Denver Catholic

7 DENVER CATHOLIC | JANUARY 28-FEBRUARY 10, 2017 Around the Archdiocese Be a Part of the Second Century Cathedral Basilica Immaculate Conception!! of the of the Your contributions will help repair and replace the missing, cracked, and broken stone and carvings which have become a safety hazard as we preserve our historic and iconic Cathedral Basilica for the next 100 years. Your Help is needed. Your Help is needed. Thank you for your generosity! Your Help is needed. Thank you for your generosity! RESTORATION EXPENSES PAID TO DATE: $493,956.00 There are several ways to donate: by mail, online, by kiosk at the Cathedral, or with a monthly or quarterly pledge amount. Visit www.denvercathedral.org or call us at 303-831-7010 for more information on contributing. Watch this space for updates on our progress! All donations are tax deductible GOAL: $3.5 Million GOAL: $3.5 Million COLLECTED TO DATE: $108,231 COLLECTED TO DATE: $108,231 progress! Father Ron Cattany - Pastor and Rector Marian Center now open to public A fter a five-year dry spell, water from the famed Lourdes shrine in France is back in Denver. The Lourdes Marian Center at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Lit- tleton is o°cially open. The center is just the fourth U.S. site permitted to distribute water from the spring that the Blessed Virgin Mary helped St. Ber- nadette Soubirous discover in 1858. An opening day reception hap- pened the center Jan. 7. The festivi- ties included light refreshments and talks about the history of the Sanctu- ary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France and about the Littleton center's local predecessor — the Lourdes Marian Center that was run by St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Denver from 2003-2011. "We'll have small bottles of Lourdes water available," said parochial vicar Father Joseph Hearty, F.S.S.P., about the 1-ounce bottles the center now distrib- utes for a suggested donation of $2.50. The new center was announced in 2014, when Father James Jackson, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, received permission for the parish to distribute Lourdes water. But due to a series of miscommunications, it took two years to actually begin getting the water, which many believe has healing powers. On Feb. 8, 1858, Mary, who later iden- tified herself as "the Immaculate Con- ception," made the first of 18 appear- ances over five months to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous at the grotto of Massabielle near Lourdes. Her message concerned the necessity of prayer and penance for the conversion of peoples. Mary instructed Bernadette to drink from a new spring that appeared at the site and to have a church built there. Today, 5 million pilgrims a year visit the beautiful Lourdes shrine to drink, wash or bathe in the water. The shrine says the water does not have any special curative properties, but recognizes that God can work through natural elements, prayer and sacraments. The Church has verified 69 miraculous cures linked to the water, although thousands more are claimed. "This water couldn't do anything without faith," asserted St. Bernadette, a°rming Church teaching. The Church authorized a feast com- memorating the apparitions and Ber- nadette, who died as a nun in 1879 and remains incorrupt, was canonized in 1933. "The purpose of the Lourdes Marian Center is to distribute the water for possible healings and conversions, and to help spread devotion to Our Lady," Father Hearty said. Once fully established, the Lourdes Marian Center will have set hours and, eventually, a website. Lourdes water returns to Denver BY ROXANNE KING editor_king@icloud.com @RoxanneIKing Lourdes water is now available to purchase from the Marian Center at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish. PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT 303.743.8804 HoranCares.com Helping You Honor Life

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