In 1858, in a cave situated below the town of Lourdes in the south of France, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in person to Bernadette Soubirous, a very poor 14-year-old girl from the town. Each year, 6 million people, from every continent, come to Lourdes. Their primary purpose is to visit the Grotto of the Apparitions, the place where the Blessed Virgin Mary and Bernadette spoke with each other, in order to confide their lives to the Mother of God. Lourdes is, first and foremost, a place of hope.

In 2008, Lourdes will celebrate the 150th anniversary of these world-famous apparitions. In LOURDES: FONT OF FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY, celebrated author Elizabeth Ficocelli commemorates Lourdes’ Jubilee Year by providing an overview of the Sanctuary's past, present, and future. Chapters include the story of Bernadette and her apparitions, the Church's response, the advent of pilgrimage, the visionary's canonization, Lourdes as a center for physical cures and spiritual healings, volunteerism, the visits of John Paul II, and Lourdes as an integral part of the mission of the Church to evangelize in the world.

While much has been written about Lourdes, there is a limited amount printed in English. The books that are currently available for American readers are often tainted with inaccurate details and secular skepticism. The author worked closely with Father Régis-Marie de La Teyssonnière, a priest who is widely regarded as the current leading authority on Bernadette and her apparitions, to ensure that this book is accurate. Also, the book is very current with information on new procedures for evaluating cures as well as new developments to the Sanctuary for the preparation of the jubilee year.

Lourdes: Font of Faith, Hope, and Charity will be an excellent keepsake for the anniversary, as well as a splendid introduction of a new generation of Americans to one of the Church's most important places of Marian pilgrimage.
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