Starting in 2026, the Sanctuary of Lourdes will open a new three-year spiritual journey, based on the Gospel according to Saint Luke. Three years to walk with Mary, guided by her faith, her hope and her praise. The year 2026 is the gateway to this journey: it sets us on the threshold of the Annunciation, where it all began.
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). These words which the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary are not just a passage from the Bible: they are an invitation to every pilgrim who comes to Lourdes. An invitation to welcome, to listen and to dare to say “yes” to something that can transform our lives.
Catechesis available in February at the Grotto bookshop
Lourdes in the light of the Annunciation
On 25th March 1858, the day on which the Church celebrates the Annunciation, the Virgin Mary revealed her name to Bernadette: ‘I am the Immaculate Conception.’ This date is no coincidence. It sheds considerable light on the mystery that took place in Lourdes.
When Mary told Bernadette, ‘I am the Immaculate Conception,’ she was not giving her an abstract theological title. She was revealing who she was, just as the angel had done in Nazareth. In Lourdes, Mary introduced herself by the same mystery that was revealed at the Annunciation.
At the Annunciation, the angel greets Mary with a single phrase, ‘Hail, full of grace.’ This title reveals her most profound identity: Mary is entirely filled with God’s grace, from the very beginning of her life. It is this same mystery that she reveals at Lourdes, not through theoretical teaching, but through a simple word of truth about herself.
Thus, Lourdes appears as a living extension of the Annunciation. In Nazareth, as in the Grotto of Massabielle, God chooses simplicity, silence and humility with which to reveal Himself. And as in Nazareth, His grace is never forced upon anyone: it is always waiting for a willing response.
Faced with this revelation, Bernadette responds with humble and faithful trust, without understanding everything. Her attitude echoes Mary’s ‘here I am’. In Lourdes today, everyone is invited to respond in the same way: to welcome grace, recognise God’s presence, and dare to say ‘yes’, opening their hearts to hope.
The Annunciation: the origin of all faith
When we reflect on the Annunciation, with the theme of the year chosen by the Sanctuary, we find ourselves immersed in the most crucial and delicate moment in the history of salvation. Mary does not yet know where her response will lead her. She is unaware of the trials that lie ahead, or of the cross. Yet she stands there, completely open to God’s will.
In Lourdes, we don’t just think about the Annunciation through the Gospel text; we can also see it in the beautiful mosaic of the Annunciation that decorates the Rosary Basilica. This work, which is deeply rooted in the prayer of the Sanctuary, gives pilgrims a real visual catechesis.
In the prayer of the Rosary, the Annunciation is the first joyful mystery. It leads us into quiet reflection by inviting us to listen to God’s word, just like Mary did. Pilgrims to Lourdes can pray the joyful mysteries twice a day on Mondays and Saturdays: at the Grotto every day at 3:30 p.m. and in the evening during the torchlight procession or rosary.
FIRST JOYEFUL MYSTERY: THE ANNUNCIATION
Fruit of mystery: humility
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
(Luke 1:26-38.)
