Today is also the date, in 1858, that the Virgin Mary first appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in a grotto in Lourdes, in southwest France. During subsequent apparitions, Our Lady of Lourdes–as she came to be known–revealed various messages to Bernadette, and thus began one of the greatest stories of Marian devotion and pilgrimage in church history. For more on Our Lady of Lourdes, watch this clip of Fr. James Martin, SJ, author of “My Life with the Saints,” appearing in a terrific new video from Loyola Productions called “Who Cares About the Saints?”

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