The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11, which marks the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France.
The 14-year-old Bernadette was gathering wood when she witnessed apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in front of a grotto in the French town of Massabielle. Blessed Virgin gave a message to the world, "God is love, and He loves us as we are with all our flaws and shortcomings."
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her in that little village in the Pyrenees Mountains of southern France eighteen times between February 11 and July 16, 1858. On February 11, 1858, the first apparition took place. The young woman who appeared on March 25 introduced herself as "I am the Immaculate Conception."
Our Lady instructed Bernadette to inform the priests that people should gather here in procession and that a chapel should be built at the March 2 apparition location. On the Feast of the Annunciation, on March 25, the Blessed Virgin told Bernadette in the dialect of Lourdes, "I am the Immaculate Conception." This dogma had been defined by Pope Pius IX just a few years earlier, on December 8, 1854. A Basilica was built at Lourdes, which was consecrated in 1876. This place is a destination for many pilgrims, especially sick and disabled, as the Lourdes water, which flows from the grotto where apparitions occurred, is reputed for miraculous healings.
The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Lourdes was established on February 11 by Pope Leo XIII and first granted to the Diocese of Tarbes in 1890. On November 13, 1907, his successor, Pope St Pius X, proclaimed that it be observed throughout the universal Church.
Pope John Paul II established the World Day of the Sick (WDS) on February 11, 1992, as an opportunity for Christians to pray for those who are ill. It is believed that the Pope's diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in 1991 served as inspiration for the day's designation. When Pope John Paul II established this day, he wished it to be a unique occasion of kindness and sharing.
On the 31st anniversary of WDS, Pope Francis delivered a unique message with the focus "Take care of him." Masses for the Anointing of the Sick are celebrated by Catholic parishes worldwide. People who experience not just physical illness but also emotional or mental illness are given the anointing of the sick. The Catholic health ministry should use this day to reflect on how to better care for those who are ill and those caring for them. The WDS is a multi-day activity even though it is called a "Day."
The Pope chose the phrase "You received without payment; offer without payment" as the theme for this year's commemoration (Mt 10:8). He claimed that the satisfaction of generous giving is a sign of a Christian's well-being. "Gift" refers to more than just giving gifts; it also refers to giving oneself. Gifting differs from giving gifts because it also involves giving of one's self freely and a desire to form relationships. The foundation of society is the recognition of others. "Gift" represents God's love, which is realised in Son's incarnation and the Holy Spirit's outpouring.
The Pope invites all of us to reflect on the fact that it is mainly through the experience of vulnerability and illness that we can learn to walk together according to God's wish: which is closeness, compassion, and tenderness, as the entire Church travels along the synodal path on the occasion of the thirty-first WDS. The Pope has encouraged Catholics to pray for comfort for the suffering people of Turkey who have lost their beloved ones in the tragic earthquake that struck early on February 6 and has expressed his sorrow for them.
The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is being observed at many places in Goa. There is a festive gathering at the Nossa Senhora de Lourdes Igreja in Valpoi. A chapel, formerly a part of the Sanquelim church, was built in 1887 and enlarged into a church in 1968. The Our Lady of Lourdes is the Patron saint of the Utorda church, whose feast is celebrated in November. Novenas and feasts are celebrated at Our Lady of Lourdes chapels at Ambelim, St Inez, and the picturesque river-facing chapel at Odxel-Taleigão.
