Lourdes Sanctuary studies a possible miracle in a woman who regained her sight

The Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes in Madrid concluded its 101st pilgrimage this Sunday, in which 800 people participated and in which, apparently, an extraordinary event occurred that will have to be studied before qualifying it as a miracle.

With this intention, the counselor of this association of faithful, Father Guillermo Cruz, has spread a message among the different groups that make up the pilgrimage, in which he calls to accept what happened with humility and simplicity, following the example of Saint Bernadette:

“The experience of pilgrimage and discovering the love of God through our Mother the Virgin Mary, as Saint Bernadette teaches us from simplicity and in the humble, will always be the greatest Grace that is granted in Lourdes, since it is the one that renews the life”.

This consideration serves as a portal to address the fact that during the days of pilgrimage “an event has occurred that is extraordinary although it would be misleading people if we call it a miracle,” explains Father Cruz.

This fact consists of “a pilgrim who suffers from several diseases and had a very severe visual impairment, after making the water gesture, she recovered her sight. This extraordinary event was immediately verified by the doctors, and was notified to the sanctuary, which has already registered it.”

The gesture of water consists of the pilgrims, in an atmosphere of meditation, prayer and trust in providence, within the pool area, pouring water three times to wet their hands, their face and take a sip as Saint Bernadette Soubirous did. by indication of the Immaculate Conception in the Masabielle grotto.

Why can’t we still talk about a miracle?

Father Cruz explains in his statement the reason why it is not sensible at this time to speak of a miracle, since this declaration requires “a process of medical and spiritual discernment that must be followed” in which “the following requirements regarding healing: Immediate. Complete. Durable. Inexplicable”.

Due to this, the counselor affirms that “we cannot get ahead of ourselves, we must do a study and above all that the healing be maintained over time.” For this reason he emphasizes that “getting ahead leads to a presumption where we would have to be humble. “Here we have to wait for the study carried out by the Church, from the sanctuary of Lourdes, and then for the bishop of Madrid to make a statement, to verify not only that it is inexplicable but also that it is a miraculous fact.”

The counselor is no stranger to the desire of the members of the Hospitality of Lourdes and the people with whom they make a pilgrimage to the sanctuary every year, to be able to speak of a miracle “but we do not decide it,” he points out before remembering that “it is always a “Undeserved grace that is received.”

Thus, he warns that “we can confuse if we already talk about a miracle”, while at the same time that we could “generate false expectations if we reduce the fruits of the pilgrimage to a single event.”

What is the Lourdes Medical Confirmations Office?

The Office of Medical Confirmations of the Sanctuary of Lourdes in France was founded in 1883, at the same time that the place of the pools was established. As detailed in the sanctuary websiteis the only organization of its kind in the world, including pilgrimage sites of other religions.

To date, more than 70,000 cases of extraordinary events have been presented, of which 70 have been recognized as miraculous by the Catholic Church. In most of them, women are the recipients of this special grace. In 50 of the 70 cases, the miraculous event occurred through contact with the local water, which has no special properties.

It was Pope Leo XIII who in 1886 gave his approval to the procedures followed in this medical office. In 1902, the Holy See ratified these protocols, which have 4 fundamental stages:

The office director receives the person who claims to have been the subject of an extraordinary event. If he deems the case worthy of taking seriously, he summons the doctors present that day at the sanctuary. If they agree that it should continue, an investigation begins that can last several years. At the end, the members of the International Scientific Committee of Lourdes vote on whether the extraordinary event is “unexplained in the current state of our knowledge.” This vote is sent to the bishop of the place where the cured person resides, who is the one who has the power to declare the miracle.

Seven criteria to take into account by doctors

The website of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes also specifies the 7 criteria that must be respected during the medical investigation of cases. Before healing, the following must be taken into account:

1. The disease must be serious and have a poor prognosis.

2. The disease must be known and cataloged by medicine.

3. The disease must “be organic, lesional” and be examined by “objective, biological, radiological criteria.” This implies that “even today, cures for pathologies will not be recognized without precise objective criteria, such as psychological, psychiatric, functional, nervous diseases, etc.”

4. There should be no treatment to which the cure can be attributed.

5. The healing must be sudden, abrupt, instantaneous, immediate and without convalescence.

After healing, two more criteria must be considered:

1. It should not be a simple regression of symptoms, but rather a return of all vital functions.

2. It should not be a simple remission, but rather a cure, that is, lasting and definitive.