A visit to Lourdes, the site of mystery and medical miracles

Over the past 164 years, the Catholic church has acknowledged over 70 medical miracles at The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France. Each year, 4 million pilgrims flock to Lourdes, drawn by tales of miraculous recoveries. In 2022, correspondent Bill Whitaker explored the Lourdes Office of Medical Observations, where top doctors and researchers investigate thousands of miracle claims to discern the verifiable cases from the explainable ones.

Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, a Harvard-trained epidemiologist and former pediatrician, led the office until February 2026. Since the 60 Minutes team's visit in 2022, the recognized miracles have increased to 72.

To qualify as a miracle, a medical case must meet stringent criteria: a diagnosis of a severe, life-threatening illness followed by a miraculous, sudden, complete, and lasting cure with no apparent medical explanation. The office has subjected these claims to rigorous scrutiny for decades, with skeptics questioning the rigidity of the standards over time.

However, no one has disproven the office's conclusions. Dr. Esther Sternberg, a leading expert on the mind-body connection, analyzed the office's records and found them credible, crediting the office's increasing medical rigor and longer follow-up periods.

Four individuals whose miracles were recognized by the Lourdes Office shared their stories with 60 Minutes in 2022. Vittorio Micheli, who recovered from osteosarcoma in 1963; Sister Luigina Traverso, cured of paralysis in 1965; Delizia Cirolli, whose cancer vanished in 1976; and Sister Bernadette Moriau, healed of a nerve disorder in 2008 -- all reported being healthy and disease-free.