| Description | Series of slides created by Thomas Holmes Mason of Dame Street Dublin, relating to Sanctuary of Our Lady at Lourdes and its healing powers. The majority of the slides show individuals before and/or after their cure at Lourdes. Some have additional details including names, date cured, disease and date of recognition of the cure by the Lourdes Medical Bureau. Most of this text is in French.
It is not clear when or why the slides were created, but it is possible they were created to illustrate a series of talks on Lourdes and its medical cures and miracles. The slides are marked with letters and numbers on small labels, which indicate five series with up to 50 slides per series, although none of the series is complete. Some of the labels are marked 'Hotel Bellevue 1929'. Many of the slides contain dates, the latest being 1932. |
| History | The Shrine at Lourdes was founded in 1858 following a series of vision of the Virgin Mary witnessed by Marie Bernarde Soubirous (later Sister Marie-Bernard). Cures occurred at Lourdes from 1858, in 1883 a Medical Bureau (Bureau des Constatations Médicales) was established to examine and certify the cures. The methodology and standards used by the Bureau in identifying and investigating cures have changed over time, but the procedure has remained largely similar. Cures are referred to the Bureau, with further investigations taken if required. Cures are recognised by the Bureau if they can be shown to be 'medically inexplicable'. If a cure is recognised by the Bureau it is passed on to the Bishop of the diocese where the subject lives, who is responsible for the decision making process as to whether the cure is 'miraculous'. |
| Custodial History | Found in the Columban Fathers Central Archives Navan and presented to the RCPI Archives. |