After the four-day stay of Pope Leo XIV in Cameroon, the country will host from May 1st to June 10th, 2026, the relics of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who testified to 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
From the 1st day of May 2026, one of the months dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church, the relics of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, a historical figure of the apparitions of the mother of Jesus Christ in Lourdes, will be in Cameroon. They will enter the country via Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport before being transported to several ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the country.
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During the month of May and until June 10th, these relics will stay in the archdioceses of Yaoundé and Douala, as well as in the dioceses of Obala, Sangmelima, Ebolowa, Batouri, Eseka, Mbalmayo, and Edéa. At each stage of the tour, the faithful will have the opportunity, in the presence of these relics, to intensify prayers, venerate, walk in procession to raise intentions, or participate in special Eucharistic celebrations.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous is a figure of the Catholic Church known worldwide for her spiritual connection with the Virgin Mary. Born in 1844 in Lourdes, France, she testified to 18 apparitions of Mary between February and July 1858 in the Grotto of Massabielle, making Lourdes a popular pilgrimage site for Catholic faithful around the world.
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Deceased on April 16, 1879, at the age of 35 at the Saint-Gildard Convent in Nevers, where she had retired after the apparitions of Lourdes, her body rests in a glass reliquary in the chapel of the same place. Some of her relics are sent around the world to allow the faithful to experience faith in their presence.
They arrive in Cameroon a few weeks after the apostolic visit of Pope Leo XIV, which rekindled the faith and fervor of Christians. The tour of these relics is thus part of the continuation of this spiritual dynamic in the country of President Paul Biya.
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