THE WONDERS OF LOURDES: 150 MIRACULOUS STORIES

The Wonders of Lourdes: 150 Miraculous Stories

"The Wonders of Lourdes" is one of my favourite books. It is one of the most beautiful souvenirs that I brought home with me from Lourdes, France. It tells 150 true stories of the Shrine of Lourdes from the first apparition of Our Lady to Bernadette up to the present day. Twenty-two contributing writers have contributed to the publication of this book to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions to Bernadette and the first Papal visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Lourdes in September 2008. Working with the bishops of France and having complete access to the Shrines of Notre-Dame de Lourdes' archives, the writers have written vivid descriptions of the history and traditions of the Shrine as well as the personal experiences of those who have worked or visited there. Most of all, they have clearly proven that Lourdes is a place of physical and spiritual healing, a special place of prayer, conversion, and grace where faith is fortified, hope is restored, and the message and love of Jesus is shared. These are the wonders of Lourdes. With an introduction by Most Reverend Jacques Perrier, the Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, and Pierre-Marie Dumont, the creator of Magnificat, this book is a unique and marvelous collection of the continuing wonders of Lourdes. In this article, I would like to share the first ten miracles of Lourdes - the first five miracles occurred while the apparitions were still taking place.

Catherine Latapie had fallen from a tree and dislocated her right arm and injured her hand 2 years ago. Although the doctor could heal her arm, two fingers on her hand were paralyzed. For a poor peasant woman who had to make a living with her hands, such a disability was a great obstacle to her. However, she did not give up hope and it was this hope that brought her to the Grotto of Massabielle on 1 Mac 1858, during the 12th apparition. Heavily pregnant and bringing two small children with her, she had walked more than 4 miles from her home in Loubajac. Fifteen hundred people were present at the ecstasy that day. After Bernadette's vision had ended, Catherine Latapie dragged her children to the spring with her and bathed her hand in the miraculous water - her hand was healed instantly. Her contractions started soon after the healing and she had to hurry home as fast as her legs could carry her to give birth to her fourth child who became a priest. That was the first miracle of Lourdes. (Catherine Latapie was born in 1820 and lived in Loubajac, near Lourdes)

Louis Bouriette has been blinded in his right eye by a stone splinter more than 20 years ago following an explosion while he was working in the quarry in 1839. His brother was killed in the explosion. On 25 February 1858, he fetched some water from the spring and washed his eye a few times with the miraculous water while praying to Our Lady. His full vision was immediately restored and he regained his eyesight completely. Feeling excited, he rushed to Dr. Dozous' office to proclaim his miraculous healing (Louis Bouriette was botn in 1804 and lived in Lourdes).

Blaisette Cazenave was suffering from chronic infection of the conjunctivae and eyelids with bilateral ectropion for 3 years and was completely blind. Even though her condition was declared incurable, she decided to imitate what Bernadette did at the Grotto during the ninth apparition - she drank spring water and washed her face in it. When she bathed her eyes with the spring water for the second time, her vision was completely restored and her eyes returned to normal again - there were no more pain and inflammation (Blaisette Cazenave was born in 1808 and lived in Lourdes).

Henri Busquet was only 16 when he was healed by the miraculous spring water. He has been suffering from a neck abscess, purulent adenitis at the base of the neck, for 15 months. He wanted to make a trip to Lourdes but his parents did not allow him to make that trip. He turned to his neighbor for help. When his neighbor brought him some of the miraculous spring water from Lourdes, he prayed with his family around him. After applying the spring water, he discovered that the infection was completely gone (Henri Busquet was born in 1842 and lived in Nay, France).

At the beginning of July 1858, Justin Bouhort was suffering from chronic post-infective malnutrition with retarded motor development and was dying from tuberculosis at the age of 2. Doctors had already given up hope on him. Taking the half-dead child in her arms, his mother, Croisine, rushed to the Grotto. On arrival, she went straight to the basin recently dug by quarrymen to gather water from the spring uncovered by Bernadette and dunk her moribund child in the icy cold water. The crowd thought that she was going to kill her child and screamed at her. She held her child in the basin for a very long time and then lifted him out and carried him home. He was still breathing when they reached home and slept peacefully that night. In the days which followed, he regained his strength and started to walk - it seemed that he was recovering quickly and was bursting with health. He lived to a ripe old age and died at the age of 79. On 8 December 1933, he attended Bernadette's canonization in Rome (Justin Bouhort was born in 1856 and lived in Lourdes).

Madeleine Rizan has been suffering from paralysis on the left side of her body for 24 years following an attack of cholera. Doctors have given up hope on her and refused to treat her. She received Extreme Unction in September 1858 as death seemed to be imminent. When her daughter brought her some spring water from the Grotto in Lourdes, she took a few sips and applied it on her face and body. All of a sudden, her illness disappeared and she was alive again. She led a normal life until her death 11 years later in 1869 without having any relapse (Madeleine Rizan was born in 1800 and lived in Nay, France).

Marie Moreau was 16 years old when she was suffering from inflammatory lesions especially in her right eye which resulted in severe visual impairment. Her father went to Lourdes to get some spring water for her in the hope for a miraculous healing. On 8 November 1858, after prayers with her family, the young lady soaked a bandage in the spring water and tied it over her eyes. When she removed the bandage the following morning, she found that her eyesight was completely restored (Marie Moreau was born in 1841 and lived in Tartas, France). 

Pierre de Rudder's leg was crushed by a falling tree and he sustained an open fracture in his left leg. His doctors recommended amputation but he refused and there was nothing else that they could do for him. In the morning of 7 April 1875, he set off from his home in Jabbeke, Belgium, to visit the Shrine of Oostacker, a replica of the Massabielle Grotto near Ghent, Belgium. There, he prayed to Our Lady to restore his honor and dignity and for the grace to be able to make a living as he did not want to depend on charity. He got up almost immediately and walked around the grotto. He returned home in the evening without any abnormalities in the leg and had since got back to work and resumed his normal lifestyle. That was the first miraculous cure which took place without any use of spring water from the Grotto (Pierre de Rudder was born in 1822 and lived in Belgium)..

Joachime Dehant, a 29-year-old Belgium woman who has been suffering from a large and deep gangrenous ulcer on her right leg, arrived in Lourdes on 12 September 1878. She was in a bad state of health and foul smelling pus was oozing out from the incurable wound. The next day, she went to the baths. Within hours after two immersions into the miraculous healing waters, her wound was suddenly and completely healed and her leg was normal again. She lived to enjoy excellent health for another 30 years (Joachime Dehant was born in 1849 and lived in Belgium).

For six years, Elisa Seisson has been suffering from cardiac hypertrophy with edema of both legs. Her disease was considered incurable as she did not respond to treatment. In August 1882, at the age of 27, she went on a pilgrimage to Lourdes. She went to the baths on the first day and after the immersion, she found that the edema on her legs had disappeared. After a peaceful night's sleep, she woke up the next morning feeling completely healed. She continued to live a healthy life the next 30 years (Elisa Seisson was born in 1855 and lived in Rognonas, France).

These were the first ten miracles of Lourdes, five of them took place while the apparitions were still going on. Following the apparitions, many miracles have occurred but to date only 67 miracles have been approved by the Catholic Church even though there are more than 8000 miracles attributed to the Lourdes Shirne since 1858. You can read about these 67 miracles @ LOURDES: MIRACLES AND THE MIRACULOUSLY HEALED. To read more about Lourdes, please click here. There is a complete list of my articles about Lourdes on this page.

Reference:

The Wonders of Lourdes: 150 Miraculous Stories. Magnificat.