On a Lourdes Miracle Converting an Agnostic Physician

"From the time of Blessed Mary's first apparition to Bernadette Soubirous, the water from the Lourdes Grotto has been a source of miraculous healings both for those who have visited the Grotto and even for those who used the water in remote places. Since the time of Bernadette, over 7,000 miraculous cures have been reported to the Lourdes Medical Bureau by pilgrims who have visited Lourdes (which does not include miracles that have taken place outside of Lourdes).

"There were so many purported cures associated with the water and Grotto of Lourdes that the Catholic Church decided to set up the Lourdes Medical Bureau to be constituted by and under the leadership of physicians and scientists alone. The objective of the Bureau is to render a judgment that a particular cure was near instantaneous, efficacious throughout the remainder of life, and in all other ways, scientifically inexplicable. The Bureau is constituted by 20 physicians and scientists. Its records are open to any physician or scientist who wants to make their own investigation or challenge to any particular case recognized as 'miraculous.'

"Since 1883, only 69 cases have been recognized as 'miraculous' according to the strict standards of the Bureau. But this does not mean that the 7,000 other cures were not miraculous by other standards. These cases simply cannot be shown to be completely scientifically inexplicable - though their occurrence could be truly extraordinary and possibly - or even probably - miraculous. . . .

"One of the most significant cases was the healing of Marie Bailly. Her case was witnessed by Dr. Alexis Carrell, and it eventually brought about his conversion."

In a recent post, Lindsay Rudegeair, Managing Editor of the Magis Center blog, offered an excerpt from Father Robert Spitzer's Contemporary, Scientifically Validated Miracles Associated with Blessed Mary, Saints and the Holy Eucharist. 

To access Ms. Rudegeair's complete post, please visit:

Magis Center: This Lourdes Miracle Converted an Agnostic Physician (23 OCT 18_