Pope Leo XIV met with sick and frail pilgrims and pilgrims with disabilities at the Accueil Notre-Dame center at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sunday afternoon.

The Accueil Notre-Dame hosts pilgrims and groups from around the world in a healthcare facility operated as “a kind of a 'big family home’” by about 50 employees, as well as consecrated men and women and hundreds of volunteers.

In his address at the facility, Pope Leo said that at Lourdes, the “fragility is not hidden, but instead becomes the place of a sacred encounter.”

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you"

Recalling the Marian Sanctuaries' theme for this year—“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you”—the Holy Father highlighted the “humility and generosity” of Mary that “allowed God to accomplish His work of salvation.”

The words of the Archangel Gabriel, “The Lord is with you,” are a truth that stands as the foundation of “our dignity as persons,” while Mary’s recognition of each unique person “reminds us once more that no one is invisible in God’s eyes.”

Where society sometimes “looks aside or closes its eyes to the dignity of human life,” Pope Leo insisted that we must foster, “in ourselves and in others, a contemplative outlook” that allows us to “see life in its deeper meaning,” to accept it as a gift, and thus be able to perceive “in the face of every person a call to encounter, dialogue, and solidarity.”

In the Annunciation to Mary, he continued, “each one of us” discovers “that we too are personally called and profoundly destined for the love of God, who is the source of life.” The human person, he said, “is ‘worthy’ simply by virtue of existing and being destined for eternity.”

The inalienable dignity of the human person

Therefore, he said, “Our dignity cannot be measured or debated.”

Speaking directly to pilgrims, Pope Leo recognized that illnesses can lead people to uncertainty and feelings of hopelessness. “But no human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity.”

Precisely in view of the inalienable dignity of the human person, he said “We must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion.” And he warned that “what is legal is not necessarily moral.”

The Holy Father went on to appeal “to the entire healthcare community to remember the profound meaning of your vocation, which is to care for a suffering person, not eliminate that person.”

“Be passionate defenders of life,” he enjoined them, adding that no one has the right to “to decide the life of a given embryo or elderly person.” He encouraged health care workers to promote authentic palliative care and research, and urged them “to accompany the sick with the tenderness we see at Lourdes.”

Finally, turning once again to the sick, Pope Leo told them, “You are not a burden. You are the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church.” And he assured them of his prayers, while entrusting them to Mary, “asking her to obtain for you the consolations of her Son, Jesus.”

The miracles of Lourdes

During his visit, the Pope also privately took time to meet and talk to some of the sick people staying at the facility who were unable, for health reasons, to be part of the group outside.

“Life is beautiful and precious. Do not be discouraged: Our Lady of Lourdes is holding you by the hand,” he told them, and he expressed gratitude for those serving at the Sanctuary, noting that many pilgrims leave Lourdes “with peaceful hearts, transformed by grace, ready to continue the journey.”

The Pope also had words of gratitude for the caregivers and volunteers of the facility, noting that their generosity, dedication and closeness are themselves part of the experience of Lourdes.

“Is not the first miracle of Lourdes, for them, that they have met you, that they have experienced your generosity, your dedication and your closeness?” he asked. And he encouraged them to share this experience, particularly with young people, “so that they may discover the joy of self-giving and service in the name of Jesus.”