The Miracles of Lourdes


By Bro. B.G. Sherriff
Australian Catholic Truth Society No.1518 (1967)

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INTRODUCTION

Throughout the centuries, Mary has truly shown herself Mother of the Church.

So at the dawn of the scientific and technological era, Mary came "in haste" to give proof that her Son is "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, the Light of the world, the Son of God."

The miracles of Lourdes are "the first of his signs" in the age of science Lourdes is a witness to the divine. The miracles worked there are scientifically incontestable.

This work is really a compilation of facts and quotations from reliable sources and larger standard works. One of particular merit must be mentioned and recommended - the well authenticated "The Mystery of Lourdes" by non-Catholic writer, Ruth Cranston, (Great Pan). However, research from both additional and original sources probably gives this pamphlet some added interest.

Any doctor of the whole world regardless of creed or colour is free to investigate the evidence of the Medical Bureau of Lourdes. If the Bureau is satisfied that the cure appears to be genuine at the end of a second investigation (at least twelve months after the first) the case is then referred to the Medical Commission in Paris. This Commission, composed of eminent physicians and surgeons, studies the case on the evidence of the medical documents and from a purely technical stand point. The Commission makes a thorough study of the documents, certificates, results of examinations, x-rays, bacteriological analyses and everything to do with the case. The Commission calls in whatever specialists may be needed. After this examination the Commission may reject the cure or accept it. The Commission never uses the word "miracle". It merely says, "We find no natural or scientific explanation of the cure."

If this is the finding of the Medical Commission, the cure is then sent on to the bishop of the cured person's diocese with the recommendation that a Canonical Commission be appointed to investigate it. It is the Church that must decide whether the cure is a miracle. The Church authorities are even stricter than the doctors.

The Lourdes Medical Bureau has files of five thousand cures for which they can find "no natural or scientific explanation," but the Church is so strict that, of these five thousand alleged cures, only sixty-two have been declared miraculous.

LIST OF THE 62 CURES GIVING DATE, PLACE OF ORIGIN OF PATIENT, AND PATHOLOGY

(last date in brackets indicates official recognition of miracle).

First cures, taking place between 1860 and 1862 recorded by Mgr. Laurence's commission.

  1. Louis BOURIETTE, of Lourdes (27-2-1858) (1862) Blindness due to trauma, right eye. (Quarryman, father of family).

  2. Blaisette SOUPENE (married Cazenave), of Lourdes, (27-2-1858) (1862). Eye condition. Ectropion.

  3. Catherine LATAPIE-CHOUAT, of Loubajac. (1-3-1858) (1862). Paralysis of the right arm from stretching of the brachial plexus.

  4. Justin DUCONTE-BOUHORTS, called BOUHORTS, aged 2 years, of Lourdes. (1858) (1862). Paralysis of the legs due to tuberculosis.

  5. Henri BUSQUET, of Nay (28-4-1858) (1862). Scrofula. Typhic myositis of the sterno-mastoid.

  6. Mrs. Madeleine RIZAN, widow, of Nay (17-10-1858) (1862). Perhaps a thalamic lesion (vomiting and dyspepsia). Generalized disorders following cholera.

  7. Miss Marie MOREAU, of Tartas. (9-11-1858) (1862). Eye condition. Blindness in one eye, lacrimation and myopia.

From 1862 to 1907 no canonical enquiry. 8. Miss Jeanne TULSANE, of Tours (8-9-1897) (27-10-1907). Lumbar Pott's disease.

  1. Miss Elise LESAGE, of Arras. (21-8-1892) (4-2-1908). Tuberculosis of the knee.

  2. Sr. MAXIMILIEN, of Marseilles (20-5-1901) (5-2-1908). Hydatid cyst of the liver. Phlebitis of the left leg.

  3. Miss Marie-Therese NOBLET, of Reims (31-8-1905) (11-2-1908). Dorso-lumbar Pott's disease.

  4. Fr. CIRETTE, of Evreux (31-8-1893) (11-2-1908). Antero-lateral spinal sclerosis.

  5. Rosalie VILDIER (Sr. Sainte Beatrix) of Evreux (31-8-1904) (25-3-1908). Chronic Laryngo-bronchitis, probably of tuberculous origin.

  6. Miss Joachim DEHANT, of Namur (13-9-1878) (27-4-1908). Ulcer of the leg with extensive gangrene.

  7. Miss Aurelie HUPRELLE, of Beauvais (21-8-1895) (1-8-1908). Pulmonary tuberculosis.

  8. Sr. SAINT-HILAIRE, of Rodez (20-8-1904) (10-5-1908). Intestinal carcinoma.

  9. Miss Clementine TROUVE, of Paris (21-8-1891) (6-6-1908). Osteo-periostitis of the right foot.

  10. Miss Marie LEBRANCHU, of Paris (20-8-1892) (6-6-1908). Pulmonary tuberculosis (spinster, mattress maker).

  11. Miss Marie LEMARCHAND, of Paris (21-8-1892) (6-6-1908). Lupus of the face. (Spinster householder).

  12. Miss Esther BRACHMANN, of Paris (21-8-1896) (6-6-1908). Tuberculous peritonitis.

  13. Mrs. FRANCOIS, nee Rose Labreuvoies, of Paris (20-8-1899) (6-6-1908). Abscess of the right arm with gross fistula formation.

  14. The Rev. Fr. SALVATOR, a Capuchin of Rennes (25-6-1900) (1-7-1908). Tuberculous peritonitis.

  15. Mrs. Johanna DUBOS, married Bezenac, of Perigueux, (8-8-1904) (2-7-1908). Cachexia of unknown aetiology. Impetigo.

  16. Pierre de RUDDER, of Bruges (7-4-1875) (25-7-1908). Open fracture of the leg. (Father, agricultural worker).

  17. Sister MARIE DE LA PRESENTATION, of Cambrai (29-8-1892) (15-8-1903). Chronic gastro-enteritis.

  18. Miss Marie SAVOYE (20-9-1901) (15-8-1908). Rheumatic mitral disease with failure. Gastro-enteritis.

  19. Sister EUGENIA, of Evreux (21-8-1883) (30-8-1908). Peritonitis with septic phlebitis.

  20. Anne JOURDAIN (Sister Josephine Marie) (21-8-1890) (10-10-1908). Spinal deformity: pulmonary tuberculosis.

  21. Clementine MALOT, of Beauvais (21-8-1893) (10-10-1908). Pulmonary tuberculosis.

  22. Cecile DOUVILLE DE FRANSSU (Sister Marie de Saint Jean de la Croix), of Versailles (21-9-1905) (8-12-1909). Tuberculous peritonitis.

  23. Marie LUCAS, married Bire, of Lucon (5-8-1908) (30-7-1910). Incurable blindness with optic atrophy.

  24. Aimee ALLOPE, of Angers (28- 5-1909) (5-10-1910). Cold tuberculous abscess with fistulae, tuberculous peritonitis.

  25. Amelie CHAGNON, of Poitiers (21-8-1891) (8-9-1910). Osteo-arthritis, chronic osteitis tuberculosis of the knee involving bone and cartilage.

  26. Antonia MOULIN, of Grenoble (10-8-1907) (6-11-1910). Suppurating wound of the right foot.

  27. Marie BOREL, of Mende (21, 22-8-1907) (4-6-1911). Faecal fistulae of the lumbar region.

  28. Aline BRUYERE (Sister Julienne), of Tulle. (1-9-1889) (24-3-1912). Cavitating pulmonary tuberculosis.

  29. Elisa SEISSON, of Aix. (29-8-1892) (2-7-1912). Cardiac hyper-trophy with dependent oedema.

  30. Marie FABRE, of Cahors (24-9-1911) (8-9-1912). Muco-membranous enteritis.

  31. Virginie HAUDEBOURG, of Saint-Claude (17-5-1908) (25-11-1912). Tuberculous nephritis and cystitis.

  32. Juliette ORION, of Lucon (22-7-1910) (8-10-1913). Pulmonary and meningeal tuberculosis.

From 1913 until 1946 there were no Canonical judgements. 41. Francoise CAPITAINE (Sister Marie-Marghuerite), of Rennes (22-1-1937) (20-5-1946). Acute nephritis with generalized oedema.

  1. Gabrielle CLAUZEL, of Oran (15-8-1943) (18-3-1948). Rheumatic spondylitis.

  2. Rose MARTIN, of Nice (3-7-1947) (5-5-1919). Uterine carcinoma.

  3. Francis PASCAL, of Aix (31-8-1938) (31-5-1949). Blindness and paralysis of the limbs.

  4. Jeanne FRETEL, of Rennes. (8-10-1948) (20-11-1950). Peritoneal tuberculosis.

  5. Marie-Therese CANIN, of Marseilles (9-10-1947) (6-6-1952). Pott's disease with right sacrocoxalgia.

  6. Louise JAMAIN, of Paris (30-3-1937) (8-12-1951). Pulmonary intestinal and peritoneal tuberculosis. (Spinster without profession).

  7. Jeanne GESTAS, of Bordeaux (21-8-1947) (13-7-1952). Intestinal disorders with episodes of obstruction.

  8. Col. Paul PELLEGRIN, of Toulon (3-10-1950) (8-12-1953). Right sided post operative fistula. (Retired officer, father).

  9. Henriette BRESSOLES, of Nice (3-7-1924) (4-6-1957). Pott's disease with paraplegia.

  10. Evasis GANORA, of Casale (Italy) (2-6-1950) (31-5-1955). Hodgkin's disease. Mason, father of five.

  11. Traute FULDA, of Vienna (Austria) (12-8-1950) (18-5-1955). Addison's disease. (Spinster, Ballet dancer).

  12. Alice COUTEAULT, of Poitiers (16-5-1952) (16-7-1956). Multiple sclerosis.

  13. Marie-Louise BIGOT, of Rennes (October 1953 and October 1954) (15-8-1956). Hemiplegia, deafness and total blindness. (Spinster, general maid).

  14. Lydia BROSSE, of Saint-Raphael-Coutances. (September 1930) (1957). Multiple tuberculous fistulae. (Spinster, nurse).

  15. Yvonne FOURNIER, of Limoges (1945) (1959). Sympathetic causalgia of the arm. (Spinster, medical secretary).

  16. Madeleine CARINI, of San Remo (1948) (1960). Dorsal Pott's disease with pulmonary and peritoneal tuberculosis. (Spinster).

  17. Brother Leo SCHWAGER, of the Fribourg Benedictines (1952) (1961). Multiple sclerosis. (Benedictine).

  18. Sister Marie MERCEDES (1951) (1961). Multiple sclerosis.

  19. Ginette NOUVEL (1954) (1963). Budd-Chiari syndrome.

  20. Juliette TAMBURINI, of Marseilles (1960) (1965). Osteo-periostitic fistula of the femur.

  21. Elise ALOI, of Messina (1960) (1965). Osteo-articular tuberculosis with multiple infected fistulae.

SELECTION OF THE CURES EFFECTED BY THE PROCESSION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

(58) Brother Leo SCHWAGER, miracle in 1952; multiple sclerosis.

(45) Jeanne FRETEL, miracle in 1948: at the altar of St. Bernadette on being given Holy Communion with a tiny particle of the Host. Being unconscious. This list is an extract from The Bulletin of the Lourdes Medical Association.

Recent Miracles at Lourdes

Since Brother Sherriff wrote this pamphlet, four more cures at Lourdes have been recognized by the Church as Miraculous.

  1. Mr. MICHELI, Vittorio, of Scurelle, Italy, cured of Sarcoma of the Pelvis on 01-06-1963. Recognized as authentic by Msgr Allessandro Gottardi, Archbishop of Trente, on 26-05-1976.

  2. Mr. PERRIN, Serge, of Lion D'Angers, France, cured of Recurrent right hemiplegia, with ocular lesions, due to bilateral carotid artery disorders on 01-03-1970, Recognized as authentic by Msgr Orchampt, Bishop of Angers, on 17-06-1978.

  3. Miss CIROLLI, Delizia, of Paterno, Italy, cured of Ewing's Sarcoma of the Right knee on 24-12-1976. Recognized as authentic by Msgr Luigo Bommarito, Archbishop of Catania, on 28 06 1989.

  4. Mr. BELY, Jean - Pierre, of Charente, France cured of Progressive Multiple Sclerosis over fifteen years on 09- 10-1987. Recognized as authentic by Msgr Claude Dagans, Bishop of Angouleme, on 09-02-1999.

For those who believe in God no explanation is necessary... For those who do not believe No explanation is possible...

MIRACLE ATTESTED BY NOBEL SCIENTIST

Over thirty lines of biographical material in the Encyclopaedia Britannica is sufficient recognition of the calibre and world renown of Dr. Alexis Carrel (1873-1944), French surgeon biologist and sociologist. He had received his medical degree in 1900 at the University of Lyon: where he began experimental research; he later continued it at the University of Chicago. In 1912 he became a member of the world-famous Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York. In the same year, his work on blood vessels won him the Nobel Prize. Dr. Carrel was also the winner of the Sofie A. Nordhoff-Juny Cancer Prize of 1931. In addition to his ordinary medical degrees, he had honorary degrees conferred on him, in Medicine by the Queen's University, Belfast; in science by the Universities of Columbia, Brown, Princeton, and the State of New York, and an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of California.

An Eye Witness

This world-famous scientist actually witnessed at Lourdes the miraculous cure of a girl, Marie Bailly, who was dying of tubercular peritonitis. The event changed his life. Because he maintained at the University of Lyons that Marie Bailly had been miraculously cured of T.B. at Lourdes, he was told by one of the Professors, "It's useless to insist, Sir, that with views such as these you can ever be received as a member of our faculty. We have no place for you here." "In that case, I must go elsewhere," replied Carrel, so he went to America where he became world-famous.

Dr. Carrel wrote the story of Marie Bailly's miraculous recovery in his book, "Journey to Lourdes."

Scientific Observation

Speaking of Carrel, Dr. A. Marchund wrote, "At Lourdes, at the Hospital, Grotto and Bureau, he was a witness of the cure of this patent, and he noted hour by hour, minute by minute, the changes that occurred under his eyes. It is, as it were, a resurrection he describes scientifically. His observations are made in the most scrupulously scientific fashion; he makes no remarks; deduces no conclusion, but it is very easy to see by the report that the event which he witnessed made a very deep impression."

Conviction Sought

In his book, Alexis Carrel wrote, "If God exists, miracles are possible. But does God exist objectively? Does the Virgin exist outside our own minds? How am I to know?... To convince me that miracles exist, I would have to see an organic disease cured, a leg growing back after amputation, a cancer disappearing, a congenital dislocation suddenly vanishing. If such things could be scientifically proved then it would be permissible to admit the intervention of a supernatural power."

Before the Cure

Regarding Marie Bailly's condition before her miraculous cure Carrel wrote: "There is one patient who is closer to death at this moment than any of the others. I have already been called to her bedside several times. This unfortunate girl is in the last stages of tubercular peritonitis. I know her history. Her whole family died of tuberculosis. She has had tubercular sores, lesions of the lungs, and now for the last few months a peritonitis, diagnosed both by a general practitioner and by the well-known Bordeaux surgeon, Bromilloux. Her condition is very grave; I had to give her morphine on the journey. She may die any moment right under my nose. If such a case as hers were cured it would be indeed a miracle. I would never doubt again... Her condition is steadily deteriorating. If she gets home again alive, that in itself will be a miracle... She is doomed. Death is very near." He put his fingertips on her wrist. 'Her pulse was exceedingly rapid, a hundred and fifty beats a minute, and irregular. Her heart was giving out... "We'll give her an injection of caffeine." Pulling back the covers the nurse removed the cradle and Marie's emaciated body lay exposed again. The abdomen was distended as before, but somehow more pronounced on the left side... She lay on her back, all shrunken beneath the dark brown blanket which made a mound over her distended abdomen.'

Condition Grave

Marie Bailly was so ill they did not dare to immerse her in the Lourdes water but instead poured some of the water over her abdomen, while prayers were said. They then carried Marie to the Grotto "She was motionless" wrote the doctor, "her breathing still rapid and shallow; she seemed to be at the point of death."

Change of Condition

Suddenly the doctor stared. It seemed to him that there had been a change, that the harsh shadows of her face had disappeared, that her skin was somewhat less ashen. Surely, he thought, this was an hallucination. But the hallucination itself was interesting psychologically, and might be worth recording. Hastily he jotted down the time in his notebook. It was twenty minutes before three o'clock... Suddenly the doctor felt himself turning pale. The blanket which covered Marie's distended abdomen was gradually flattening out. "Look at her abdomen" he exclaimed. "It seems to have gone down. It's probably the folds of the blanket that give that impression."... the bells of the basilica had just struck three. A few minutes later there was no longer any sign of distension in Marie's abdomen. The doctor felt that he was going mad. He watched the intake of her breath and the pulsing of her throat with fascination. The heartbeat, though still very rapid, had become regular. This time, for sure something was taking place. "How do you feel?" He asked her. "I feel very well," she answered in a low voice. "I am still very weak, but I feel I am cured." There was no longer any doubt. The patient's condition was improving so much that she was scarcely recognizable... The doctor stood there in silence, his mind a blank. This event, exactly the opposite of what he had expected, must surely be nothing but a dream... but the dying girl was recovering. It was the resurrection of the dead. It was a miracle.

Health Restored

She was cured. In the span of a few hours, a girl with a face already turning blue, a fearfully distended abdomen, and a fatally racing heart had been restored to health, except for her weakness and emaciation... There could be no doubt whatever that the girl was cured. It was of course the most momentous thing he had ever seen. It was both frightening and wonderful to see, life pouring back into an organism almost totally destroyed by years of illness. Here was an indisputable fact - a dying girl had recovered.

The miracle was confirmed by the Medical Bureau. {It has not yet met the stringent conditions of a Catholic Church canonical commission since some of her previous case notes were lost in a fire.}

Dr. Alexis Carrel found himself praying. "Gentle Virgin who brings help to the unfortunate who humbly implore you, keep me with you. I believe in you. You did answer my prayers by a blazing miracle."

Prayer is Indispensable

Writing in his best selling book, "Man the Unknown", Alexis Carrel stated "The most important cases of medical healing have been recorded by the Medical Bureau of Lourdes. Our present conception of the influence of prayer on pathological lesions (disease processes) is based on the observation of patients who have been cured almost instantaneously of various afflictions such as peritoneal tuberculosis, cold abscesses, osteitis, suppurating wounds, lupus, cancer etc. The process of healing changes little from one individual to another. Often an acute pain. Then a sudden sensation of being cured. In a few seconds, a few minutes, at the most a few hours, wounds are cicatrised (a scab forms), pathological symptoms disappear, appetite returns. The only condition indispensable to the occurrence is prayer. But there is no need for the patient himself to pray, or even to have any religious faith. It is sufficient that someone around him be in a state of prayer."

Alexis Carrel's Claim

The non-Catholic Scientist Dr. H. N. V. Temperley, Smith's prize-man, sometime Fellow of King's College, Cambridge and Smithson Research Fellow of the Royal Society, in his book, "A Scientist Who Believes in God," (1961) has two sentences about Dr. Carrel. "For example, some of the miracles of Lourdes seem to have occurred in the presence of highly qualified men like Alexis Carrel. Unfortunately many scientists are afraid or unwilling to examine such evidence." Again "Are we to think of Nobel Laureate, Alexis Carrel's claim to have been present at the cure of a medically hopeless case at Lourdes as a result of defective medical observation?"

WITH A HOLE IN HIS HEAD

By 1916, John Traynor, of Liverpool, U.K. Gallipoli veteran, had been granted a complete war pension by the British Government. He was partially paralysed in both legs and his right arm was completely paralysed. He was subject to epileptic fits, as many as three a day, because of head injuries from shrapnel. In a vain attempt to relieve the epilepsy, a surgeon of Springfields Hospital had opened the front of the skull on the right side; this cutting away the bone of the skull had left an opening about an inch in diameter which revealed the pulsations of the brain. The orifice was covered by a metal plate. He was a physical "write off". Upon his cure at Lourdes in 1923, he informed the British Government that he was no longer an invalid and that he was not entitled to the pension. The Pensions Department consulted his old medical report and found that his claim to be cured was not possible. So John (known as Jack) Traynor was paid his complete war pension until his death on 7th. December, 1943.

John's Own Words

Here is John Traynor's own account of the miracle: July 25th, 1923. "I was wheeled to the baths to wait my turn. There were many to be bathed and all wanted to be finished before the afternoon procession of the Blessed Sacrament which began at four o'clock. My turn came, and when I was in the bath, my paralysed legs became violently agitated. The brancardiers {stretcher-bearers} became alarmed once more thinking that I was in another fit. I struggled to get to my feet, feeling that I could easily do so, and wondered why everybody seemed to be against me. The brancardiers threw my clothes on hurriedly, put me back on the stretcher and rushed me down to the square in front of the Rosary Church to await the procession. The Archbishop of Rheims, carrying the Blessed Sacrament, came to me, made the sign of the cross with the monstrance and moved on to the next. He had just passed by, when I realized that a great change had taken place in me. My right arm which had been dead since 1915, was violently agitated. I burst the bandages and blessed myself - for the first time in years. I had no sudden pain that I can recall, and certainly had no vision.

"I attempted to rise from my stretcher but the brancardiers held me down and a doctor or a nurse gave me a needle. Apparently, they thought that I was hysterical and about to create a scene.

The Day After

"Next morning I jumped out of bed, knelt on the floor, then I dashed for the door and ran out into the open air. Dr. Morley was outside the door. When he saw me he fell back in amazement. Out in the open now, I ran towards the Grotto, about two or three hundred yards away. This stretch of ground was gravelled then, not paved, and I was barefooted, but I ran the whole way to the Grotto without getting the least mark or cut on my bare feet. The brancardiers were running after me but they could not catch up with me. When they reached the Grotto, there I was on my knees, still in my night clothes, praying to Our Lady and thanking her. All I knew was that I should thank her, and the Grotto was the place to do it.

Gave Up Smoking

"My mother had always taught me that when you ask a favour of Our Lady, or wish to show her some special veneration, you should make a sacrifice. I had no money to offer... but kneeling there before the Blessed Mother, I made the only sacrifice I could think of. I resolved to give up cigarettes."

On July 27th., Drs. Azurdia, Finn and Marley, who had examined Traynor before his visit to Lourdes, examined him again. Their signed statement testified that he could walk perfectly; that he had recovered the use and function of his right arm; that he had regained sensation in his legs; and finally, that the opening in the skull had diminished considerably. As far as Traynor knew, the metal plate in his skull just disappeared.

Return to Liverpool

The cure of John Traynor received prominence in the secular press. "The Liverpool Post and Mercury" reported, "Extraordinary scenes were witnessed at Lime Street Station, on Saturday night, when 400 pilgrims, forming part of the great Lancashire contingent, who left for Lourdes eight days previously, arrived back in Liverpool. They were met at the station by thousands of people. Tremendous enthusiasm was excited by the presence of Jack Traynor, a naval reservist, who went away a paralysed cripple in a bathchair, and stepped from the train to all appearances permanently cured, walking out of the station briskly, erect, and without assistance of any kind."

The most striking part of the miraculous recovery of John Traynor is probably the instantaneous cure of the right arm. The nerves had been severed for eight years. Four prominent physicians had operated in an attempt to reunite them. Sir Frederick Treves, Dr. McMurray, Major Ross and Major Montserrat all testified that the nerves were truly severed and that they had failed to reunite them. More than mere suture (stitching) would be necessary before the arm could feel and move again; the shrunken nerves would need to go through a long process of regeneration. A feat that expert surgery had failed four times to do and a process that requires months of gradual restoration, were achieved instantaneously as the Blessed Sacrament was raised over John Traynor.

A large number of conversions to the Church resulted from the miracle. Two non-Catholic girls who had nursed Traynor entered the Church as also did their family in Liverpool and the Anglican minister of their local church.

It comes as a great shock to many people to know that such well authenticated cases as John Traynor, Marie Bailly etc. are not amongst the select few whose cures have been officially proclaimed. To understand this, it is necessary to have a full knowledge of the very demanding and strict process required before the bishop proclaims that any cure is a direct intervention of God through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.

In the Traynor case, his medical attendants refused to give some vital information necessary to convince such a highly critical body as The International Commission.

THIS MAN, A COMMUNIST

An electrician by trade. Louis Olivari, was an active member of the Communist Party, and treasurer of a Communist cell in Nice, France. He became suddenly paralysed in April, 1956 and a local specialist Dr. Jean Duplay, diagnosed a hemiplegia (the paralysis of one side of the body) caused by the rupture of a brain artery. His family doctor, Michael Salvadori, and other doctors gave him very little hope of ever being able to work again. He mentioned this to the chaplain of the hospital, Canon Testoris, who said "Why don't you go to Lourdes? There is a pilgrimage going there in July." Olivari shrugged his shoulders, "That would be the limit - I, who believe in nothing, to go and get mixed up in that comedy."

Encouraged by his wife and friends who advised that it wouldn't do him any harm, he set off for Lourdes after being examined by a doctor of Nice, a member of the Lourdes Medical Commission, Dr. Strobino, who diagnosed Olivari as being incurable.

Arrival at Lourdes

Here is his own description of the pilgrimage. "We arrived at Lourdes on July 2nd., 1956, at 6.30 am. I was hungry and wanted my breakfast at once, but the nuns said that all had to go first to the hospital and then to the Esplanade and Mass. Several thousand pilgrims were on the Esplanade near the Basilica, and all were praying aloud imploring the Virgin to cure them. I wasn't very much at ease with all this, so I sat with two little boys sitting on a bench. They reminded me of my own children. One of the boys was Georges Delprano, aged 10, an asthmatic from birth, while his companion was Georges Torelli, blind from birth.

Refusal

"I firmly decided not to take the bath or do any praying. All that afternoon I refused to bathe in the Lourdes water or to go to Mass. On the following afternoon I was sitting on the Esplanade with Delprano when Miss Zanata, a nurse from Nice, said to me, 'What are you doing here? Why don't you bathe in the Lourdes water?'

Prayed for Another

"With the help of a stretcher-bearer she took me to the baths in spite of my protests. There I was undressed by two stretcher-bearers who said a prayer I had to repeat after them. It was then that I heard the blind boy, Georges Torelli, praying in a loud voice in the next cabin. It completely upset me. One would have a heart of stone not to be affected by it. As the stretcher-bearers helped me down the three steps into the bath, I cried out, 'If you exist, God, please cure this boy who deserves it more than I. Let him see the sun.' "

Instant Cure

It was then that Louis Olivari was cured. After immersion in the water for less than a minute he walked out alone in perfect health. God had rewarded him for his unselfish spontaneous prayer when he prayed for his ten year old blind companion.

"It is not for me to say whether or not I have been miraculously healed. All I know is that I was cured at Lourdes and I firmly believe in God after having rejected Him since childhood."

ENCASED IN PLASTER

Miss Elise Aloi, of Messina, Italy, had a poor medical history. Both of her parents had died at an early age from T.B. At the age of seventeen she developed tuberculous arthritis of the right knee necessitating surgery. In 1951 she was encased in plaster for a T.B. condition of the spinal vertebrae with discharging wounds in elbows and thighs. In 1953 the right hip was affected. Many joints became functionless and the kidneys weakened. Repeated high fever with temperature 104 degrees F and weight of only 6 stone 1 lb. (85 lbs) indicated a rapid deterioration of health.

In 1957, she made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, almost entirely encased in plaster. She was not cured.

In Plaster

Miss Aloi went to Lourdes in June 1958 on the famous "White Train" - a specially equipped train, which annually carries hundreds of invalids from Paris to Lourdes. Several very eminent medical professors have certified that on the journey she was in plaster "from the ribs to the feet"; that her temperature was 103 degrees F: that she had four sinus tracts discharging most offensive pus through drainage tubes. They also certified that she was suffering from extensive T.B. osteo-myelitis which had existed for ten years, and that her lower limbs were paralysed and that death must soon be expected.

Indescribable Joy

On 5th June, 1958, after Elise Aloi was bathed in Lourdes water for the fourth time, a crisis occurred. She felt intense pain and then that she was dying. "Then I felt a sense of indescribable joy in my heart with such certainty that I was cured that an interior voice was urging me to get up and walk."

When she requested the doctor to remove the plaster he refused, although he noted that the sinuses had ceased to discharge and were filled with healing tissue.

Complete Cure

A few weeks after her return to Messina, the professor in charge of her case removed the plaster and declared her to be completely, cured and "in such an altered state of health that one could hardly believe her to be the same person who had set out in such a wretched state." He further stated that the cure was so instantaneous that it is absolutely out of the question to think that any known healing measures could have caused such a complete reversal of so serious a pathological condition in a matter of a few hours. As he says, "such a happening would be contrary to all the laws of biology and medicine."

The Lourdes Medical Bureau examined Miss Aloi several times between 1958 and 1964, when the cure was referred to the International Medical Commission and to the Canonical Commission of Inquiry. All the eminent doctors concerned agreed that she was in perfect health and that there could be no natural or scientific explanation of the cure.

Then there only remained the final proclamation by the Archbishop of Messina, that the cure was a "miraculous fact", for Miss Aloi to join the select band, whose cures are officially recognized as Lourdes miracles.

THE CORPSE WALKING

On the 7th October, 1960, as a 45 year old man walked into the Esplanade Hotel at Lourdes, a maid who saw him shouted, "There's the corpse walking." Just an hour or two previously she had seen him being taken to the Blessing of the sick in a dying state. He was then blind, deaf, paralysed and unconscious. His doctor had described him as "a pin-cushion of injections" and told his wife that he was doomed.

Injuries by a Cow

Edmond Gaultier had been a farmer. Then on 6th January, 1959, a cow had knocked him from the tray of his truck. He got up, apparently uninjured. But he then found he was unable to work for long. He collapsed. Professor Lebeau of the Clinique Malilot diagnosed "dangerous medullary trouble between the third and fourth vertebrae." (damage to the stem of the brain).

Unsuccessful Operation

He informed Edmond's wife, Rejane, that there was little hope for her husband even with surgery. "Die or not, I prefer to be operated on," was the patient's request. The operation was not a success. Edmond became blind, deaf, paralysed and finally unconscious. As a last hope his wife decided on Lourdes.

Driven to Lourdes

She herself drove him there. At Poitiers, he nearly died. At Angouleme and Bordeaux fresh crises occurred, but eventually Lourdes was reached and suitable accommodation arranged. A doctor was summoned. Dr. Richards from Geu-du-Loir stated that Edmond Gaultier's condition was extremely poor and that his pulse was very weak. He offered his services should assistance be needed during the night.

Dr. Richards had come to Lourdes to attend to a patient of his, Mademoiselle Coupin, who was an acquaintance of Edmond Gaultier. Her own case was desperate, but realizing that Gaultier had more to give to the world than she had, because she was over seventy, she offered her life for him, "Holy Virgin Mary", she prayed, "I offer you my life for Gaultier's." Her prayer was to be answered.

Eyes and Lips Move

On 7th October, the Feast of the Holy Rosary, Gaultier was present at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the underground Basilica of St. Pius X. He was unconscious at the time. A friend standing near noticed that his eyes moved. A few minutes later at the Grotto, Mademoiselle Coupin cried out, "Rejane, your husband is moving his eyes and his lips." Gaultier sat up with assistance. "I was about to do that myself," he said, "what's the matter with me? Am I in a church?"

He was cured. The Mass-misser who thought that religion was suitable for women only was cured at Lourdes though he was unaware of his being there, because of the faith of his friend who offered her life for him.

On 22nd May, 1962, the Bishop (of Tarbes and Lourdes) told Madame Gaultier officially that the International Medical Committee of Lourdes had recognized "as medically and scientifically inexplicable," the cure of her husband Edmond Gaultier, aged 45.

DYING ON A STRETCHER

In the Melbourne "Age" of 11th March, 1901, is the report of the miraculous cure of Gabriel Gargam. It reads: "He reached Lourdes in a dying state and was carried on a stretcher to the shrine. The spectators publicly (and some violently) protested against his admission because his death seemed imminent and certain; but the authorities received him. The alleged miracle almost instantly ensued. During the usual blessing of the sick before the shrine, Gargam arose from his stretcher, a whole man. The gangrene of his feet had suddenly disappeared and he had become well and comparatively strong. He was examined on the following morning by sixty doctors and medical professors, many of whom were avowed sceptics and they unanimously pronounced him cured."

Involved in a Train Smash

This remarkable event had its beginning on 17th December, 1899, when Gabriel Gargam, a travelling mail clerk of the Orleans Railway Company, was involved in a train smash. He was thrown fifty-five feet into the air and then lay unconscious in the snow all night. His spine had been injured beyond any hope of recovery. The least movement produced vomiting. He was fed through a tube and this caused great and continuous pain. Several months later it was noticed that both his feet were covered with gangrenous sores.

Pronounced a Human Wreck

Since it was believed by all medical authorities that Gargam would not live long, a very high compensating pension was awarded to him by the Bordeaux court which pronounced him "a human wreck, who would henceforth need at least two persons to care for him, day and night.

Lourdes "Silly Superstition"

Though brought up a Catholic, Gargam was an unbeliever. His devout mother had suggested a pilgrimage to Lourdes but he would have nothing of "that silly superstition". Eventually, however, he decided on Lourdes, not for religious motives but to avoid another operation. On his journey to Lourdes he turned the other way when his mother suggested he look at a crucifix.

He Spoke Again

On the morning of August 20th. he experienced a remarkable spiritual conversion. At two o'clock on the same day he was carried to the pool to be bathed in the water. He was not cured. At four o'clock he was taken with the other patients to the Blessing of the Sick in Rosary Square. As he lay there he took a turn for the worse and became unconscious. He became cold. It was thought that he was dying, He regained consciousness. The Blessed Sacrament was in front of him. He sat up "Help me," he said. "Hear, Blessed Virgin," sobbed his mother, "he has not spoken for twenty months." A number of people helped him to his feet. He took a few tottering steps after the Blessed Sacrament. He was cured, physically and spiritually.

August 20th 1951 was the fiftieth anniversary of his cure and Gabriel Gargam still hale and hearty returned to Lourdes to make a special visit to thank the great Mother of God for his miraculous cure. He died the following year at the ripe old age of 83.

NOT CURED

Rev. Brother P. G. O'Neill C.F.C., M.B.E., Principal of St. Paul's School for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, Melbourne, was in the full vigour of manhood when he became blind in June, 1926. He travelled to Lourdes in the following year at the request of friends who paid his expenses and those of his guide. Though he had the prayers of the world-wide Congregation of Christian Brothers to support him and the prayers of their pupils, Br. O'Neill was not cured. God had other plans for him - the apostolate of the Blind in Australia.

Temporary Restoration

Writes Brother O'Neill on 5th May, 1967, "While at Lourdes I received some temporary restoration of vision, so much so that some people thought I was cured. They could see that I was now able to sit on a chair without first having to feel for it with my hands. Many asked me if I were cured. but I always replied, "I can see a bit, but Our Lady will have to do a better job if she means to cure me."

Quite Resigned

"I was given enough vision to see the Grotto, the Statue, the outline of the Gave River, the ramps and the churches. This temporary gift of vision gradually failed until I was once again totally blind. I knew then that God wished otherwise. Blessed be His holy will. I was quite resigned to my loss of sight, looking on it as the workings of Divine Providence in my regard."

Further Comment

The following account of his experiences in Lourdes were expressly written for this pamphlet by Br. O'Neill, forty years after he had been there. He concluded with the comment, "I would like to have been able to do something much better for Our Lady of Lourdes."

Vestibule of Heaven

"Lourdes, I found to be as the vestibule of heaven, separated therefrom by an almost transparent curtain. It is a marvellous experience to touch the rock on which Our Lady stood and to witness the fervour and absolute faith of the people from all parts of Europe. During my stay, there was an estimated number of 100,000 visitors including a pilgrimage from Germany, one from France, and two from England. Of these, I was quite aware and met some of them. Altogether I spent fifteen days there and had fifteen baths in the icy cold water that comes out of the rocks.

The Miracles

"One rubs shoulders with the miraculous in Lourdes. One day I was going from the grotto to the house where I boarded, "Bethany", the nearest house to the Grotto, when a man coming towards me said, "Hello, Brother, I am cured." I had never met him before but replied, "What was wrong with you?" He took my hand and said, "Feel there." He put my hand on his thigh, just above the knee and it was no thicker than my wrist. He had been a cripple for twenty-two years. He was from Liverpool.

"In the same pilgrimage was Mary Healy, who had a short leg supported by a stout sole two or three inches thick, but she had great faith and brought with her a pair of new shoes she said she would wear when she was cured. And she was cured at Lourdes.

The Atmosphere of Lourdes

"The whole atmosphere of Lourdes is charged with faith, hope and charity in action. The spirit of the place seemed to me to be like that which must have prevailed among the first Christians after Pentecost. Even those who were not cured of their particular ailments were invariably cheered and comforted and content to carry their cross in answer to the appeal made by Our Lady through Bernadette when she called out to the assembled multitude:

"Penance, penance, penance". "

A HOPELESS CASE

Charles McDonald, of Dublin, in his book, "Miracle at Lourdes" gives complete details of his illness, his journey to the Shrine and his recovery there. "The medical certificate completed by my doctor for the pilgrimage authorities," he wrote, "stated that I was suffering from tuberculosis affecting the lungs, spine, kidneys and left shoulder. I had been an invalid for over four years, had suffered from tuberculosis for twelve years, and for thirteen months before going to Lourdes I had been confined to bed. More than one doctor had pronounced my case to be beyond medical aid: my death was a matter of time. In a word the description of my case was 'hopeless'."

Clear Spring Water

On Sunday, 6th. September, 1936 he received Holy Communion in Rosary Square but was unable to join in the Rosary later in the day, for to him "the Rosary was a sheer impossibility." "Then came the time for the baths," he wrote. "I found myself being wheeled to the healing waters of the spring. These waters, when analysed, have never revealed any curative properties, yet in various ways they confound science. Diseases of all kinds running wounds and suppurating sores, are all immersed, yet no case of contagion has ever been known. My own experience was that, in drinking the actual water from the baths, in which numbers of sick and diseased had already been bathed, it tasted as fresh and pure as clear spring water."

Icy Cold Water

"I was lifted from my stretcher and placed on one made of webbing, specially constructed for use at the baths. I was hoisted above the baths, and after the prayers and invocations had been said, was lowered into the water. The water was icy cold and quite took my breath away; this was a terrible experience and I thought it would kill me. The shock left me ill all that day, and I was trying to pluck up sufficient courage to refuse to go into the baths the following morning.

Five Seconds Later

"The next day we were once again taken to the grotto, and in due course to the baths. I still lacked the courage to refuse this bath, and well for me that I lacked it. It was now an established medical fact, accepted by the Medical Bureau, that I went into the bath suffering from advanced tuberculosis of the left shoulder, spine, lungs and kidneys, and that I left it five seconds later as free from tuberculosis as if I had never been affected by it.

The First Reaction

"My first reaction was that I was pleasantly surprised to find that the shock of the cold water was not so bad as I had anticipated. When replaced on my stretcher, I felt a complete absence of pain; I could relax without discomfort. I felt buoyant. I wanted to get up. I felt I could walk and run... My first thoughts, naturally enough, were that I was completely cured, but on second thoughts I considered this a presumptuous attitude to adopt, and that the sense of well-being must be due to the cold water numbing the nervous system. I waited for the pains to return with renewed intensity.

"I felt, furthermore, that if Our Lady had done this for me, I could never face life under such a terrific obligation to her, but was then struck by the thought that if such an obligation existed she would help me to fulfil it. The most alarming thought of all was to be aware that Our Lady was actually conscious of my individual presence on earth, and that a conversation about me had taken place in heaven between the great almighty God himself and our heavenly Queen. If my body had really been cured, this must assuredly have taken place; 'terrifying' is a weak word to describe how this seemed to me. I almost wished that my pains would return and that there had been no cure."

On 10th September when McDonald left Lourdes, it was not a complete recovery, for his wounds were still draining pus. Because of this he was not taken to the Medical Bureau for examination. It was on the return trip before the train arrived in Paris, that his wounds healed.

Examined by 31 Doctors

On 16th September, 1937, McDonald returned to Lourdes where an American physician, Dr. Smiley Blanton, Rockefeller Institute, New York, directed the examination, assisted by thirty one other doctors. In their concluding remarks they stated "No medical explanation in the present state of science can be given."

"Not Halted but Reversed"

On his return to America, Dr. Blanton read a paper to a joint session of the American Psychoanalytical and Psychiatric Association in which he stated, "It is my feeling that in this case and in similar cases at Lourdes there is a quickening of the healing process, due to the emotion aroused by the transference to an all-powerful, all loving Virgin Mother... I feel that we are justified by what we saw at Lourdes in stating our tentative belief that processes leading in the direction of death were not only halted but reversed... I believe that something does occur which is, as Dr. Vallet has remarked, on the margin of the laws of nature."

Dr. Hannigan who was in charge of the Irish pilgrimage of which McDonald was a member wrote of him on August 29th., 1937: "I am very pleased to be able to testify to this cure, especially as when I first saw him I regarded his case as hopeless."

Charles McDonald had been miraculously cured at Lourdes. Fifteen X-rays at Meath Hospital bear silent testimony to his condition before the cure of 1936. X-rays taken on March 4th, 1954, bear witness to the miracle.

BLIND SINCE THE AGE OF TWO

Gerard Baillie, a boy of eight, lived at the Institute for Blind Children at Arras in the north of France. He had been blind for six years: the optic nerves in both eyes were completely dead.

Gerard had been admitted to the blind institution because of the testimony of Dr. Biziaunt, an oculist of Dunkirk, who summed up his condition with "Double optic atrophy. Blindness - incurable," underlining the last word. On 26th. January, 1945, Dr. Viton examined the boy and issued his certificate stating, "I, the undersigned, certify that I have today examined Gerard Baillie aged seven and a half years. He is afflicted with Bilateral chorio-retinitis - double optic atrophy: blindness, incurable."

Completely Helpless

For five years Gerard had crept about among the other sightless children at the Arras Institute, feeling his way, fumbling, hesitating, often falling. His teacher, Sister Agnes, wrote of him: "Gerard is absolutely incapable of going about alone. Indoors he bumps into obstacles. He is not capable of seeing an object at any distance. He can not take a paper bag of sweets offered to him because he cannot see it."

Delayed Cure

Gerard's mother prayed constantly that he might be restored to a normal life. In September, 1947, she brought him to Lourdes, as a member of their diocesan pilgrimage. Nothing happened at the first bath or at the procession. But the day after their arrival, while they were walking down the path of the Way of the Cross, all at once the child began to pick up pieces of wood from the ground and to offer them to his mother. Looking up at her face, he cried happily, "Oh, mother, how beautiful you are." The next day after his second bath, he remarked about the curtains which the day previously he had not seen.

Examined by Seven Doctors

Seven doctors at the Medical Bureau examined him that day and testified to his partial vision. On the following day the same doctors testified that his vision had improved and that "he recognized different colours and several objects near at hand".

Dr. Camps of Tarbes later examined Gerard and declared "This child has a bilateral chorio-retinitis with double atrophy. He cannot or should not see." Yet he could see.

Dr. Smith, an oculist of Glasgow, examined Gerard on July 14th, 1948. He repeated the verdict of Dr. Camps, "This child has chorio-retinitis with double optic atrophy. He ought not to see."

Physical Condition Unaltered

In spite of the physical condition remaining unaltered, Gerard could now see because of the miracle at Lourdes.

Gerard left the Arras Institute for the Blind and then attended an ordinary school where he has made good progress.

The Medical Commission in 1950 pronounced his cure "inexplicable under natural law," and voted unanimously to recommend its being referred to a Canonical Commission. The latter refused to consider it a miracle because "it was not instantaneous and because vision was still not perfect", and yet the boy who should not see, could see.

DYING FROM CANCER

In June, 1956, John Borse Day was dying in a London hospital. He had cancer of the lung and of the digestive tract. Although he was nominally a Catholic, John Day had long given up the practice of his faith. Yet the idea came to him that he should go to Lourdes. Since he had only a week or two (some nurses thought it was only a day or two) to live the doctors opposed the idea, claiming that he would die on the way.

Finance for Trip

A woman patient in the hospital heard of Mr. Day's desire to go to Lourdes, and offered to finance his trip since he himself could not afford it. The patient now insisted more strongly than ever, so finally the doctors consented and one of them decided to accompany him on the journey to Lourdes.

On the way John was given morphine every two hours to ease his great pain. On 25th June he reached the shrine, and on the following morning two male nurses took him to the baths where he was immersed in the icy cold water. Prayers were said begging the intercession of the Mother of God, and John Day was cured. "Suddenly I felt fine. I had no more pain. I didn't even feel tired."

Pushed Chair Himself

Instead of being returned to his wheel chair, John Day dressed himself and pushed the empty chair to the Medical Bureau. There he was examined by the Doctors and advised to return in a year's time.

On his return to England, the customs official who examined his passport looked at him in amazement. "Aren't you the man who was carried through here on a stretcher, a few days ago?" he asked. "We were told you would be brought back a corpse." The doctors who had cared for John Day were unable to explain his return alive, let alone his complete recovery.

Return to Lourdes

Twelve months later he returned to Lourdes and was examined once more by the doctors of the Medical Bureau. There was no sign of the cancer. The cure was complete and permanent. The man "with a few days to live" from an incurable cancer was now strong and healthy..."Suddenly I felt fine." Such is the power of prayer. John Day is profoundly grateful to God and to His Immaculate Mother.

THE TESTIMONY OF AN UNBELIEVER

"I didn't even know I was at Lourdes," said Jeanne Fretel, "I was so far gone, I didn't know anything - till suddenly It Happened." Jeanne Fretel had never been well in her life. In 1939, her illness became acute. Diagnosis: tuberculous peritonitis with additional symptoms of meningitis. Her case history - one of the most complete of all Lourdes cures - contains eighteen pages of fever charts, eighty pages of detailed hospital reports, laboratory analyses, X-ray records, etc. She had had thirteen operations. 1946 was spent in various sanatoriums. On 3rd December she returned to the Hotel Dieu, as she said, "to die there." She had not left her bed for a year and was unable to get up. Her temperature was usually around 103-104 degrees F. To calm her sufferings she was given frequent morphine injections. She was granted a pension as "incurable."

Medical Report

"From August 1948 to October 1948," records Dr. Pelle of the Hotel Dieu Hospital, "the patient became more and more exhausted. She could take only small quantities of liquid. Signs of meningitis appeared. The abdomen was very swollen and painful. Pus flowed abundantly, accompanied by black blood. All hope seemed lost... It was in full development of tuberculous peritonitis with meningeal symptoms that she departed for Lourdes on 4th October 1948. She was completely unconscious when put aboard the train at Rennes."

Received Communion

On Friday, 8th October, she was carried dying to the Mass for the sick, at the altar of St. Bernadette. The priest hesitated to give her communion, because of her constant vomiting and extreme weakness. Her stretcher bearer insisted, and so he gave her a small fraction of the Sacred Host.

"It was then," said Jeanne Fretel later, "that suddenly I felt well and I became aware that I was at Lourdes. They asked me how I felt. I replied that I was very well. My abdomen was still hard and swollen but I was not suffering at all. They gave me a cup of coffee which I drank gratefully and which I kept down."

Extraordinary Hunger

"Was I cured or was I coming out of a dream? I perceived that my abdomen had become normal. Then I was seized with an extraordinary hunger."... Food was brought with the authority of Dr. Gurgan of St. Meen-le-grand. She ate with good appetite, veal with potatoes and three pieces of bread. "When I had eaten it all, I still was hungry and asked for more. They brought me as much and still I wanted more."

Walked Unaided

The next day, Saturday, October 9th she was taken on a stretcher to the Medical Bureau where she was examined by five doctors - one of them, Dr. Guyon of Nantes who said, "Well, if you are cured, as you say, get up! Try to walk and we shall see."

"They wanted to help me to get up," Jeanne's story continues, "but I refused all help and began to walk. The doctor, seeing how thin I was - I hardly had any legs at all - came towards me, fearing that I might fall; but I held firm. The doctor went quickly to the scales, wanting to weigh me. Even though he went fast, I followed him just as quickly, and was weighed: 44 kg. (96 Pounds). I was told to return next year."

Her own physician, Dr. Pelle, who had treated her for so long, saw her on the day of her homecoming and at regular intervals thereafter. He declared in his certificate to the Medical Bureau: "The patient is completely cured, having no longer any of the pathological symptoms which she presented."

On October 23rd, 1948, Dr. Borbot reported of an X-ray taken at the Hospital Centre at Rennes: "No organic lesions discoverable by X-ray study of the intestinal tract".

Return for Examination

On October 5th, 1948, Jeanne Fretel returned to Lourdes to be examined by the doctors of the Medical Bureau. Twenty-two doctors were on hand including among them several who had examined her the year before. The doctors declared their conviction that it was a genuine cure, that "the disease had been abruptly arrested in its course... that all morbid symptoms have disappeared and that no medical explanation of this cure can be given. It is outside natural law". Then followed the signatures of all the physicians.

An Inexplicable Cure

The Medical Commission of Paris, after studying these documents reported on March 12th, 1950: "The impressive history of this illness, the importance of the dossier which includes thirty temperature charts, (eighteen before the cure, twelve after) the calibre of the doctors, who examined the patient, the meticulous details of the daily records during the period April to October, 1948, the period just before the cure, compels our long and earnest attention, and leads us to conclude that this is an inexplicable cure."

A Canonical Commission confirmed these findings, and on November 20th, 1950, Cardinal Rogues, Archbishop of Rennes, proclaimed the case of Jeanne Fretel's as a Miraculous Cure. An interesting sidelight of this case reveals that the physician in charge, Dr. Pelle, was an agnostic and unbeliever - "hostile" to religion, the Medical Bureau report says. However, it was his precise records and certificates, before and after the cure, that established it as a miraculous case in the eyes of the doctors and of the clergy.

CONCLUSION

At Lourdes, today, men find Christ, as they did in Palestine "with Mary His Mother".

Once again Mary cries out praising God, but now at Lourdes.

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour. For He regards the humility of His handmaid For behold, all generations will still call me blessed For he who is mighty still does great things through me; Holy is His name. His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation; Here, he scatters the proud in the conceit of their hearts; Here, he puts down the mighty from their thrones and exalts those or low degree. Here, he fills the hungry with good things and the rich he sends away empty."