Across the River Pau from the Grotto of Lourdes stands the Notre Dame Welcome Center, built to give sick and disabled pilgrims a place to stay close to the spring and make their pilgrimage easier.
People from around the world stay at the center, which has welcomed more than 750,000 people since 1997.
Pope Leo XIV wanted to meet with the center’s staff and volunteers, as well as with the sick who have traveled to Lourdes in recent days to encounter the Virgin Mary.
Leo XIV spoke to the sick with particular empathy. He told them that each person is unique and that no one is invisible in the eyes of God.
He acknowledged that people who are sick can sometimes feel like a burden to others, but invited them to see themselves differently.
POPE LEO XIV
“Dear brothers and sisters who are sick,I want to tell you that you are not a burden. You are the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church. I carry in my prayers the trials you are going through. My thoughts are also with all those who cannot be here and who, from their homes or hospital rooms, are united with us in this gathering. ”
He also had a message for those approaching the final moments of their lives.
POPE LEO XIV
“I know that for some of you, because of particular illnesses and, at times, terrible pain, your horizon may appear dark, uncertain and without hope. But no human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity. On the contrary, it is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that we must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion. ”
And just months after France approved its euthanasia law, he addressed the issue directly:
POPE LEO XIV
“It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.”
He also had strong words for doctors, issuing an invitation to everyone in the medical profession.
POPE LEO XIV
“Here in Lourdes, the city of the sick and of hope, I appeal to the entire healthcare community to remember the profound meaning of your vocation, which is to care for a suffering person, not to eliminate that person.”
After the outdoor gathering, Pope Leo XIV went inside the center and made his way up to the fifth floor. There, he spent some time with several sick people who are unable to leave their rooms.
