New for the 150th anniversary!

A fascinating look at Lourdes, one of the world's most popular Marian places of pilgrimage. Includes the history of the apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous, the response of the Church, the advent of cures and pilgrimage, and Lourdes today as a powerful center for physical, spiritual, and emotional healing. Featuring interviews with the Bishop, Medical Director, and other key personnel of the Sanctuary. Foreword by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, nationally acclaimed scholar, theologian, author, speaker and host of "Sunday Night Live with Father Benedict Groeschel" on EWTN.

What others are saying about the book:

“Lourdes is mysterious; it is not superstition. Lourdes is miraculous; it is not hysterical. Lourdes has survived endless attempts to undermine its authenticity. Yet even today it represents for millions a place where divine power and providence operate through the sacred shrine of the Holy Virgin and the humble peasant girl kneeling at her feet.”

— Fr. Benedict Groeschel, from the Foreword

“Granted unprecedented access, Ficocelli interviews staff at the Shrine, Bernadette scholars, pilgrims, and even a recipient of one of the ‘church-sanctioned’ miracles of Lourdes….With the poetic eye of a believer, the balanced sensibility of a journalist, and the deeply moved heart of someone who has touched the wonders of Lourdes, Ficocelli captures the essence of the Shrine. Dive in and be transformed.”

— Raymond Arroyo, EWTNews Director, and author of the New York Times Bestseller  Mother Angelica 

“Elizabeth Ficocelli's book is a superb introduction to the story of Lourdes. Seamlessly mixing personal experience, historical analysis, and spiritual reflection, the author reminds us why the tale of St. Bernadette Soubirous, and what she saw in the Grotto of Massabielle in 1858, has lost none of its power to captivate and inspire even the most skeptical of readers. A beautifully written book about a beautiful story. 

— James Martin, SJ, author of the bestselling and Christopher Award-winning book, My Life with the Saints 

“Elizabeth Ficocelli is well-informed: she has read, she has seen, she has listened to the observers, participants, and witnesses of Lourdes. Thus, with the liberty of the journalist, the rigor of the historian, and the sensitivity of the writer she enables us to discover Lourdes.”

— Fr. Régis-Marie de La Teyssonnière Chaplain of Honor of Our Lady of Lourdes and world authority on Bernadette

“A refreshing and sometimes fascinating account from a writer who is at once orthodox and steeped in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, about a shrine that is as oriented to the future as to commemoration of the past….The most compelling chapters deal with contemporary ministry at the shrine, especially the work of the volunteers interviewed by the author, who do their utmost to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes an encounter with Christ….Lourdes is a fine book for the person of faith and even the casual visitor to Lourdes—anyone who seeks to understand better its important place in history and its meaning for today.” 

— America Magazine