INTRODUCTION

Our Lady of Lourdes by Henri Lasserre, 1869

Most books you read and forget. They're written from the wrist down. Others are unforgettable-written from the eyes and heart up. Our Lady of Lourdes is one of these.

Henri Lasserre was nearly blind when he dabbed his eyes and forehead with a cloth saturated with Lourdes water. His vision was restored instantly and from that moment he became the Apostle of Lourdes spending his fortune and more importantly his rare talent as a writer in order to spread the marvels of Massabielle. Our Lady of Lourdes, originally published in 1869, created such a demand that it found its way into every nook and cranny of Europe. Never was there a book that obtained such success or boasted of so many editions. It was in reality the bugle call that resounded throughout the world, and to which the world responded by flying to Lourdes to honor and invoke the Immaculate Virgin Mary. 

Franz Werfel based his book The Song of Bernadette on Henri Lasserre's Our Lady of Lourdes which was later east by 20 Century Fox.  Watch the movie below.