In the fourth year after the definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, the Virgin herself deigned to appear on several occasions to a certain very poor but pious and innocent girl named Bernadette, in a rock cavern overlooking the grotto of Massabielle, on the banks of the River Gave, near the town of Lourdes in the diocese of Tarbes in France. The Immaculate Virgin shewed herself as a young and gracious figure, robed in white, with a white veil and a blue girdle, and golden roses on her bare feet. At the first apparition on February 11, 1858, she taught the child to make the sign of the Cross correctly and devoutly, and, taking a chaplet from her own arm, encouraged her by example to say the holy Rosary; this was also repeated in the subsequent apparitions. On the second day the girl, who feared some deceit of the devil, in all simplicity cast holy water at the Virgin, who smiled more graciously than before. At the third apparition, the girl was invited to repeat her visits to the grotto for fifteen days. During this time the Virgin conversed with her, exhorted her to pray for sinners, to kiss the ground and do penance; and finally commanded her to tell the priests, that a chapel was to be built in that place, and that pilgrims should come to it solemnly in prayer. She was also told to drink and wash in the water from a spring, until then invisible, but which soon gushed out of the ground. On the feast of the Annunciation the girl earnestly begged the Virgin, who had so often visited her, to reveal her name, and, joining her hands and raising her eyes to heaven, she said: I am the Immaculate Conception.
Widespread reports of favours which the faithful were said to have received at the sacred grotto, in time increased the crowds of people, which the devotion of the place was calling to the grotto. Therefore the Bishop of Tarbes, who had been impressed by the report of the miracles and the sincerity of the girl, four years after these events, after a judicial inquiry, recognized the supernatural character of the apparition, and permitted the worship of the Immaculate Virgin to be held in the grotto. A chapel was soon built; and since then, almost innumerable crowds of the faithful, because of vows and prayers, have come here every year from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and all parts of Europe and the most remote parts of America, and the name of the Immaculate of Lourdes hath become famous in all countries. Water from the fountain, carried to all parts of the globe, hath restored health to the sick. And the Catholic world, mindful of so many benefits, hath built beautiful churches there. Countless banners, proofs of favours received, sent there by cities and nations, decorate the temple of the Virgin with a marvellous beauty. The Immaculate Virgin is constantly venerated, as if in her own palace. The days are filled with prayers, sacred singing, and other solemn ceremonies; and the nights are sanctified by the pious supplications of almost countless people who walk in procession carrying lighted candles and torches, and singing the praises of the blessed Virgin.
It is evident to all that pilgrimages of this kind have revived faith in a world grown indifferent, have given inspiration to the profession of the Christian faith, and have wonderfully increased devotion to the Immaculate Virgin. The Christian people have priests as leaders in this wonderful profession of faith, who bring their flocks there. Even bishops frequently visit the holy spot, lead pilgrimages, and take part in the more solemn feasts. And it is not uncommon for the eminent Cardinals of the Roman Church themselves to be seen as humble pilgrims. The Roman Pontiffs themselves also have, out of their piety towards the Immaculate of Lourdes, showered many noble gifts upon the sacred temple. Pius IX enriched it with sacred indulgences, gave it the privilege of an Archconfraternity and the title of a minor basilica; and delegated his apostolic legate in France to crown, with solemn rites, the statue of the Mother of God venerated in that place. Leo XIII also granted very many favours, jubilee indulgences on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apparition, and promoted pilgrimages by his authority and suggestion, and ordained that the solemn dedication of the church, under the title of the Rosary, should be done in his name. Moreover he crowned all these favours by granting, at the request of many bishops, the celebration of a solemn feast under the title of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate, with a proper Office and Mass. Finally Pius X, out of devotion to the Mother of God, granted the petition of many bishops that this feast should be extended to the Universal Church.
Widespread reports of favours which the faithful were said to have received at the sacred grotto, in time increased the crowds of people, which the devotion of the place was calling to the grotto. Therefore the Bishop of Tarbes, who had been impressed by the report of the miracles and the sincerity of the girl, four years after these events, after a judicial inquiry, recognized the supernatural character of the apparition, and permitted the worship of the Immaculate Virgin to be held in the grotto. A chapel was soon built; and since then, almost innumerable crowds of the faithful, because of vows and prayers, have come here every year from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and all parts of Europe and the most remote parts of America, and the name of the Immaculate of Lourdes hath become famous in all countries. Water from the fountain, carried to all parts of the globe, hath restored health to the sick. And the Catholic world, mindful of so many benefits, hath built beautiful churches there. Countless banners, proofs of favours received, sent there by cities and nations, decorate the temple of the Virgin with a marvellous beauty. The Immaculate Virgin is constantly venerated, as if in her own palace. The days are filled with prayers, sacred singing, and other solemn ceremonies; and the nights are sanctified by the pious supplications of almost countless people who walk in procession carrying lighted candles and torches, and singing the praises of the blessed Virgin.
It is evident to all that pilgrimages of this kind have revived faith in a world grown indifferent, have given inspiration to the profession of the Christian faith, and have wonderfully increased devotion to the Immaculate Virgin. The Christian people have priests as leaders in this wonderful profession of faith, who bring their flocks there. Even bishops frequently visit the holy spot, lead pilgrimages, and take part in the more solemn feasts. And it is not uncommon for the eminent Cardinals of the Roman Church themselves to be seen as humble pilgrims. The Roman Pontiffs themselves also have, out of their piety towards the Immaculate of Lourdes, showered many noble gifts upon the sacred temple. Pius IX enriched it with sacred indulgences, gave it the privilege of an Archconfraternity and the title of a minor basilica; and delegated his apostolic legate in France to crown, with solemn rites, the statue of the Mother of God venerated in that place. Leo XIII also granted very many favours, jubilee indulgences on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apparition, and promoted pilgrimages by his authority and suggestion, and ordained that the solemn dedication of the church, under the title of the Rosary, should be done in his name. Moreover he crowned all these favours by granting, at the request of many bishops, the celebration of a solemn feast under the title of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate, with a proper Office and Mass. Finally Pius X, out of devotion to the Mother of God, granted the petition of many bishops that this feast should be extended to the Universal Church.
In 1958 the Principality of Monaco issued this one Franc stamp to commemorate the centenary of the apparitions at Lourdes
