Vatican confirms papal visit to Lourdes, France, in August

Published: 2004-06-24

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II will travel in August to Lourdes, France, to mark the 150th anniversary of the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The Aug. 14-15 trip will last 35 hours, the Vatican said June 24. The pope is expected to celebrate Mass Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. French bishops issued their invitation to the pope in April, but Vatican officials said a final decision was delayed because of the pope's frail health. After the pontiff did well on a trip to Switzerland in early June, the Lourdes visit was put on the calendar, they said. The pope wanted to mark in a special way this year the 150th anniversary of Pope Pius IX's proclamation of the dogma that Mary was conceived without sin. French church officials have said the 84-year-old pontiff, who suffers from a neurological disease and can no longer walk, would stay at a guest house for ailing pilgrims at Lourdes, a small town in southwestern France.

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