They say over 7,000 people were healed at Lourdes — so why are only 72 recognized as miracles?

🔥The question: “Did you throw the rest out as fakes, or are you using the number for publicity?”

🛡️The Church's answer: The official Lourdes material explains that more than 7,000 reports of cures have been received and that the Church has recognized 72 of them as miraculous healings (as of 2026); the 70th was confirmed in 2018, the 71st in December 2024, and the 72nd in April 2025. A “report” means a request for investigation was submitted, not that a fact has been established. Many cases fail to meet the strict criteria because the documentation is insufficient, because the effect of treatment or the natural course of the illness is hard to rule out, or because the follow-up wasn't long enough. That doesn't mean the rest can be declared lies either.

📜What the Church has actually recognized: The number 72 doesn't mean “exactly 72 good things happened at Lourdes”; it is the number of cases that went all the way through the official medical and ecclesiastical procedure.

🧐If they press further: “Doesn't a recognition rate that low mean there are no miracles at all?” — A low rate alone can prove neither presence nor absence. What it does show is that the Church doesn't stamp its approval on every healing story. The documentation and the judgment in each recognized case have to be examined on their own.

✨In one sentence: “The 7,000-odd is the number of reports and the 72 is the number that passed the official procedure. The rest can't be judged all at once as either miracles or lies.”