On the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick, Pope Leo XIV met with a group of sick pilgrims gathered at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens, offering them words of consolation and prayer rooted in the loving example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
According to Vatican News, the Holy Father approached those who had been waiting for him following his Wednesday General Audience, thanking them for their presence and joining them in prayer before the statue of Our Lady.
Reflecting on the significance of the day, the Pope reminded those present of Mary’s maternal closeness in times of suffering. “It is a very beautiful day that reminds us of Mary’s closeness, our mother, who always accompanies us and teaches us so much: what suffering means, what love means, and what it means to entrust our life into the hands of the Lord,” he said, according to Vatican News.
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The gathering took place on February 11, the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, a date long associated with prayer for the sick and those who care for them. The World Day of the Sick invites the faithful throughout the world to unite in prayer for all who endure illness, as well as for doctors, nurses, and caregivers who serve them with compassion.
The Pope expressed gratitude to the sick individuals who made the effort to be present at the grotto, acknowledging the physical and spiritual sacrifices such an encounter can require. Before imparting his Apostolic Blessing, he prayed that the Lord would bless “all who are sick, today and always,” and extended his prayer to “all doctors, nurses, and others, who accompany them,” according to Vatican News.
By choosing the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens for this moment of prayer, Pope Leo XIV visibly united the suffering of the faithful with the maternal intercession of Our Lady. In doing so, he underscored a central Christian truth: that suffering, when entrusted to the Lord through Mary’s loving guidance, becomes a path of deeper communion with Christ.
On a day dedicated to the sick across the globe, the Pope’s quiet gesture of presence and blessing offered a powerful reminder that no one who suffers does so alone.
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