The grotto and the Gospel: Why the Church preserves Lourdes without adding to revelation

Pope Leo XIV visited the Grotto of Massabielle on Sept. 27, a pilgrimage that highlighted the distinction between public revelation and private apparitions. While the Church promotes shrines like Lourdes, it maintains that these events do not add to the completed divine revelation found in Jesus Christ.

According to the Second Vatican Council documents Dei Verbum and Lumen Gentium, public revelation reached its fulfillment in Christ and no new public revelation is expected before his return. The Church teaches that no vision or apparition adds new truths to the faith handed down by the apostles. Instead, private revelations serve a subordinate, pastoral role rather than expanding the divine deposit of faith.