Miraculous Image In Argentine Shrine
ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 12, 2024 / 18:30 pm
Those who visit the chapel of the Our Lady of Lourdes shrine in the city of Alta Gracia in Córdoba province, Argentina, witness a phenomenon that has no explanation: In the niche that is part of the altarpiece above the altar, an image of the Virgin Mary can be seen although without a doubt the space is empty — there is nothing there.
According to the Argentine news agency AICA, what is seen is not a flat image but rather a relief, a three-dimensional image with folds in the garment. It is also not a psychological illusion resulting from the exaggerated devotion of some pilgrims.
Everyone — believers or not — sees it. Additionally, the image appears in photos taken there. A curious fact is that the image is clearly seen from the front door of the church and then fades as one slowly approaches the altar.
Sources from Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Alta Gracia told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that although there is no specific statement from the Archdiocese of Córdoba, where the shrine is located, “everything is still the same. The image can be seen just as on the first day or more, a little more.”
“As for the image in the niche, everything remains the same and intact,” the statement said.
Pilgrimage, Masses on Feb. 11
Since it was built at the beginning of the 20th century, the shrine has been an important pilgrimage site. In 2023, about 30,000 pilgrims came from the city of Córdoba, 22 miles away.
In the Mass he offered there last year on Feb. 11 for the World Day of the Sick, Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, the archbishop of Córdoba, pointed out that “the experience of weakness and illness are part of our path; they don’t exclude us from the people of God, but they take us to the center of the attention of the Lord, who is Father and does not want to lose any of his children along the way.”
Masses were held this year on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 for the faithful who participated in the 47th pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. A midnight Mass was celebrated Feb. 11 and a sunrise rosary was prayed at 5:30 a.m. followed by a Mass at 6 a.m. for the pilgrims, 9 a.m. for communities and movements, 11 a.m. for families, and 6 p.m. for the sick.
The 6 p.m. Eucharist was celebrated by Horacio Álvarez, an auxiliary bishop of Córdoba. Rossi did not celebrate this Mass because he was in Rome to attend the canonization of Mama Antula, the first female saint of Argentina.
At 7 p.m. there was a procession and confessions were heard all day.
How did the phenomenon originate?
The chapel of the Virgin of Alta Gracia is located on a large property where in 1916 a replica was dedicated of the Massabielle grotto in Lourdes, France, where the Virgin appeared in 1858 to St. Bernadette Soubirous.
