Lourdes needs manna from heaven

[kskiska]

The Catholic shrine of Lourdes yesterday opened a special bank account and appealed for donations from the faithful after it emerged that last weekend's visit by the Pope had left it with a €1.2m (£812,000) deficit.

"The figures are bad," admitted Monsignor Jacques Perrier, the Bishop of Lourdes. "We've covered only about 15% of the visit's cost. We need to find €1.2m."

Mr Perrier said the visit's organisers had been planning to recoup the vast majority of their €1.5m expenses from donations at the mass read by the pontiff during his two-day visit to the Pyrenees shrine, which draws Catholics seeking miracle cures.

But the 200,000-plus visitors, including thousands of sick people in hospital beds and wheelchairs, who attended Sunday's open-air mass, held in sweltering sunshine, left only €185,000 between them - apparently because many were so keen to get good seats that they rushed past the collection boxes.

more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,12272,1286152,00.html

[realFedUp]

1. The costs to Lourdes were in security costs?

sorry, I haven't read the article yet....

[Dookus]

2. Perhaps the Vatican

could sell a statue.

[burrowowl]

3. LOL

Security went too well, so people didn't have time to drop some change in the almes box!

[barb162]

4. I wonder if any of those people had a miracle

I know a Catholic woman who is going blind quickly and she went there. SHe is still going blind.

[lovuian]

5. Actually I know a person who was cured at Lourdes

It was a skin disease and he applied the water and was totally cured

So I know its hard to believe but yes people have been cured there