A Visit From the Lourdes

Pope Benedict XIV, born Prospero

Lorenzo Lambertini, brought the Church back

 to some more academic roots and strengthened 

the institution of miracles with strict scrutiny

Yesterday, we were lucky enough to be visited by Alessandro Francisis, Director of the Lourdes Medical Bureau. His résumé is impressive, to say the least. He was educated in Naples as a pediatrician, elected to the Italian Parliament, and made frequent trips to Lourdes as a volunteer in his youth. A few years ago, he was appointed Director of the Lourdes Medical Bureau, where he uses his medical training to ascertain which unexplainable cures are actually miracles according to the Lambertini Criteria set forth by Pope Benedict XIV.

The field of medicine has been growing more clinical, more technical over the past decade; yet, Dr. Francisis was adamant and sincere when he called the medicine he practiced an “art”. The idea of medicine as art really struck me, particularly as someone who wants to be a doctor someday. He spoke reverently about the physical examination of a patient, relating to us stories of physically getting on patients’ levels at Lourdes so as to fully invite their concerns and eliminate any opportunity for intimidation. He even makes a conscious effort to not look at his watch so that visitors to Lourdes know that they are indeed his priority for the moment. All this stems from a religiously rooted belief that everyone deserves this type of spiritual and medical attention. I admire the unique way he seems to connect with his patients on a personal, spiritual level. I know I’m afraid of getting too emotionally involved with my patients in the future to be able to make clear-headed medical decisions, but Dr. Francisis seems to have mastered that craft.

Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man
Maybe medicine can be an art form

I was immensely comforted by Dr. Francisis belief that the pursuit for knowledge is never-ending. There will always be “something we have to reach”, he says. He continued to say the “gift of intelligence, the freedom to do research” were all “gifts from God”. I don’t think there’s anything in life I love more than learning, so the idea that the quest is never ending makes the nerd in me really rejoice. However, Dr. Francisis also said there would always be room for a spiritual explanation; humanity will never come to anything so completely so as to negate the necessity and divine action of God.

That there will always be room for divine explanation is comforting and completely terrifying. Like I said before, I never want to the process of learning to end. But to think that there will always be a gap in human knowledge that can only be filled by divine forces is also a little scary. On some level, humanity will always be self-destructive and helpless, but to have no earthly remedy for these situations is mildly terrifying. Sure, there’s “always going to be space for wonder”, but I don’t want wonder to hinder what I can accomplish on my own. At what point will God’s presence become an excuse to no longer pursue worldly knowledge? When is the human intellect and experience no longer adequate?

Maybe all this is a personal crisis of faith, my inability to accord the God I was taught to believe in with the world I see today (and the world I imagine there will be). Dr. Francisis told us of his own religious misgivings when he was 17 and working at Lourdes, confronted day after day with sick children. I would love to visit Lourdes and witness the type of overwhelming and unquestioning faith that people exhibit. I’m not sure what I would learn, but I’ve got this feeling that it would be incredibly illuminating experience.

Lots of people volunteer at Lourdes each year. I'll see if
I can convince my mother to come with me