The contemplative monastery was founded in 1876, just 18 years after Mary appeared to St. Bernadette.
Pope Leo XIV walks to a meeting at the Carmelite Monastery of Lourdes on Sept. 27, 2026 after visiting the renowned grotto at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France for a prayer service. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool
Pope Leo XIV prays on Sept. 27, 2026 with the Discalced Carmelite nuns whose monastery faces the grotto of the apparitions from across the river Gave de Pau in France. The contemplative monastery was founded in 1876, just 18 years after Mary appeared to St. Bernadette. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool