Miracles. Lourdes: between science and faith. 72 healings recognised as miracles.

The Catholic Church has officially recognised 72 healings as miracles. This is a small number compared to the thousands of self-reported healings submitted each year to the Medical Bureau of the Sanctuary of Lourdes. However, it is the rarity of these cases, along with the rigorous ecclesiastical and clinical evaluation criteria, that makes these stories so significant. For a healing to be declared miraculous, it must meet the following conditions: it must be instantaneous, complete, lasting, and unexplainable by modern medicine. It must also occur in a religious context; without this, the event, although clinically exceptional, is not considered theologically significant. The Medical Bureau was founded in Lourdes at the end of the 19th century, marking the start of an ongoing dialogue between medical science and the Church.

A statistical analysis of the 72 official cases, updated to 2025, revealed a set of common features. Women accounted for 82% of known cases. One of them is Jeanne Fretel, a French woman who recovered from advanced intestinal tuberculosis in 1948. She arrived in Lourdes on a stretcher, but after receiving communion, she claimed to have felt “suddenly inundated with life” — she stood up and walked without experiencing any pain. The Medical Bureau, under the direction of the renowned Dr Vallet at the time, described the event as “complete, permanent and medically inexplicable”.

The average age at the time of healing ranges from two to 78 years, with the majority falling within the 20–49 age bracket (65%). Only 3% were younger than 10 and 6% were older than 60. The majority of cases involve adults in the prime of life. One remarkable case is that of Pierre de Rudder, a 52-year-old Belgian man whose broken leg had not healed for years. His bone healed instantly after his pilgrimage in 1875. The medical professionals who had been following the case for years described his recovery as “instantaneous and anatomo-pathologically perfect.”

The diseases most frequently healed were tuberculosis (39%) and neurological disorders (19%), including multiple sclerosis and various forms of paralysis. These are followed by osteomyelitis, tumours, heart disease, and joint infections. These conditions were all documented as serious and disabling, and resistant to the available treatments at the time. One of the most remarkable cases is that of Marie Bigot, a French woman who suffered from posterior arachnoiditis, a condition that left her blind, deaf and paralysed. During three consecutive pilgrimages to Lourdes between 1952 and 1954, she gradually regained her mobility, hearing and sight. “I heard the crowd singing: Queen of the Rosary”, she said after the Eucharistic procession. Her recovery was recognised as a miracle in 1956.

The healings took place in a variety of spiritual contexts, including the sanctuary’s pools (50%), during Mass or Communion (11%), and the Eucharistic procession (17%). In about 35% of all healings, there was no direct link to contact with the water of Lourdes, although these cases were nevertheless connected to a pilgrimage or prayer experience. One of the very first cases, back in 1858, involved Louis Bouriette, who was blind in one eye after a quarry explosion. He washed himself with water from the spring that Bernadette had indicated. The next day, his vision was restored. His testimony was one of the first signs to arouse interest in the Grotto.

The time required for ecclesiastical recognition can vary greatly. Only 21% were approved within five years of the event, while over half (51%) took over ten years. In some cases, the process lasted decades. One such case is that of Elisa Aloi, a Sicilian woman who suffered from severe bone tuberculosis with multiple fistulas. She was healed after her pilgrimage in 1958. Ten days later, her wounds had inexplicably healed. This miracle was recognised in 1965 by Monsignor Fasola. Elisa subsequently got married and gave birth to four children.

The healing of Justin Bouhort, the first child to be officially recognised as having been miraculously healed at Lourdes, was one of the most surprising healings in terms of its symbolic significance and unique dynamics. Born sickly, he had never walked by the age of two and was in a very serious condition, probably due to severe nutritional deprivation. In July 1858, defying the authorities’ ban, his mother Croisine Bouhort brought him to the Grotto, determined to implore the Holy Virgin, and immersed him in the pool carved by stonecutters. This caused panic and protests among those present, who were convinced that she would lose him. Instead, Justin started breathing again, and in the following days he began to recover for no explainable reason. He made a full recovery, grew up like a normal child and lived until 1935. He was able to attend the canonisation of Saint Bernadette in Rome on 8 December 1933, two years before his death. One of the most recent cases is that of Sister Bernadette Moriau, a French nun who was healed from chronic and debilitating lumbosacral paralysis in 2008. After rigorous medical, scientific and theological scrutiny, her case was recognised as the 70th official miracle of Lourdes in 2018.

The Church’s process for evaluating healings comprises five stages: clinical observation; interdisciplinary evaluation; spiritual discernment; scientific judgement and proclamation by the bishop. Updated in 2006, the methodology combines medical rigour with pastoral consideration and recognises inner healings as authentic experiences of grace, even though they are not included in official statistics. The decisive criterion for attributing a healing as miraculous remains the religious context. Without this, an extraordinary healing may be clinically inexplicable, but it is not theologically significant. In the Catholic perspective, a miracle is not a breach of natural laws, but a sign that calls for reflection. Lourdes continues to be a place where body and spirit, science and hope converge.