Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, who has headed the Office of Medical Observations at the Lourdes Sanctuary in France for the past 17 years, has retired. As the president of the Lourdes Medical Bureau, Dr. de Franciscis investigated hundreds of reported cures among pilgrims to ascertain whether they were truly miraculous. The 70-year-old Italian-American officially retired on February 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. During Dr. de Franciscis’ tenure, only 72 cases have been recognized as miraculous by the Church.
In February 2009, De Franciscis was invited and appointed by the Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes to become the 15th Permanent Physician at the Lourdes shrine. Italian surgeon Giada Monami has now succeeded Dr. de Franciscis, becoming the first woman to hold this position.
Since the Blessed Virgin Mary’s apparition to St. Bernadette in 1858, approximately 8,000 cases of miraculous healings have been recorded. The first cures were recognized as miracles in 1862 by the bishop of Tarbes. In 1883, he appointed the first permanent physician for the sanctuary, who founded the Lourdes Medical Bureau to investigate and verify claims of “miraculous” cures rigorously.