“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.