2008 saw the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to St. Bernadette in the Grotto of Massabielle, Lourdes. In 2009 the Bishop of Lourdes, Mgr. Jacques Perrier, encourages all those who visit Lourdes not to forget St. Bernadette and in particular to consider her life and example of faith.
St. Bernadette lived for twenty-one years after the apparitions: eight of these in Lourdes and the remaining thirteen at the Convent of the Sisters of Charity at Nevers. Following her death the Church declared Bernadette a saint but this wasn’t as a result of the apparitions but in fact because of the way that she lived her entire life.
“To end the story of Bernadette in 1858 would be as absurd as stopping the story of the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation. As Mary has continued her pilgrimage of faith, in the words of Pope John Paul II, Bernadette continued her journey with courage. That is why, after the Way of the Jubilee, we offer the Way of Bernadette.” |
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(Mgr. Jacques Perrier, Pastoral Theme for 2009).
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In his pastoral message outlining the theme of Lourdes for 2009 Mgr. Perrier focuses on three places significant in the life of Bernadette; the font of her baptism in the Parish Church, the place where she lived during the apparitions called ‘the Cachot’ and the small oratory in the hospice where she stayed for some time after the apparitions.
He encourages pilgrims to Lourdes to visit these places and contemplate Bernadette’s example of vocation, prayer and service to others.
For more information on the life of St. Bernadette you can visit the official site of the Sanctuaries of Lourdes:
The Pastoral Message, 2009.
http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php?goto_centre=ru&contexte=en&id=1387&id_rubrique=1387
The life of Bernadette Soubirous
http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php?goto_centre=ru&contexte=en&id=421&id_rubrique=421
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