Although never formally encouraged by the Church, Lourdes water has become a focus of devotion to the Virgin Mary at Lourdes. Since the supposed apparitions, many people have claimed to have been cured by drinking or bathing in it, and the Lourdes authorities provide it free of charge to any who ask for it.

Each day of the novena begins with the following Opening Prayer of the Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes, which you can also pray by itself for nine days for a shorter version of the novena. In it, we recall the many miracles that have been wrought at the Grotto of Lourdes since Our Lady appeared there in 1858, and we ask for her intercession for our own needs.