“I am the Immaculate Conception”
On 8th December, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a feast dedicated to the Virgin Mary, preserved from sin from the moment of her conception.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception has a special importance in Lourdes. It was here, in the Grotto of Massabielle, that on 25th March 1858, the Virgin Mary revealed her name to Bernadette Soubirous: ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’. With these words, Mary confirmed the dogma proclaimed four years earlier by Pope Pius IX on 8th December 1854.
Lourdes is therefore a perfect place to contemplate this mystery of purity and grace, and to entrust our lives, our families and the world to the Virgin Mary.
Programme of celebrations
Sunday, 7th December
• 9:30 am: Mass at the basilica of the Immaculate Conception
• 3:00 pm: Rosary at the Grotto
• 9:00 pm: Marian torchlight procession with the American cast of the musical Bernadette of Lourdes
Monday 8th December
• 10:00 am: International Mass presided over by Bishop Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes, followed by the Angelus and floral tribute to the Immaculate Conception at the Grotto. The American cast of the musical Bernadette of Lourdes will be taking part.
• 3:00 pm: Rosary at the Grotto
• 5:00 pm: Adoration and blessing of the Blessed Sacrament in the underground Basilica of St. Pius X
• 9:00 pm: Marian torchlight procession
The basilicas of Lourdes in the spotlight
A few kilometres from Loreto stands the majestic Sanctuary of Campocavallo. The Festa del Covo is a tribute to the rural culture of the Marche region: it showcases the art of transforming wheat into true works of art, combining creativity, patience and rural traditions. The heart of the festival is the Covo, an imposing artistic structure made entirely of ears of wheat, representing a religious theme or a famous local or international sanctuary each year.
This year, the Covo represents the Immaculate Conception and Rosary Basilicas of the Sanctuary of Lourdes. It was unveiled and blessed by Pope Leo XIV in Rome on 1st October 2025.
The Covo will arrive in Lourdes on 7th December and will be placed in the underground Basilica of Saint Pius X for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a tribute that was particularly important to the creators of the Covo. It will be on display for pilgrims from 7th to 10th December, every day from 8am to 6pm.
Giving a rose, a gesture of love and faith
La The rose has been associated with Our Lady of Lourdes since her first apparition, when she appeared adorned with a yellow rose on each foot. Perplexed by the Lady’s request for a chapel, Father Peyramale had the idea of asking for a sign and conveyed his request to Bernadette Soubirous, ‘Well, if she wants the chapel, let her say her name and make the rose bush in the grotto bloom!’ He added, ‘If she says her name and makes the rose bush bloom, we will build her a chapel, and it will not be small, but very large!’
White roses play an important role in celebrations of the Immaculate Conception. The rose has long been associated with Mary in Catholic tradition, as it embodies both her purity and her maternal role. White, representing purity, is the colour used for this feast day.
Offering a flower to Mary is simply saying to her: thank you, Mother, for your yes, for your intercession, for your tender gaze. It is an act of faith and love, a gesture of trust and beauty in a world that so desperately needs it.
Lourdes and Rome united in the same prayer
Every year on 8th December, in Rome, the Pope goes to the Spanish Steps to offer flowers to the statue of the Immaculate Conception. This gesture, closely followed by the inhabitants of Rome, is part of an event established in 1953: welcoming the Vicar of the Diocese of Rome, praying at the foot of the Virgin Mary and laying a wreath of flowers, followed by a visit to a prominent church.
This year, Lourdes and Rome will once again be united, as a bouquet of roses will be laid on behalf of the Sanctuary of Lourdes in Piazza di Spagna, by the rector of the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte (called the ‘Roman Lourdes’ by Benedict XV), and a vase of roses will also be placed in the Grotto of Massabielle, on behalf of the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte.
Echoing this gesture, the Sanctuary of Lourdes invites people to offer a white rose to the Virgin Mary, in Lourdes and throughout the world.
A double anniversary in Lourdes
8th December is also the anniversary of the canonisation of Saint Bernadette, proclaimed a saint in 1933 by Pope Pius XI. It is a wonderful opportunity to join our prayers to those of the humble and faithful witness of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, and to entrust our intentions to her.
Let us prepare to celebrate this feast by turning to Mary, the Immaculate One, who leads us to Christ, by praying the novena from 30th November to 8th December:
Novena from 30th November to 8th December
Blessed Virgin Mary, at your school, Bernadette
entered into a relationship with the Holy Trinity
through the sign of the Cross.
By teaching her prayer and penance for sinners,
you conveyed to her the joy of salvation.
You revealed to her the beauty of your pure heart
when you said, “I am the Immaculate Conception”.
With Bernadette, we turn to you trusting completely
in your maternal intercession.
Accept the intentions of our hearts in this novena of
prayer (especially for…)
Our Lady of Lourdes,
We pray to you especially for our own conversion
and that of all sinners.
Also, watch over all those who suffer in body or soul.
In the hope that Life will triumph over death, from
this moment and for ever more, we want to sing
with you the glory of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Every day: 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys,
1 Glory be to the Father.
Confession and communion are particularly
recommended during the novena.
The rosary makes the world blossom
Believers around the world are invited to join in this event by offering a rose to Mary. At the same time, on the same day, a huge prayer chain will be organised across continents, led by the Family of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Padre Pio prayer groups. They will play an active part in this prayer chain reciting the Rosary of the Immaculate Conception.
Come and join them! Saint Padre Pio said, ‘Let us love the Virgin Mary and make her loved. Let us always pray the Rosary!’
Contact : hommagefloral-lourdes@sfr.fr
