Pope Leo XIV Prays at Lourdes for "peace in the world" and Entrusts to Mary "our most urgent personal intentions" - FULL TEXT

Pope Leo XIV prays honoring Virgin Mary at the Grotto of Massabielle, surrounded by thousands of faithful. Kneeling in prayer, the Pope asked for “the gift of fraternal harmony” for the host country, and also entrusted to Mary the personal prayers of those who are sick and suffering. An Air France plane carryied the Pope from Paris landed at precisely 7 p.m. at Tarbes-Lourdes Airport, the bells of the Pyrenean city began ringing loudly. Leo XIV was welcomed as he stepped off the plane by Bishop Jean-Marc Micas, the Pope also greeted the city's mayor, Thierry Lavit. From a bridge over the Gave de Pau, temporarily renamed the “Leo XIV Bridge” for the occasion, the Holy Father unveiled a statue and signed the visitors' book while a choir sang Pyrenean songs. The Pope then completed his journey to the shrine in the popemobile, where the crowd's cheers turned into jubilation, accompanied by “Ave Maria” sung by the thousands of faithful present. The singing then gave way to an intense silence as Leo XIV knelt at the foot of the grotto, where Bernadette Soubirous first saw a “lady in white” in 1858.

PRAYER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Grotto of the Apparitions at Massabielle (Lourdes)
Saturday, 26 September 2026
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Our Lady of Lourdes, the Immaculate Conception, in this blessed place you spoke with such gentleness and tenderness to Saint Bernadette, a humble daughter of the French people, to convey to the world a radiant message of prayer, conversion and hope. We turn to you with trust, for you are the Mother whom Jesus has given, and you are attentive to all our needs.

We pray to you, our Mother, for France, for you are her Patroness and have protected her for so many centuries. Grant its people the gift of fraternal harmony, so that they may build a harmonious society that banishes all violence and hatred, and allows everyone to work, to start a family and to live life to the fullest in peace and serenity. May the most disadvantaged and the poorest always be supported. Obtain for France wise and generous leaders, ready to make sacrifices, capable of responding to challenges, and eager to serve the common good. May they keep France at peace within the family of nations, and may they make her voice heard in promoting the defense of fundamental human rights and peace in the world, rejecting the mentality of war once and for all.

Blessed Virgin Mary, we present to you the People of God journeying in this country, which you have so deeply marked with your presence. Renew the faith and fervor of Christian families, who are so dear to your heart, so that they may live day by day in the presence of Jesus, in his grace, and with his support through the difficulties they face. May they be generously open to life, and may God awaken vocations within them, especially to the priesthood and religious life. Grant that your Church in France may show, especially to the youngest among them, the luminous path of the Gospel, so that they may build the just and fraternal society to which they aspire.

Finally, Mother full of love, we entrust to you our most urgent personal intentions, especially those of the sick and suffering, as well as all those who accompany them, who have come together to find strength and healing at the spring of Massabielle. We entrust to you our living and deceased loved ones. We pray that you will remove all the obstacles that still separate us from your beloved Son and that he may reign in all hearts.