In 2022, what was supposed to be a simple test drive became a tour of the relics of St. Bernadette to 45 American communities — with no marketing budget and not much advance plan. What happened next surprised everyone. This year, we're doing it on purpose, at ten times the scale, in every corner of the country.
Support the 2026-27 TourAt first, the visit of St. Bernadette's relics to the United States in 2022 was meant to be small, limited to just a few parishes. Then a priest in Miami compiled a list of 120 churches across the country named for Our Lady of Lourdes or St. Bernadette and asked whether they were willing to receive the relics. Time was short, and not every parish could meet the requirements in time — but the list grew from a small, hand-picked handful to 45 parishes that said yes.
What happened at the parishes that said yes was, in the words of the people who hosted her, something none of them expected.
In St. Louis, the line to venerate the relics wrapped around the church, with waits of three to four hours. In Houston, over 5,000 pilgrims came through the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham in four days — more than 100 received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. In Green Bay, 8,500 pilgrims visited the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in a single weekend. In Lafayette, 6,000 came in three days, with the bishop himself celebrating Mass. Small parishes in Montana, Kansas, and rural Texas reported families driving in from three and four states away.
Nobody had asked them to come. They came anyway.
Hover your mouse over the carousel to stop animation.
The 2022 tour was always meant as a first step — a modest test of the waters to see how America would respond to St. Bernadette. What happened next went far beyond what the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes had hoped for, or could have promised: Americans showed up in numbers that rivaled campaigns with far bigger budgets behind them.
That response changed everything. It told us this couldn't stay a modest visit — it demanded a second tour built on an entirely different scale: one that reaches every diocese that wants her, not only the parishes a short timeline allowed; one built for lasting relationships, not a single stop; one that goes beyond parish doors entirely, onto campuses and into hospitals, for the people who never got the chance to meet her in 2022.
The 2026-27 tour is our answer to that demand.
On September 18, 2026, St. Bernadette's relics will arrive in the United States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. — the largest Catholic church in North America — to begin a 12-month, coast-to-coast pilgrimage.
The route unfolds in four chronological legs:
Where 2022 reached 45 parishes in a matter of months, this tour is planned to visit approximately 200 locations across nearly every U.S. state over a full year — not just parishes, but for the first time, university campuses and hospitals.
Universities, because the young adults filling those campuses today are the generation that will carry — or fail to carry — the Catholic faith forward, and a personal encounter with St. Bernadette's witness speaks to them in a way a homily alone cannot.
Hospitals, because Lourdes has meant healing — of body, mind, and spirit — since 1858, and there is no more fitting place for that message than where people are most in need of hope.
And unlike 2022, this tour is built for something longer than a single visit: a lasting relationship between the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and every diocese and parish she visits, so that what happens when she leaves — new pilgrimages to Lourdes, new Hospitalité chapters, new prayer communities — matters as much as what happens while she's there.
A gift to the 2026-27 tour isn't underwriting a road trip. It's underwriting the infrastructure that turns one relic into a national encounter with the Gospel — safely, respectfully, and at a scale worthy of what happened organically in 2022.
Specialized transport, a dedicated reliquary case, insurance, and a full-time driver team keep St. Bernadette safe across 12 months and every U.S. climate — from New England winters to the desert Southwest.
A coordination team works months ahead of the relics at every stop — securing each bishop's authorization, working with each parish, university, and hospital chaplaincy to prepare their community to receive her well.
A rebuilt website, active social media presence, and printed materials mean that everyone who can't stand in that line — the homebound, the far away, the curious — can still encounter her story and, we hope, respond to it.
The 2026-27 tour of St. Bernadette's relics across the United States is more than a series of stops — it's the start of a lasting relationship between the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and every diocese, parish, university, and hospital she visits.
The message of Lourdes has always been a message of hope, not only for the Catholic Church, but for the entire world. Wherever St. Bernadette goes this year, that message goes with her.
We can't do it without you.
La gira 2026-27 de las reliquias de Santa Bernardita por los Estados Unidos es más que una serie de paradas: es el comienzo de una relación duradera entre el Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes y cada diócesis, parroquia, universidad y hospital que visita.
El mensaje de Lourdes siempre ha sido un mensaje de esperanza, no solo para la Iglesia Católica, sino para el mundo entero. Dondequiera que vaya Santa Bernardita este año, ese mensaje la acompaña.
No podemos hacerlo sin ti.
La tournée 2026-27 des reliques de sainte Bernadette à travers les États-Unis est bien plus qu'une série d'étapes : c'est le début d'une relation durable entre le Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Lourdes et chaque diocèse, paroisse, université et hôpital qu'elle visite.
Le message de Lourdes a toujours été un message d'espérance, non seulement pour l'Église catholique, mais pour le monde entier. Partout où sainte Bernadette se rendra cette année, ce message l'accompagnera.
Nous ne pouvons pas le faire sans vous.