The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-10-17
Our Lady of Lourdes.

In the southwest of France, in the hilly re-
gion of tho department of the Upper Pyrenees,
IL little TO the southeast of the weit-knOwn
town of Pan, is the hamlet of LouTdes, whose
name, Hnheard of in she world % dozen years
ago, is now familiar To the ear of miltons--a
household word TO the children of Mary. In
this age of revolutions We are prepared for
great changes, aud re-not much surprised at
them; our only thought and wish is tn learn
the circumstances that have brought them
about. What then, it viii lbs asked, has hap
pcued at Lonrdes since 1858 to give it in 1869
70 worldwide renowu2 4 remarkable work
has lately Appeared iayTTance, similar to our
own beautiful ''Fabiola )" masterpiece of its
-kindi-&filtGn ia The torn of a novel, with ali
tue exciting interest OF n novel; and differing
from one only III being narrative of facts in
stead of fiction; possess5ig all the best quail
ties of 'Fabioln,' and F1i respects sur
passing them. This wofk is the production of
NJ. Henri Lassere, who had previously distiu-
gHished himself as "a French Catholic author,
and it is precisely the very work, both to
matter and manner, that is most needed mt the
present daS--Ihe- great event that has
changed Lourtes is the apparition OF the luz
mHcufate Mother of God in the aicoye of
rock near that hamlet, and the object of the
learned and interchangeable w5jterr Is TO prove
beyond the shadow of doubt the reality of
that apparition. The characteristic of Teli-
gious error in this century is it's denying or
ignoring altogether the existence of the super
uatarai, aud il is because the Catholic Church
is the representative on earth of the supernat-
ural that 80 herce war is nowadays waged
against it. This being the case, we may rea-
sonably expect that the supernatural should
ut the present time viudicate itself by giving
manifest proofs of it's existence Sueh man
Hesitation is said to have occurred at L0uFtles
in the carly part of the year 1858 NJ. IL. Las
sere took upon himself the task of thoroughly
investigating the entire history of that mani
festatiOn, and Of all it's attendant circum-
stances, and in his work lately Published, he,
gives to the world the result of his laboTs
Ibe visited the locality of the aPpaFiti0R he
questioned and croas-questioned All the princi-
pal witnesses who have in any way been con-
ceTncd in the matter; their number is consid-
cradle, and most of them are still living no
examined every one of the many documents
bearing on this subject he giveA the names
and addresses of all the wifnssses and the
titles and locality of all the documents and he
defies contradiction OF any statement made by
him. That he has effected his purpose every
one must Acknowledges who reads with mn nm
BIASED mind the recital of his Investigations,
which establish the following facts young
girl about II years old, quite an ordinary
child, destitute of all human learning, and
speaking only the dialect OF her native place,
was, along with two other young girls, in a
meadow close to LOurdes, ON st. Scholastica's
Day, ia 1858; her name was BerRaaette SOnbi-
rous, her parents were extremely poor, and she
had, from her early years, been employed in
guarding sheep the mountains. Through
the meadow ia which she was with she other
two girls flows the river Gave, aud near the
river rises high perpendicular rock, in the
upper part of which there Is aR-alcoxe. or
grOttO. On their way home from the meadow
the Two girls elected from BerEadette that