11th February: First apparition of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous
Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
28th World Day of the Sick

On Tuesday 11th February, on the solemnity of Our Lady of Lourdes, from 10:00 a.m., in the Saint-Pius X basilica, Mgr. Rino Fisichella, will preside over the international mass.
In an article published in Bulletin n ° 343 of AMIL (International Medical Association of Lourdes, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes), official bulletin of the Office of Medical Observations in Lourdes, Mgr. Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promotion of the New Evangelisation, from the Apostolic Letter of Pope Francis, Sanctuarium in Ecclesia, wrote a reflection on the role of the Sanctuary of Lourdes in the new evangelisation, in particular the charism of the sick:
“According to the word of the Lord, we stubbornly favoured everything that the world has refused, or considered useless and ineffective. The chronically ill, the dying, the marginalised, the disabled and anyone who, in the eyes of the world, expresses a lack of future and hope, finds the commitment of Christians. We have examples that forcefully remind us of the holiness of the men and women who made this programme a concrete proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the start of a true cultural revolution. Faced with this holiness, all arguments collapse. Utopia gives way to credibility, and the passion for truth and freedom are summed up in the love that is given without asking for anything in return.
In this context, the precious assistance given by many doctors and nurses in the Sanctuary of Lourdes takes on its full meaning as a true Christian proclamation, taking the dignity of each person into serious consideration. How important this presence is in the life of the Sanctuary! Not only for those who work there every day and are tangible signs of this closeness and this assistance, but also for all the groups and associations that come to the Sanctuary as pilgrims. At a time when everything seems possible only because it can be bought, there should be more signs that love and solidarity have no other price than personal commitment and sacrifice. This testimony shows that a person’s life only finds fulfilment when it is lived against a backdrop of self-giving.
He also affirms: “(…) the primary evangelisers of the Sanctuary of Lourdes are really the sick. They are called to accept the awareness of and the responsibility for bringing the good news of the Gospel which starts from their own condition. This is also significant for those who accompany and assist them, because it forces us to look with increased intensity and commitment at the learning which no one can do without, in order to experience the beauty of faith with ever greater awareness. No one suddenly becomes an evangelist or suddenly understands suffering overnight. This all requires preparation which grows and matures together with faith in the mystery of active and real participation in Christ’s mystery and in the life of communion with him that is given to us in baptism. This perspective allows us to look at each sick pilgrim with the eyes of faith, to see in them the presence of Christ who is asking for help and who in return is offering us his saving love.”