Pope Leo XIV prayed for France, peace and those who suffer as he visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes on Saturday, September 26, during his apostolic journey to France.
Arriving in the southwestern French pilgrimage city from Paris, the Pope went directly to the Grotto of Massabielle, where St. Bernadette Soubirous experienced apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1858. Thousands of pilgrims gathered around the shrine to welcome him.
According to Vatican News, the Pope knelt in prayer at the grotto, touched its walls, drank from the spring and lit a candle before entrusting France and its people to the Virgin Mary.
In his prayer, Pope Leo asked Mary to obtain for France “the gift of fraternal harmony” and prayed that people might live in peace, free from violence and hatred.
He also prayed for the poor and vulnerable and asked Mary to guide the country’s leaders toward service of the common good.
“Obtain for France wise and generous leaders, ready to make sacrifices, capable of responding to challenges, and eager to serve the common good,” the Pope prayed, according to Vatican News.
Pope Leo also asked that French leaders promote fundamental human rights and peace among nations, “rejecting the mentality of war once and for all.”
He entrusted to Mary the prayers of pilgrims who come to Lourdes from around the world, especially “the sick and suffering” and those who accompany them in search of strength and healing.
The prayer concluded with the presentation of a golden rose to the Virgin Mary, a traditional papal gesture of devotion at Marian shrines. Pope Leo then prayed the Our Father and blessed the pilgrims gathered at the grotto.
The visit marked the Lourdes leg of Pope Leo XIV’s September 25–28 apostolic journey to France, his fifth international apostolic journey. He is scheduled to celebrate Mass at the shrine and lead the Rosary and candlelight procession on Sunday, September 27.
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