Dear brothers and sisters,
Dear friends who are sick,
This year, the pastoral theme of the Sanctuary is the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). This emphasizes the remarkable exchange between the gaze of the Lord’s messenger and Mary’s. In this encounter, the humility and generosity of a young woman allowed God to accomplish his work of salvation. Mary did not keep the Lord for herself, but offered him to the world, saying to each of us, “The Lord is with you.” This truth is the foundation of our dignity as persons. And here, Mary looks upon each one of us as a unique person, as Saint Bernadette testified during the apparitions at the grotto. This maternal gaze reminds us once more that no one is invisible in God’s eyes.
At a time when some societies are inclined to look aside or close their eyes to the dignity of human life, we need first of all “to foster, in ourselves and in others, a contemplative outlook… It is the outlook of those who see life in its deeper meaning, who grasp its utter gratuitousness, its beauty and its invitation to freedom and responsibility. It is the outlook of those who do not presume to take possession of reality but instead accept it as a gift, discovering in all things the reflection of the Creator and seeing in every person his living image (cf. Gen 1:27; Ps 8:5). This outlook… is open to perceiving in the face of every person a call to encounter, dialogue and solidarity” (Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 83), so that the world may have life.
In the dialogue of the Annunciation, as the Lord gazes upon her, Mary discovers that she is God’s chosen one. Yet, at the heart of this encounter, it is each one of us who discovers that we too are personally called and profoundly destined for the love of God, who is the source of life. The human person is “worthy” simply by virtue of existing and of being destined for eternity. Our dignity cannot be measured or debated.
I know that for some of you, because of particular illnesses and, at times, terrible pain, your horizon may appear dark, uncertain and without hope. But no human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity. On the contrary, it is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that we must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion. It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.
Here in Lourdes, the city of the sick and of hope, I appeal to the entire healthcare community to remember the profound meaning of your vocation, which is to care for a suffering person, not to eliminate that person. Yes, dear friends, be passionate servants of life. No one ever has the right “on the basis of laboratory algorithms, to decide the life of a given embryo or elderly person! Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death!” (Address to the Members of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, 22 June 2026). In this regard, I urge you resolutely to develop structures for palliative care and research. At the same time, I urge you to accompany the sick with the tenderness that we see here in Lourdes, where doctors, nurses, stretcher-bearers, chaplains, pastoral teams serving the sick, and so many others live out their vocation in the service of the dignity of the human person, so that the world may have life. In caring for bodies, you also bind up wounded souls. To you, dear members of the hospitality groups, and to the healthcare workers who devote yourselves to serving your brothers and sisters, I express my deepest gratitude.
Dear brothers and sisters who are sick, I want to tell you that you are not a burden. You are the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church. I carry in my prayers the trials you are going through. My thoughts are also with all those who cannot be here and who, from their homes or hospital rooms, are united with us in this gathering. I entrust all of you to the maternal love of the Mother of the Lord, asking her to obtain for you the consolations of her Son Jesus. May God bless and protect you.
Leo XIV
Meeting with the Staff and Sick Community of "Accueil Notre-Dame" at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes
September 27, 2026
