Vatican City, Dec 2, 2003 / 22:00 pm
In a message for the World Day of the Sick, which will be celebrated on February 11 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (France), where the Virgin appeared on the same day in 1858, Pope John Paul II said that the miracle of the Immaculate Conception is a source of hope for the suffering.
“This shrine was chosen,” writes the Pope in the message, “because in 2004 the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception will be celebrated.”
The Pope emphasizes that with the Immaculate Conception of Mary “began the great work of redemption, carried out with the precious blood of Christ.”
“If Jesus is the font of life that conquers death,” he explains, “Mary is the careful mother who strives to meet the needs of her children, obtaining for them health in body and soul.”