'The Relevance of Lourdes at 150'

Interview With Bishop Jacques Perrier

By Isabelle Cousturié

LOURDES, France, 20 February 2008 (http://www.zenit.org/ ). The bishop of Lourdes says the pilgrimage site in his diocese is like a promise that never betrays.

That's how Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes described the spot on 10 February, eve of the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, during his homily at Mass celebrated in the grotto. 'The apparitions in Lourdes,' the bishop said, 'like Lent, propose to us the same question, that of hope, to which our Pope has dedicated his second encyclical. In what do we place our hope? What are we ready to do to enter into the great hope?'

Read the full interview with Bishop Perrier in today's bulletin from Zenit. (My naughty mind is asking that since water is so central to the whole Lourdes story is that why Bishop Perrier was appointed there?!)

You can also find my article on Lourdes in the current issue of Misyon with photos by Fr Tim Finigan.