As a sign of gratitude for overcoming a serious health problem, I visited the Shrine of Lourdes, in the south of France, at the foot of the Pyrenees.
For many, Lourdes is synonymous with miracles, which by the way are there, but the place offers much more. The word “miracle” (miraculum in Latin, or worthy of admiration) invites us to “contemplate with wonder”. However, its subjective significance is transcended when it comes to scientifically inexplicable cures of proven diseases that are officially recognized as supernatural by the Church. In 167 years, since the apparitions of the Virgin to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in the “Grotte de Massabielle” (“old stone”), the Church has recognized only 72 miracles, most of them in the first decades, due to the increasingly strict criteria of modern science.
Due to the number of pilgrims, it receives each year, and its spiritual importance, Lourdes is one of the main destinations for Christian pilgrimage, after Jerusalem and Rome.
One of its peculiarities is the water sign. The water of the Grotto, abundant and crystalline, is the protagonist of the devotion of the place: pilgrims immerse themselves in the pools of the sanctuary; they bring bottles of water to their sick loved ones; or they use it to refresh or purify themselves. Unlike other Marian sites, where she left messages for humanity, in Lourdes the Virgin asked people to visit the place and purify with his water.
Access to Lourdes, which is quite complicated, discourages day trips: you go to Lourdes to stay two or three days and fully participate in the various religious ceremonies: masses, prayers and processions.
Another distinctive feature is the spiritual climate that permeates every corner of the place. Whether it is in the Grotto, in the masses in different languages or in the torchlight procession that thousands of devotees are used to attend in order and recollection, there is a deep peace and an aura of the supernatural.
Not all the “miracles” of Lourdes are physical healings. My wife and I experienced some of these “other miracles.” The first was the unexpected joy of reuniting with my colleague and friend Gabriel, who lives in Paris with his French wife and has distinguished himself in world-class technology projects in his adopted country. It’s another painful example of brilliant Bolivians, who we give away to the world as if we had more than enough.
On the second day, when we arrived at the chapel of St. Pius X full of pilgrims, we looked for a place. Unexpectedly, they offered us to sit in a reserved area, together with people who, like me, even if without their knowledge, had overcome serious diseases, such as cancer, thanks to excellent doctors, the love of family and the prayers of many friends. These elements, while not certified as miracles, transform lives and inspire gratitude.
Finally, we experienced a real miracle, beyond the possible rational explanations. On the first night of our stay, during the torchlight procession, along with thousands of pilgrims, I realized that I had lost one of the hearing aids I use to compensate for my hearing loss. Resigned to keeping only one device for the rest of the trip, I never imagined that two days later, when we left the hotel, my wife would find it on the counter at the entrance. Someone had found it in front of the door of the hotel and had left it there waiting for his owner to claim for. I felt loved and protected, as if heaven had intervened.
In taking our leave of the Grotto of Lourdes, we raised a prayer for Bolivia, so that it may be healed of the tumor of populism and poverty that continues to consume it, trusting that with the new government this miracle will be accomplished.