The 70 Miracles of Lourdes: How They Are Verified
By Our Lady of Lourdes Devotion Team
Since 1858, thousands of people have reported healings at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Of these, 70 have been officially recognized by the Catholic Church as miraculous cures — healings that have no medical or scientific explanation and are attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What makes the miracles of Lourdes unique in the history of the Church is the extraordinary rigor of the verification process. Every claimed cure undergoes examination by independent medical professionals — many of whom are not Catholic and some of whom are not believers — before it is even considered for canonical recognition.
Explore all 70 recognized miracles through our Miracles Explorer, which allows you to filter by century, country, and read the details of each case.
The Lourdes Medical Bureau
The story of miracle verification at Lourdes begins with the establishment of the Bureau des Constatations Médicales (Medical Bureau) in 1883. This office, located within the Sanctuary, was created to bring scientific methodology to the examination of claimed cures.
The Bureau is open to any physician in the world, regardless of specialty, nationality, or religious belief. Any doctor can participate in the examination of a case. This openness is intentional — it ensures that the process cannot be dismissed as the work of biased Catholic physicians.
The current president of the Medical Bureau is appointed by the Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, but the Bureau operates with scientific independence.
The Verification Process: Seven Criteria
For a healing to be considered miraculous, it must meet seven strict criteria, originally established by the eighteenth-century Pope Benedict XIV and refined over the centuries:
1. The original diagnosis must be verified.
The illness or condition must be clearly documented with medical records, scans, biopsies, or other objective evidence. Self-reported conditions without medical documentation are excluded.
2. The prognosis must have been poor or terminal.
The condition must have been serious, with a negative prognosis. A cold that resolved is not a miracle candidate; a terminal cancer that disappeared overnight may be.
3. No medical treatment could explain the cure.
If the person was receiving treatment that could have caused the improvement, the case is excluded. The healing must occur independently of any medical intervention, or after all treatments had failed.
4. The cure must be instantaneous or very rapid.
Gradual improvement that tracks with natural recovery is not considered miraculous. The cures at Lourdes typically occur within moments or hours — often while the person is at the Grotto, in the baths, or during the Blessed Sacrament procession.
5. The cure must be complete.
Partial improvement is not sufficient. The person must be fully healed, with no remaining symptoms of the original condition.
6. The cure must be permanent.
The Bureau follows up with the healed person for years — often decades — to ensure the condition does not return. A cure that lasts five years and then relapses is not considered miraculous.
7. The cure must not be the result of a natural resolution.
Some conditions can resolve on their own (spontaneous remission). The Medical Bureau must determine that the healing cannot be attributed to any known natural process.
The Three-Stage Process
A miracle at Lourdes passes through three stages of review, a process that typically takes 10 to 30 years:
### Stage 1: The Medical Bureau
When a person believes they have been healed at Lourdes, they report to the Medical Bureau at the Sanctuary. The Bureau gathers all medical records, examines the person, and opens a file. A preliminary assessment determines whether the case warrants further investigation.
### Stage 2: The International Medical Committee (CMIL)
If the Medical Bureau determines that the healing is medically inexplicable, the case is forwarded to the Comité Médical International de Lourdes (CMIL), a committee of 20-25 medical specialists from various countries and disciplines. This committee conducts an independent, in-depth review of all medical evidence.
The CMIL votes on whether the cure is "certain," "extraordinary," and "beyond scientific explanation." A two-thirds majority is required.
### Stage 3: Canonical Review
If the CMIL affirms the cure, the case passes to the bishop of the healed person's home diocese. The bishop convenes a canonical commission to examine the theological dimension: Was the cure connected to prayer, pilgrimage, or devotion? Does it serve the faith of the community?
Only when the bishop officially declares the cure to be miraculous does it join the ranks of the 70 recognized miracles of Lourdes.
Notable Miracles
Catherine Latapie (1858): The very first recognized miracle. Catherine dislocated her arm and fingers in an accident. She bathed her arm in the spring at Lourdes and was immediately healed. She also gave birth to her child at the Grotto the same day.
Justin Bouhohorts (1858): An infant given up for dead by doctors was brought to the spring by his mother. After being immersed in the cold water, the dying child began to move and recovered completely.
Marie Bailly (1902): A young woman in the final stages of tubercular peritonitis was taken to Lourdes as a last resort. Dr. Alexis Carrel, a skeptic who would later win the Nobel Prize in Medicine, examined her before and after her cure. He could not explain her sudden, complete recovery and later described the experience in his writings.
Sister Bernadette Moriau (2018): The most recently recognized miracle. A French nun who suffered from cauda equina syndrome for decades experienced a sudden, complete healing in 2008 after praying the Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes. Her cure was recognized by the Bishop of Beauvais ten years later.
The Uncounted Healings
While 70 cures have been officially declared miraculous, the Lourdes Medical Bureau has recorded over 7,000 cases of unexplained healings that have not completed the full canonical process. Many of these cases are remarkable by any standard but have not been pursued because the healed person did not seek formal recognition, or because the process was never completed.
There are also countless "healings of the heart" — spiritual and emotional transformations — that cannot be measured by medical criteria but are no less real to those who experience them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are there only 70 recognized miracles out of thousands of reported healings?
The criteria are intentionally strict. The Church is not interested in inflating numbers — it is interested in certainty. The 70 recognized miracles are cases where every natural explanation has been definitively ruled out.
Can new miracles still be recognized at Lourdes?
Yes. The most recent recognition was in 2018. Cases continue to be submitted to the Medical Bureau, and the verification process continues.
Do you have to bathe in the water to be healed?
No. Many recognized healings occurred during prayer at the Grotto, during the Blessed Sacrament procession, or even after returning home from Lourdes. The water is a sacramental sign, but God's healing power is not limited to it.
Are the doctors who examine miracles all Catholic?
No. The Medical Bureau and the CMIL include doctors of various faiths and no faith. This is by design — it ensures scientific objectivity.
Explore the Miracles
The miracles of Lourdes are a powerful testimony to the reality of God's healing presence in the world. They are not fairy tales or wishful thinking — they are documented, verified, and attested by independent medical professionals.
Browse all 70 recognized miracles in detail through our Miracles Explorer, and pray for healing through our Healing Prayer Selector.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Health of the Sick, pray for us.