitions of the\u00a0Blessed Virgin Mary\u00a0to\u00a0Saint\u00a0Bernadette Soubiroux\u00a0that occurred between\u00a011 February and\u00a016 July\u00a0of\u00a01858\u00a0near the town of Lourdes in the Hautes-Pyrenees region of\u00a0France. Though there would be other people with her, only\u00a0Saint\u00a0Bernadette could see the\u00a0Lady.<\/p>\n
During the 9th appearance, on\u00a025 February, the Lady told Bernadette to drink from a spring that suddenly appeared in the grotto where the apparitions occurred. During the 12th appearance, on\u00a01 March, a visitor washed her arm in water from the spring, and some nerve damage in it was immediately\u00a0cured. There is a tradition of\u00a0miraculous\u00a0cures\u00a0at the grotto, or received by those who drink or are bathed in its waters.\u00a0Bernadette\u00a0later said that the water had no special properties, but it helped focus the\u00a0faithful\u00a0who received the\u00a0cures through faith and\u00a0prayer.<\/p>\n
During the 13th appearance, on\u00a02 March, the\u00a0Lady\u00a0told\u00a0Bernadette\u00a0to tell local\u00a0priests\u00a0that they should build a\u00a0chapel\u00a0at the grotto, and have processions to be made to it; the\u00a0priests\u00a0were understandably skeptical, but due to the numbers of\u00a0pilgrims\u00a0coming to the area, construction of several churches was started within a few years.<\/p>\n
During the 16th appearance, on\u00a025 March, the\u00a0Lady\u00a0identified herself as \u201cthe\u00a0Immaculate Conception\u201c.<\/p>\n
Due to the number of people gathering at the site, and making treks to the area, on\u00a08 June\u00a01858, the mayor of Lourdes barricaded the grotto and stationed guards to prevent public access; visitors were fined for kneeling near the grotto or talking about it, and Bernadette saw the last appearance of the\u00a0Lady\u00a0from outside the barricade. The grotto was re-opened to the public in October\u00a01858\u00a0by order of Emperor Louis Napoleon III, and the\u00a0pilgrims\u00a0have not stopped coming since.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
LITANY OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES<\/strong><\/p>\n Lord have mercy; God the Father of Heaven; Holy Trinity, one God; Mother of Christ; Our Lady of Lourdes, help of Christians; Queen of heaven; Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world; Christ hear us; Let us pray: Grant us, your servants, we pray you, Lord God, to enjoy perpetual health of mind and body. By the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, may we be delivered from present sorrows, and enjoy everlasting happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (catholicsaints.info)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The memorial commemorates the eighteen (18) apparitions of the\u00a0Blessed Virgin Mary\u00a0to\u00a0Saint\u00a0Bernadette Soubiroux\u00a0that occurred between\u00a011 February and\u00a016 July\u00a0of\u00a01858\u00a0near the town of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feasts-saints"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lwc-tt.com\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLord have mercy.
\nChrist have mercy;
\nChrist have mercy.
\nLord have mercy;
\nLord have mercy.
\nChrist hear us;
\nChrist graciously hear us.<\/p>\n
\nHave mercy on us.
\nGod the Son, Redeemer of the world;
\nHave mercy on us.
\nGod the Holy Spirit;
\nHave mercy on us.<\/p>\n
\nHave mercy on us.
\nHoly Mary;
\nPray for us.
\nHoly Mother of God;
\nPray for us.<\/p>\n
\nPray for us.
\nMother of our Savior;
\nPray for us.<\/p>\n
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, source of love;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, mother of the poor;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, mother of the handicapped;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, mother of orphans;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, mother of all children;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, mother of all nations;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, mother of the Church;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, friend of the lonely;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, comforter of those who mourn;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, shelter of the homeless;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, guide of travelers;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, strength of the weak;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, refuge of sinners;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, comforter of the suffering;
\nPray for us.
\nOur Lady of Lourdes, help of the dying;
\nPray for us.<\/p>\n
\nPray for us.
\nQueen of peace;
\nPray for us.<\/p>\n
\nSpare us O Lord.
\nLamb of God, you take away the sins of the world;
\nGraciously hear us, O Lord.
\nLamb of God, you take away the sins of the world;
\nHave mercy on us.<\/p>\n
\nChrist graciously hear us.<\/p>\n