Our Lady of Lourdes of San Antonio

Patron Saint of Saint Anthony

La Grotto de Lourdes de los Oblatos en San Antonio (Oblate Lourdes Grotto) is a replica of the Grotto of Massabielle, in Lourdes (France), built by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate on the grounds of his old seminar and school in San Antonio, Texas. Devotion is part of the global expansion of the Our Lady of Lourdesfrom the apparitions of 1858 in France, officially recognized by the Church in 1862.

Main data

Origin and history

La Grotto de Lourdes de los Oblatos en San Antonio (Oblate Lourdes Grotto) is a replica of the Grotto of Massabielle, in Lourdes (France), built by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate on the grounds of his old seminar and school in San Antonio, Texas. Devotion is part of the global expansion of the Our Lady of Lourdesfrom the apparitions of 1858 in France, officially recognized by the Church in 1862.

In the available documentation it is noted that the Oblate grotto became over time one of the most loved Marian pilgrimage places in South Texas, linked to the pastoral of the Missionary Oblates and to the local Catholic community, of Latin rite. They do not contain, in the sources consulted, precise dates of placing the first image or of the formal opening of the sanctuary as a place of pilgrimage; it can only be said with certainty that devotion is developed as a prolongation of Lourdes and of the Oblate Marian spirituality.

No accounts of apparitions or extraordinary events of this advocation have been found in San Antonio; therefore, there is no local tradition of apparitions associated with the oblatense grotto, beyond the explicit reference to the original apparitions of Lourdes in France. The pious narrations that present the place as "Lourdes de San Antonio" are a devotional way of highlighting its character as a spiritual and architectural replica of the French sanctuary, not a account of new revelations.

The image and the sanctuary

In the oblatense grotto, a image of Our Lady of Lourdes following the classical iconography described by Santa Bernardita: Young Virgin, dressed in white, dyed with a blue girdle, white veil, rosary hanging by the hand and golden roses on the feetin reference to the Immaculate Conception. The concrete material of the image (stone, cement, fiber or other) is not safely recorded, although by its location in an outer artificial grotto it is almost completely certain of a sculpture prepared for the weather.

The devotional set is formed by the gruta artificial, built as a replica of the Grotto of Massabielle, with niche for the image, space in front of the Grotto for faithful and pilgrims, and areas of prayer and outdoor celebrations. The place is usually known as “Oblate Lourdes Grotto” or "Nuestra Señora de Lourdes de San Antonio." It is not known that the temple associated with the ancient oblatense seminary has been elevated to minor basilicaor that the whole is officially recognized as National sanctuary; therefore, in the open sources consulted does not contain a specific canon title beyond being a sanctuary / place of diocesan pilgrimage promoted by the Oblate Missionaries.

Sponsorship and coronation

No official decree to declare a Our Lady of Lourdes de San Antonio (Oblate Lourdes Grotto) as patron of the city of San Antonio, the state of Texas or the corresponding diocese / archdiocese; therefore, does not contain a specific canonical patronage beyond local devotional use, which is part of the general patronage of Our Lady of Lourdes over the sick and those who come in search of comfort and spiritual healing.

With regard to canonical coronationthe sources consulted (including the general documentation on the advocation of Lourdes) do not record for this grotto of San Antonio a formal act of canonical coronation granted by the Holy See or by pontifical delegate. Therefore, for this local apvocation does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated liturgical the 11 February, memory of the first apparition to Santa Bernardita in 1858. This date is also celebrated in the Oblate Grotto of San Antonio, in communion with the universal Church and the sanctuary of Lourdes (France). In addition, since 1992, by order of John Paul II, the 11 February is also the World Sick Day, closely linked to this advocation.

The place has been consolidated as Marian pilgrimage destination in southern Texas, especially around February 11 and other Marian dates of the liturgical calendar; there converge faithful of parishes from the region, Hispanic and English groups, Marian movements and sick people who seek to ask for the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. There are no official figures of influx in the open sources consulted, but the grotto is usually described by the Oblates themselves as one of the most loved Marian prayer spaces in the area.

Between the Devotional features The silent prayer before the grotto, Marian processions, Eucharistic celebrations in honor of the Virgin, the blessing of the sick and the community prayer of the Rosary. Direct inspiration in Lourdes causes many faithful to associate the blessed water of the place with the request for grace and conversion, always in analogy with the Massabielle spring, without the official recognition of specific miracles in this replica of San Antonio.

Link to the Rosary

La advocación de Our Lady of Lourdessince the apparitions of 1858, it is closely linked to prayer of the RosaryAccording to the testimony of Saint Bernardite, the Virgin appeared with a rosary in her hand and invited the prayer for sinners through this Marian prayer. This rosarian dimension is reflected in all the replicas and sanctuaries inspired by Lourdes, including the oblatense grotto of San Antonio, where the Rosary is a regular part of devotional life and pilgrimages.

For the group of Oblates there are no specific rules of the Rosary, but because of its Marian identity and its direct connection with Lourdes, the Holy Rosary becomes the privileged way to join the message of conversion, penance and trust in God's mercy that characterizes this advocation. In this context, the Rosary accompanies the devotion of the faithful as meditation of the mysteries of Christ with Mary, as a supplication for the sick and as a school of simple and confident faith, very in accordance with the spirit of Lourdes and with the evangelizing mission of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.