A rigorous medical review
In the small town of Lourdes, a unique intersection of faith and science has operated for over 140 years. The Bureau des Constatations Médicales, or the Lourdes Medical Bureau, was established in 1883 to systematically investigate claims of miraculous healing. It is the only institution at a major pilgrimage site with a permanent resident physician tasked with assessing alleged cures. Since its founding, more than 7,500 people have submitted claims, but only a small fraction have passed the Bureau's stringent, multi-stage review process.
The process begins when an individual declares a cure to the Bureau. Any doctor present in Lourdes, regardless of their personal beliefs, can be called upon to examine the person's medical records and assess their current state of health. For a case to proceed, it must meet seven strict criteria first laid out by Cardinal Prospero Lambertini in the 18th century. The disease must be serious with an unfavorable prognosis. The cure must be sudden, complete, lasting, and have no logical connection to any medical treatment. Functional or psychological disorders are not considered, as the condition must be organic and verifiable by objective medical evidence like X-rays or lab tests.
If a case seems credible after the initial review, it is passed to the International Lourdes Medical Committee (CMIL). Established in 1947, this independent committee consists of about 30 medical specialists from around the world. They spend years reviewing all the evidence, and a two-thirds vote is required to declare a healing as "medically unexplained" according to current scientific knowledge. The Bureau and the CMIL only provide a medical judgment; the final religious declaration of a "miracle" is made separately by the bishop of the cured person's home diocese.
From thousands of claims to 70 cases
Out of the thousands of initial claims, only 70 have been deemed medically inexplicable by the Bureau and subsequently recognized as miracles by the Catholic Church. The 70th case, recognized in 2018, is that of Sister Bernadette Moriau. For forty years, she suffered from Cauda Equina Syndrome, a severe compression of spinal nerve roots that left her with paralysis in her lower body. She required a back brace, a neurostimulator, and regular morphine doses for the pain. In July 2008, she attended a pilgrimage to Lourdes. A few days after returning to her convent, she reported an instantaneous and complete healing. She immediately removed her braces and stopped all medication. Her case file was reviewed by hundreds of physicians before the CMIL voted in 2016 that her cure had no medical explanation.
Another event in the Bureau's history involves Dr. Alexis Carrel, a French surgeon and future Nobel Prize winner. In 1902, while an agnostic, Carrel witnessed the rapid and complete recovery of a young woman named Marie Bailly from acute tuberculous peritonitis. He documented her hugely distended abdomen flattening to normal within 30 minutes. The experience, which he could not explain, deeply affected his life and career, eventually leading him back to the Catholic faith.