Miracles & Healing

Beyond their sensational value, the cures and miracles witnessed in Lourdes are intrinsically a sign of God and an evangelical experience.

From the time of the apparitions to date the Church has recognized 70 miracles resulting from the intervention of God with the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The other sign of God evident at Lourdes, as important as the miracles and far more frequent, is the sign of Grace which may be seen in the conversions, the serenity of the spirit and the changing of lives.

Why did Jesus perform miracles?

While the Greco-Roman mythology was plentiful of “magical” events, the Gospels were more sober. Nonetheless Jesus performed miracles in response to the faith of those who turned to Him, and in response to His compassion to those who suffer. Jesus heals, calms the storm, and feeds the crowd by His own authority. In doing so, He reveals who He is.

The blind can now see

In the Gospel, the miracles always have two dimensions: the physical and the spiritual. To see, hear or walk again in the physical world are miracles that heal the body. However, more powerful miracles, not always as spectacular to the naked eyes, yet more frequent, are those that open one’s heart to the message of Love from Jesus.

The official criteria of a miraculous cure

The Catholic Church establishes a two-step process. In the first step of the process the cure must pass the following criteria:

  • cannot be referred to any scientific explanation
  • was unexpected and thorough
  • was lasting in time

The case is analyzed by a panel of five doctors, selected from 100 renowned physicians that are members of the “Consulta Medica”, a board established by the Vatican in the mid-1900’s. If three of the five agree that the hand of God has prevailed where science faltered, then the case is sent to a panel of cardinals and priests. If evidence of healing prayer exists, the cure is declared a miracle by the Catholic Church.

Click here for more information about the process.

Are there still miracles today?

Medicine has made a lot of scientific progress since the first apparition at Lourdes, being very effective at curing the physical aspects of the human body. With the advance of medical research, recognition of physical miracles endures a progressively more rigorous criteria. Fewer than in the past, there are still miraculous cures being recognized at the present time.

The miracles

There are a total of 70 recognized. Seven of them were recognized in 1862 and 33 around 1908. None were acknowledged from 1908 to 1946, the period around the two World Wars.

Below is a list of all cures since the apparition of Our Lady to Bernadette. The date in each picture is the date of the recognition, not the date of the cure. Half of them were under 30 years of age at the time of their healing.

Catherine LATAPIE
Loubajac, France | 18th January 1862
Louis BOURIETTE
Lourdes, France | 18th January 1862
Blaisette CAZENAVE
Lourdes, France | 18th January 1862
Henri BUSQUET
Nay, France | 18th January 1862
Justin BOUHORT
Lourdes, France | 18th January 1862
Madeleine RIZAN
Nay, France | 18th January 1862
Marie MOREAU
Tartas, France | 18th January 1862
Pierre DE RUDDER
Jabbeke, Belgium | 25th July 1908
Joachime DEHANT
Gesves, Belgium | 25th April 1908
Elisa SEISSON
Rognonas, France | 2nd July 1912
Sister Eugenia (Marie MABILLE)
Bernay, France | 30th August 1908
Sister Julienne (Aline BRUYÈRE)
La Roque, France | 7th March 1912
Sister Joséphine-Marie (Anne JOURDAIN)
Goincourt, France | 10th October 1908
Amélie CHAGNON
Poitiers, France | 8th September 1910
Clémentine TROUVÉ (Sister Agnès-Marie)
Rouille, France | 6th June 1908
Marie LEBRANCHU (Mrs Wuiplier)
Paris, France | 6th June1908
Marie LEMARCHAND (Mrs Authier)
Caen, France | 6th June 1908
Elise LESAGE
Bucquoy, France | 4th February 1908
Sister Marie de la Présentation (Sylvie DELPORTE)
Lille, France | 15th August 1908
Father CIRETTE
Beaumontel, France | 11th February 1907
Aurélie HUPRELLE
Saint-Martin-le-Nœud, France | 1st May 1908
Esther BRACHMANN
Paris, France | 6th June 1908
Jeanne TULASNE
Tours, France | 27th October 1907
Clémentine MALOT
Gaudechart, France | 1st November 1908
Rose FRANÇOIS
Paris, France | 6th June 1908
Reverend Father SALVATOR
Rouelle, France | 1st July 1908
Sister Maximilien
Marseille, France | 5th February 1908
Marie SAVOYE
Cateau-Cambresis, France | 15th August 1908
Johanna BÉZENAC
Saint-Laurent-des-Bâtons, France | 2nd July 1908
Sister Saint-Hilaire (Lucie JUPIN)
Peyreleau, France | 10th May 1908
Sister Sainte-Béatrix (Rosalie VILDIER)
Evreux, France | 25th March 1908
Marie-Thérèse NOBLET
Avenay, France | 11th February 1908
Cécile DOUVILLE DE FRANSSU
Tournai, Belgium | 8th December 1909
Antonia MOULIN
Vienne, France | 6th November 1910
Marie BOREL
Mende, France | 4th June 1911
Virginie HAUDEBOURG
Lons-le-Saulnier, France | 25th November 1912
Marie BIRÉ
Sainte-Gemme-la-Plaine, France | 30th July 1910
Aimée ALLOPE
Vern, France | 5th August 1910
Juliette ORION
Saint-Hilaire-de-Voust, France | 18th October 1913
Marie FABRE
Montredon, France | 8th September 1912
Henriette BRESSOLLES
Nice, France | 4th June 1957
Lydia BROSSE
Saint-Raphaël, France | 5th August 1958
Sister Marie-Marguerite (Françoise CAPITAINE)
Rennes, France | 20th May 1946
Louise JAMAIN
Paris, France | 14th December 1951
Francis PASCAL
Beaucaire, France | 31st May 1949
Gabrielle CLAUZEL
Oran, Algeria | 18th March 1948
Yvonne FOURNIER
Limoges, France | 14th November 1959
Rose MARTIN
Nice, France | 17th March 1958
Jeanne GESTAS
Bègles, France | 13th July1952
Marie-Thérèse CANIN
Marseille, France | 6th June 1952
Maddalena CARINI
San Remo, Italy| 2nd June 1960
Jeanne FRÉTEL
Rennes, France | 20th November 1950
Théa ANGELE (Sister Marie-Mercédès)
Tettnang, Germany| 28th June 1961
Evasio GANORA
Casale, Italy | 31st May 1955
Edeltraud FULDA
Vienne, Austria | 18th May 1955
Paul PELLEGRIN
Toulon, France | 8th December 1953
Father Léo SCHWAGER
Fribourg, Switzerland| 18th December1960
Alice COUTEAULT
Bouillé-Loretz, France | 16th July 1956
Marie BIGOT
La Richardais, France | 15th August 1956
Ginette NOUVEL
Carmaux, France | 31st May 1963
Elisa ALOI
Patti, Italy | 26th May 1965
Juliette TAMBURINI
Marseille, France | 11th May 1965
Vittorio MICHELI
Scurelle, Italy | 26th May 1976
Serge PERRIN
Lion d’Angers, France | 17th June 1978
Delizia CIROLLI
Paternò, Italy | 28th June 1989
Jean-Pierre BÉLY
La Couronne, France | 9th February 199
Anna SANTANIELLO
Salerne, Italy | 21st September 200
Sister Luigina TRAVERSO
Casale Monferrato, Italy | 11th October 201
Danila CASTELLI
Bereguardo, Italy | 20th June 201
Sister Bernadette MORIAU
Beauvais, France | 11th February 201