Philadelphians next week will get the chance to encounter, pray with and venerate the relics of a young woman from Lourdes in Southern France who received 18 apparitions from the Blessed Mother.
The relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous are traveling to local sites including St. Thomas of Villanova Church on the campus of Villanova University and Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Philadelphia’s Overbrook Farms neighborhood, along with a nearly 24-hour overnight encounter at Malvern Retreat House.
“I don’t know what God has in store, but I just know when He calls and when these opportunities arise, you say yes,” said Mercedarian Father Matthew Phelan, the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and the vicar general of the Mercedarian Friars.
Our Lady of Lourdes will host the relics Oct. 2-4.
First they will come to St. Thomas of Villanova Church on Sept. 28, the final day of a three-day visit that Pope Leo XIV, a Villanova alumnus of the Order of St. Augustine, is making at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.
Augustinian Father Bernard Scianna, the vice president for mission and ministry at Villanova University, noted the connection between Pope Leo, Lourdes, the university, and “a beautiful site on the Main Line” as places for the local community “to come and honor and venerate the relics,” he said.
The Blessed Mother’s appearances to the then-14-year-old St. Bernadette began in February 1858 when she was just 14 years old, appearances that mostly brought skepticism from her religious community, the Sisters of Charity of Nevers.
“At first, she wasn’t believed by her family, by the authorities. She persevered because the Blessed Mother told her and asked her to persevere,” Father Scianna said.
During her 16th appearance the Virgin Mary identified herself as the Immaculate Conception, a title that Pope Pius IX had decreed in 1854, just four years earlier.
Those in St. Bernadette’s community finally listened to her and believed.
“She persevered,” Father Scianna said. “She was rewarded for that in the sense of faithfulness.”
St. Bernadette’s relics came to the United States in 2022, but not to Philadelphia that year. This year’s visit to the area is part of a journey across the United States that will span parts of 2026 and 2027, all because of the work of Toni Pallatto, the U.S. representative of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
She sees the Villanova visit as the work of providential timing.
“Villanova University (was) scheduled before we knew the pope was coming to Lourdes, and Villanova is the university from which the pope graduated,” she said.
“(Mary) was the instrument of the Spirit to accomplish God’s plan, holiness. She was the living temple of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 6:19.”
Both Fathers Phelan and Scianna said that Pallatto reached out to them to set up the dates for the journey of St. Bernadette’s relics to Philadelphia.
“There’s St. Bernadette Parish in Drexel Hill, and I have a responsibility to at least give deference to them,” Father Phelan said. “She said they had called (that parish) and they couldn’t accept the relics that weekend, (so) I said, ‘I guess we’re in. We’d welcome the relics!”
Pallatto said the first-order relics coming to Philadelphia include parts of her hair and right femur, two fragments of her ribs, and various skin and muscle fragments.
She said that each pilgrim comes to experience relics for their own reasons, often due to the struggles of their life.
“It may be a moment where a person has been carrying burdens in their heart and soul, and they realize that it’s time to let go, forgive themselves and also forgive others, Pallatto said.
“In many cases, there is physical healing, and those miracles are documented by the Medical Bureau of Lourdes.”
Fathers Phelan and Scianna call the experience of praying with and venerating relics a chance to make faith tangible for people, since most people prefer to experience their faith with their senses, to touch their faith in ways beyond what they may read in a book.
“It is God that provides the encounter, not the relic itself specifically, but something about the power of encountering a saint that way that God uses,” Father Phelan said.
“Don’t come in with expectations,” he advised pilgrims. “Come in with surrender because we don’t know what God’s got planned.”
“It’s a great opportunity,” Father Scianna added, “probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for those who can’t get over to France.”
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The following schedule of events with the relics of St. Bernadette in Philadelphia is subject to change. The following links offer more details and the latest updates about each stage of the journey of the relics of St. Bernadette in Philadelphia: The Relics Tour | St. Thomas of Villanova Church | Malvern Retreat House | Our Lady of Lourdes Church
Monday, Sept. 28 at St. Thomas of Villanova Church, 1229 East Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr
12:05 p.m.: Mass
Afternoon: Time for private devotion
4 p.m.: Sacrament of reconciliation available
5 p.m.: Rosary
6:15 p.m.: Invitation to make the water gesture, similar to that which happens at the Our Lady of Lourdes shrine in France, where people can wash themselves with the holy water at the shrine.
8:45 p.m.: Night prayer
9 p.m.: Relics are prepared to travel to Malvern Retreat House
Monday, Sept. 28 at Malvern Retreat House, 315 South Warren Avenue, Malvern
11 p.m.: Relics arrive
Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Malvern Retreat House, 315 South Warren Avenue, Malvern
12 a.m.: Veneration of relics begins, continues into the early morning along with eucharistic adoration inside Good Shepherd Chapel
8 a.m.: Morning prayer
8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.: Veneration of the relic and adoration
9 a.m.: Lourdes Experience Video
10 a.m.: Rosary
10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Sacrament of reconciliation available
11 a.m.: Lourdes Experience Video
12 p.m.: Angelus and Mass with water gesture and anointing of the sick (CLOSED – registration is full)1 p.m.: Lourdes Experience Video
1-2:30 p.m.: Veneration of the relic and adoration
2:45 p.m.: Procession to Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto with blessings and prayers
4-7 p.m.: Public veneration and adoration
5-7 p.m.: Sacrament of reconciliation available
6 p.m.: Lourdes Experience Video
7 p.m.: Mass with water gesture and anointing of the sick, presided by Auxiliary Bishop Efren Esmilla (CLOSED – registration is full)
9 p.m.: Relics are prepared to leave
People are invited to reserve an overnight stay at Malvern Retreat House.
Friday, Oct. 2 at Our Lady of Lourdes, 6315 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia
NOTE: Relics will be available for prayer at the following times Friday, but benediction begins Saturday
Late afternoon, time TBD: Arrival and solemn reception of the relics of St. Bernadette
7:30 p.m.: Sacrament of reconciliation available
8:30 p.m.: First Friday Vigil Mass of Reparation
Post-Mass: Alliance of the Two Hearts All-Night Vigil, with Eucharistic exposition and adoration
Saturday, Oct. 3 at Our Lady of Lourdes, 6315 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia
8:10 a.m.: Eucharistic benediction
8:30 a.m.: Saturday morning Mass; public veneration begins
10 a.m.: Lourdes Virtual Pilgrimage Experience
12 p.m.: Angelus, eucharistic exposition and midday prayer
Afternoon: Pilgrimage activities, devotional programs, confessions and public veneration
4 p.m.: Sunday Vigil Mass
6:30 p.m. Solemn Vespers and eucharistic exposition
8:30 p.m. Eucharistic benediction followed by Marian candlelight rosary procession through Overbrook Farms, concluding inside the church with night prayer
Sunday, Oct. 4 at Our Lady of Lourdes, 6315 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia
NOTE: Seating will be limited to church capacity on a first-come, first-served basis. People are encouraged to bring their own outdoor chairs if needed
8 a.m.: Sunday Mass, followed by blessing with relics
9:30 a.m.: Traditional Latin Mass, followed by blessing with relics
11:30 a.m.: Sunday Mass, followed by blessing with relics
1 p.m.: Farewell celebration and departure of the relics
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