Join the faithful, as the prayer you've been holding is carried to the Lourdes Grotto on April 16: the feast day of the girl who looked foolish kneeling in the mud, but did it anyway, and uncovered the spring that has flowed for over 165 years

Dear Brother/Sister in Christ,

This is Matthew Miller. I started this service to help people who wish to visit the Lourdes Grotto but are unable to do so.

On April 16, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Bernadette — not the apparitions, not the healings, not the spring.

But Bernadette herself.

And I want to tell you why her story matters for your prayer.

In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous was 14 years old. She was poor, her family had been moved into an abandoned jail cell because they had nowhere else to go. She couldn't read. She hadn't made her First Communion. She had asthma so severe she could barely breathe in cold weather.

She was the last person anyone would have chosen for anything.

And yet she was the one who went to the Grotto. She was the one who saw Lady Mary. She was the one who knelt in the mud and dug with her bare hands when Our Lady told her to drink from a spring that didn't exist yet.

The crowd laughed at her. Her own family was embarrassed. The police questioned her. The priests were skeptical.

She kept going back. Eighteen times.

And the muddy trickle she uncovered became a spring that has never stopped flowing until this day.

Every healing at Lourdes. Every candle lit at the Grotto... All because of her.

On April 16, we honor her and your prayer can be placed at the very Grotto where Bernadette knelt, on the day the Church celebrates what she started.

A prayer placed at the Grotto on Bernadette's feast day doesn't arrive on an ordinary day. It arrives on the day the entire Lourdes community returns to the source, honoring the girl who carried the first prayer, the original messenger, the one who went when no one else would.

Why St. Bernadette's Feast Day Is a Powerful Day to Place a Prayer at Lourdes

For over a century and a half, the Lourdes Grotto has been a place of healing, conversions, and deep peace — all because one girl was willing to look foolish. Here's what flowed from what Bernadette started:

🏥 Medical Events That Defy Science:

There are events at Lourdes that cannot be explained by science, with confirmations continuing even today.

All of it traces back to a 14-year-old girl who dug in the mud when she was asked to.

Doctors call them impossible. Believers call them grace.

April 16 is not just another day on the calendar.

It is the day the Church honors the person who made Lourdes possible — and that changes what happens to your prayer at the Grotto.

On St. Bernadette's feast day, the Grotto holds something it holds every day — prayers from those who cannot come themselves.

But on this day, those prayers are surrounded by the memory and the grace of the girl who went first.

This is why we carry your intention on this sacred day:

to place your prayer at the Grotto on the day the Church honors the one who started it all.

Each year on St. Bernadette's Feast Day, we make a quiet pilgrimage to the Lourdes Grotto with one purpose:

To carry the prayers of those who cannot go themselves.

We go not as tourists, but as servants. As messengers, doing what Bernadette did, carrying something to the Grotto because we were asked to.

And each time, we witness something sacred — not just in what we see… but in what we feel.

It began when a friend asked me to carry a prayer for her.

Then another.

And another.

They wanted their prayer placed at the Grotto where Bernadette first knelt — where generations have sought healing and comfort because one girl was willing to look foolish.

So we carried each one.

We lit candles.

We offered their hopes and heartaches at the Grotto.

And afterward, we began hearing the stories:

A body found strength.

A heart burdened by fear found peace.

A family facing illness found courage.

A soul long weary rediscovered hope.

It wasn't magic.

But it was something holy.

Bernadette would have understood. She never saw the healings herself. She just carried the message and trusted the rest would follow.

When we bring your prayer petition to the Lourdes Grotto, we walk past the spring Bernadette uncovered with her bare hands.

The same water still flows. The same Grotto still receives prayers... And on her feast day, we carry yours.

To ensure your prayer is carried to the Lourdes Grotto on April 16 — the Feast of St. Bernadette — please send your request as early as possible.

This allows us time to:

Once the feast day has passed, we cannot guarantee April 16 placement.

Bernadette's Healing Begins With a Single Step

You don't need to travel across the world to bring your prayer to Lourdes.

You only need faith — and a prayer carried with trust.

Your healing may not come all at once.

But it begins the moment you place your intention at the same Grotto where Bernadette knelt — on the day the Church honors what she started.

Bernadette didn't wait for permission. She didn't wait to feel qualified. She went to the Grotto because she was asked to.

Let us be your messengers. Let Lourdes carry your prayer.

Our team lovingly hand-delivers each prayer to the Lourdes Grotto.

We only ask for a small amount to help cover the time, care, and materials involved.

The full cost to provide this sacred service is $39 per prayer.

If you’re facing financial hardship, choose the amount that’s right for you.

If you're able, consider giving more to help cover the cost for others who cannot.

Every amount helps us bring more prayers to Lourdes — as one Body in Christ.

(with digital photo keepsake within 7–14 days)

On April 16 — the Feast of St. Bernadette — join the faithful around the world in bringing your prayer to the Grotto.

Let your prayer rest where Bernadette first knelt.

Let it arrive on the day the Church honors the girl who carried the first prayer — the original messenger.

"Bernadette was once asked what she did after the apparitions. She said: 'The Blessed Virgin used me like a broom. When the work is done, you put the broom back behind the door.' She didn't need recognition. She just needed to deliver the message. That's what we do. We carry your prayer to the Grotto — the way Bernadette carried herself there."

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