Pope Leo XIV visited Lourdes on Saturday evening from Paris to pray at the site where Bernadette Soubirous reported visions of the Virgin Mary and lead an open-air Mass attended by hundreds of thousands Sunday. The pope met with people who experienced unexplained healings, such as Sister Bernadette Moriau and Antonietta Raco, whose cases were recognized by the Church. Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, recently retired from reviewing potential miracle cures at Lourdes, highlighted both spiritual and physical healing during the pope's visit aimed at purification and addressing church scandals.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-27,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Pope Leo has urged the Catholic Church to confront its past failings and heal "deep wounds" during his visit to France. Addressing a large crowd at Lourdes, Pope Leo called on church leaders to acknowledge the painful history of child sexual abuse by clergy members, which affected more than 330,000 children over seven decades in France. During private meetings with abuse survivors and French bishops, he reaffirmed his commitment to preventing such abuses from happening again. Pope Leo also stressed the importance of continued vigilance against any form of abuse within the Church. Despite declining numbers of regular worshippers in France, there are signs of renewed interest in religious tradition among adults. The Pope's visit includes meetings with political leaders and large gatherings of followers across multiple cities. He emphasized the need for Catholics to share their faith openly and engage young people as key members of the church community.
Written for “Pope Leo France Visit” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 12 other(s) covering the same event.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lourdes from Paris on Saturday evening for his first-ever visit to the renowned place of miracle cures.
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XIV → arrive → cures
Back in 1858, a 14-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous reported having 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at the Lourdes Massabielle Grotto.
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girl → name → Grotto
This ultimately led to her being named a saint.
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her → lead → ?
The pope prayed at the Grotto Saturday night before leading an open-air Mass on the Prairie on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands expected to be in attendance.
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thousands → pray → attendance
He also planned to meet with bishops, the sick and the support staff.
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He → plan → bishops
I spoke with Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, who recently retired as president of the Lourdes Office of Medical Observation after 17 years of reviewing treatments and possible miracle cures.
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who → speak → treatments
He discussed his upcoming meeting with the pope, who he said was visiting Lourdes in the name of purification and healing, including healing from the Church's recent sexual abuse scandals.
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he → discuss → scandals
"I think I love him," he told me.
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he → think → me
"I think he's doing very well (as pope).
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he → think → pope
He's talking of the challenges that we have.
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we → talk → that
You must have heard about his first encyclical letter on artificial intelligence ... all the good that this technology can bring to today's world.
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technology → hear → world
I love him.
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I → love → him
We all love him!"
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We → love → him
Dr. de Franciscis said the pope would meet with people whose miracle healings were investigated and later recognized by the Church.
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healings → say → Church
Those include Sister Bernadette Moriau, who was cured of a spinal condition and was able to walk again, and Antonietta Raco, who in 2009 was cured of the severe neurodegenerative disease primary lateral sclerosis.
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who → include → disease
"He's also going to meet with a young woman (Delizia Cirolli) who was cured when she was only 7 years old of a Ewing's Sarcoma, a right knee cancer, back in the late '70s.
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she → go → 70s
"
But for Lourdes, as well as for the pope, spiritual and physical healing lead to both minor and major miracles, according to de Franciscis.
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healing → lead → Franciscis
He also spoke with me for my new book, "The Angels Among Us," about the hospitaliers, the aptly named "angels of Lourdes," who care for the sick there.
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who → speak → sick
In the book, de Franciscis emphasizes the vital role of the hospitaliers, as well as the fact that much of the healing associated with visits to Lourdes and the Grotto is spiritual and often goes unrecognized — remaining below the radar.
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much → emphasize → radar
"These so-called spiritual cures are so, so much more numerous than the physical ones that we know."
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we → call → that
"I think that statistically, these so-called spiritual cures are so, so much more numerous than the physical ones that we know," he said to me from Lourdes, as he eagerly anticipated the pope’s visit.
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he → think → visit
"People come here to serve, they think they come here to help others — and instead they come out of this experience being so much better," de Franciscis went on.
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Franciscis → come → experience
"And they go back to their work and their lives and their families, and they're so relieved, I would say, they've really changed.
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they → go → work
So I think this aspect is very, very interesting."
In Lourdes this weekend, in the name of repentance and accountability, the pope also planned to sit down with seven victims of sexual assault committed by clergy of the Church.
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pope → think → Church
The Aporia
