Why Pope Leo XIV Is Going to Lourdes

Why Pope Leo XIV Is Going to Lourdes During His Historic France Visit

Pope Leo XIV is going to Lourdes as part of a 4-day apostolic journey through France, running from the 25th-28th of September, 2026. Interestingly, the Church traditionally honours Our Lady of Lourdes each year on February 11, marking the anniversary of her first apparition. Consequently, this papal visit carries added significance, since it reconnects the modern papacy with that long-standing Marian devotion. This trip also marks the first official papal visit to France in 18 years, since Pope Benedict XVI travelled there in 2008. Therefore, French Catholics have eagerly anticipated this moment for many months already.

The full itinerary includes stops in Paris, Saint-Denis, Lourdes and Metz, before the Pope returns to Rome. However, the Lourdes portion of the journey holds particular emotional weight for millions of pilgrims worldwide. Pope Leo will arrive in Lourdes on Friday, the 26th of September, landing at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees International Airport in the early evening. Shortly afterwards, he will head directly toward the Grotto of Massabielle, the exact spot where Saint Bernadette Soubirous saw the Virgin Mary in 1858. There, he will spend quiet time in personal prayer, honouring the very origins of this beloved shrine.

Saturday, September 27, will become the Pope’s first full day within Lourdes itself. His schedule begins with a meeting alongside bishops from the French Episcopal Conference, held within the Saint Bernadette auditorium. Afterwards, he will celebrate an open-air Mass upon the Prairie, the expansive meadow surrounding the sanctuary. Notably, this Mass remains completely free and open to the public, although organisers expect enormous crowds throughout the day. Consequently, pilgrims planning to attend should arrive several hours early to navigate security checkpoints comfortably. Large screens and sound systems will help ensure everyone present can follow the celebration clearly.

Beyond the public Mass, Pope Leo has planned several deeply personal encounters during his time in Lourdes. He will visit the Accueil Notre Dame, a specialised healthcare facility where sick pilgrims stay throughout their own pilgrimages. Afterwards, he will hold a private meeting with contemplative Carmelite sisters living within Lourdes’s own monastery. Perhaps most significantly, reports indicate he will also meet privately with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse. This meeting reflects the wider Church’s ongoing commitment toward acknowledging past failures and supporting survivors compassionately. Finally, his evening will conclude with the sanctuary’s traditional torchlight Rosary procession, a moving nightly devotion beloved by pilgrims.

Pope Leo’s connection toward Lourdes actually predates his papacy by several decades. According to sanctuary officials, he previously visited the shrine twice before his election, first as a young layman and later as a young priest. Consequently, this September visit carries genuine personal meaning beyond mere ceremonial obligation. Furthermore, his journey continues a long tradition linking successive popes with this particular Marian shrine. Pope Pius IX, who proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, took special interest in Lourdes from its earliest days. Later, Pope Leo XIII actively encouraged Marian pilgrimage and devotion throughout his own pontificate.

More recent predecessors also travelled personally to Lourdes during their own papacies. Pope John Paul II visited twice, first in 1983 and again in 2004, shortly before his health declined severely. Pope Benedict XVI followed in 2008, specifically marking the shrine’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Now, in 2026, Pope Leo XIV extends this same tradition, becoming part of Lourdes’s ongoing spiritual history. According to France’s Bishops’ Conference, the entire four-day journey could draw more than one million visitors nationwide. Consequently, authorities across France have prepared extensively for what promises to become an extraordinary logistical undertaking.

For those unfamiliar with its origins, Lourdes became famous after Bernadette Soubirous reported 18 separate Marian apparitions during 1858. The Virgin Mary reportedly identified herself as the Immaculate Conception, later revealing a spring whose waters became associated with healing. Since then, millions of pilgrims, including many seeking physical or spiritual healing, have travelled toward this small French town annually. Therefore, Pope Leo’s visit reaffirms the Church’s continued reverence toward this remarkable site of hope and consolation. His presence, alongside his planned meeting with the sick and with abuse survivors, underscores compassion as central to his broader pastoral vision.

Ultimately, Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lourdes offers Catholics worldwide a moment for renewed reflection and hope. Whether through the public Mass, the torchlight procession or his quieter private meetings, this journey blends tradition with pastoral urgency. For readers wishing to follow live updates, further coverage remains available through Vatican News and the official Lourdes sanctuary website, alongside earlier articles published on this website concerning Pope Leo’s previous international journeys.