08/20/2026
The relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous, renowned for her historic Marian visions at Lourdes, will travel to the United States this September. The opening ceremony of the tour will commence on September 18 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
During the yearlong tour, the relics will visit about 140 locations in the United States where it will stop for veneration at cathedrals, basilicas, shrines, seminaries, Catholic universities, hospitals, and parishes. The participants of the tour will get the opportunity to venerate the relics, and take part in Eucharistic celebrations, Marian devotions, catechetical presentations, and prayers for the sick.
“We are honored to bring her relics once again to the United States and invite countless individuals to experience the grace, healing, and hope associated with Lourdes,” Father Jim Phalan, the English-speaking chaplain for the sanctuary, said in a press release. The relics contain fragments of the saint’s two ribs, kneecaps, a sample of muscle from the external part of the right femur, hair, and various fragments that came from muscles and skin.
The sanctuary said that the tour envisions to deepen the relationship between American Catholics and the sanctuary while also intends to encourage future pilgrimages to Lourdes. The tour’s detailed schedule, and the places of visit will be announced in the coming months. The previous and the first U.S. pilgrimage of the saint’s relics occurred in 2022, when it garnered wide positive response from the faithful at churches and shrines across the country.
Bernadette Soubirous, a poor French teenager, had 18 Marian visions in 1858 in Lourdes, France, which led to the popularity of Lourdes as one of the most significant pilgrimage destinations in the world.
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