The experience of God’s closeness expressed by his Mother

Lourdes is first and foremost a spiritual experience for me. It’s the experience of the closeness of God, expressed through the experience of his Mother, the Virgin Mary. This proximity is also expressed through the presence of the most fragile, the sick and the poorest. I believe that it is a unique place of grace that allows us to meet other people in a spirit of great simplicity. ...

Lourdes is also a place of fraternity: we are more authentic, we remove our masks when we see others’ poverty, because it reminds us of our own poverty. I think it's a spiritual experience within the reach of everyone. All the chaplains are there to facilitate this experience—to allow each person to grow in their intimacy with Christ—after they have encountered their poverty.

Lourdes is also a place of hope. The world we live in seeks hope. Pope Francis talks a lot about religious shrines as being places of evangelization. And I believe that Lourdes is a fantastic place to help everyone find the meaning of their life.

Msgr Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, former secretary general and spokesman of the Conference of Bishops of France and recently appointed new Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (France)

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