The Rector of the Sanctuary of Lourdes has a deep understanding of the Virgin Mary’s message transmitted by Bernadette.

A three year cycle consecrated to praying with Bernadette will begin in 2010. With her, we will start by making the Sign of the Cross (2010), before praying the Our Father (2011), and the Rosary (2012). This sign is of particular importance in the life experience of the Saint. From the very start of the Apparitions, the Virgin Mary taught her how to make this fundamental gesture. Her great love for Jesus was thus enlightened, nourished and given an orientation. Bernadette’s life became a Paschal journey because she lived with Jesus in the Mystery of the Cross. The life of all the baptised is placed under the Sign of the Cross from Baptism to death.

Did Bernadette know how to make the Sign of the Cross properly when the Virgin Mary appeared to her?

Yes, her parents had taught it to her. After the first Apparition on 11th February 1858, Bernadette spoke of a little Lady in the hollow of the rock: “I wanted to make the Sign of the Cross, I couldn’t raise my hand. It collapsed on me. Shock got the better of me. The vision made the Sign of the Cross, then I tried a second time, and I could. As soon as I made the Sign of the Cross, the fearful shock disappeared”. Why was Bernadette’s hand paralysed? Very simply because she made that gesture with the intention of protecting herself. Bernadette said it herself: “I was afraid”. She added that she managed to do it when the Lady herself made it. Mary, who does not need to protect herself, makes the Sign of the Cross to signify that She, the Immaculate, is the fruit of the Cross of Christ. In the Grotto of Massabielle, and from the very first Apparition, our humanity is already represented by the person of Bernadette and also that of Mary. By placing the Cross between herself and Bernadette, the Mother of God reveals to us that the passage of a humanity wounded by sin to a humanity renewed by God takes place through the Cross. Through the simplicity and the depth of this simple gesture, Bernadette is introduced by Mary to the heart of the Paschal Mystery, the heart of the gospel. This is the reason why, during his pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said: “In the sign of the Cross made by Mary and Bernadette is to be found the entirety of the message of Lourdes”.

How does Bernadette make the Sign of the Cross after her extraordinary encounters with the Immaculate?

Her Sign was characterised by its slowness, its amplitude and her prayerful attitude. This child gave the impression of wrapping herself with the sign of the Cross as one would wrap a shawl around oneself. Bernadette presented herself as she was before the Good Lord. Once a religious Sister, she was asked by another Sister of the charity of Nevers: “What should one do to be sure to go to Heaven?” she answered straight away: “To make a proper Sign of the Cross is already a good start”. Bernadette received the charisma of the Cross. A few moments before her death on 16th April 1879, the Sisters surrounding her at the time of her agony testified that, after gathering her last bit of strength, she made the sign of the Cross and died. Bernadette entered the Apparitions by making the Sign of the Cross, and she entered eternal life by also making the sign of the Cross.

What does the Sign of the Cross represent especially for the baptised?

A photo from the new film on Bernadette in Nevers, produced by Catherine Albrecht and Philippe Cabidoche with volunteers.

The Cross is represented by a vertical stake and a transversal bar upon which the Romans attached those who were condemned, their arms outstretched, with the sole purpose of making them suffer until they died. The Cross represents all that is most negative: violence, suffering and death. Nonetheless it is precisely this stake and this transversal bar that God chose to manifest His love for all human beings. The Father, by giving us His Son on the wood of the Cross, meets us at the very heart of our own sufferings and, of course, our death. When we are baptised, we receive the Sign of the Cross, and we also receive the key to our life. When saying the words which accompany this gesture: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, we reveal the deepest aspect of our Christian vocation: in the same way as the Father loves His Son and vice versa, I desire to love my brothers with the strength of the Holy Spirit given to me to accomplish this mission. The Christian vocation is deeply Trinitarian, and this is the reason why the Lord said to us “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-36). The Christian vocation is to live in communion with God and our brothers. I personally believe that this is the purpose of the request of Mary to Bernadette: “Pray for sinners”.

Where can we see the Sign of the Cross and its effects in our lives?

Where sin and conversion, misery and solidarity, death and the presence of the Saviour can be found, the Sign of the Cross of Christ is also present. In Lourdes, the great Sign given is certainly that of the Cross. This great mystery is unveiled to us in the relationship which establishes itself between the sick person and the hospitalier. All gestures of charity in serving others render the great mystery of the Cross present.

What gestures can we make to benefit better from the theme of the year?

We can make the sign of the Cross before praying in front of an image representing Mary or Christ, in front of the Grotto or at Mass. Another way could be to render little services to one another which would enable us to forget ourselves and be more attentive to the needs of other people.

Inteview by Béatrice Rouquet