I am a second-year student at the University of Dayton. My expertise is not in theology but in communication, so when I was asked to write about the Catholic Lourdes pilgrimage, I did not know how to start. This research project began as an assignment for my History of Christianity course and resources in the Marian Library helped me earn the Father Jack McGrath, S.M. Research Award.
As a communications major, most of my assignments focus on a message and a target audience, but not much on storytelling. This made Lourdes seem unfamiliar and intimidating because I was viewing it from a strictly theological perspective. Luckily, research in the Marian Library allowed me to see it differently. I realized Lourdes is complex and can be explored through history, culture and a communication perspective.
My class took a trip to the library to examine a collection of artifacts from Lourdes, ranging from photos and posters to an alarm clock. It was interesting, but there was a lot at once, so I made an appointment to come back and look more closely. Two things caught my eye. At face value, I saw a photograph and a postcard, but then I considered the deeper meaning. They were not just artifacts or religious objects, but tools for communication. Moreover, they were designed to tell the story of Lourdes beyond the pilgrimage site itself.
The postcard, labeled Souvenir de Lourdes, uses bright colors and a collage of images to market Lourdes as sacred and inviting. The grotto, paired with scenery such as the mountains and the basilica, was turned into an image for sale. It functioned as a mass medium, allowing the Lourdes message to reach those who could not be there in person. This helped me to see the intersection between faith and modern culture. The pilgrimage was rooted in a belief in the miraculous, as well as in modern design and mass production. Communication worked with devotion, allowing Lourdes to become a phenomenon.
A photograph of the Lourdes Medical Bureau deepened my understanding further. It shows a doctor speaking with a nun, seemingly in a hospital. The blurb reveals they were discussing the Nun’s potential “miraculous cure.” The image illustrates the relationship between faith and science, showing how the Church worked with medical professionals to evaluate claims of healing. Instead of rejecting modern medicine, Lourdes incorporated it, strengthening its credibility in a secular world.
My research taught me that Lourdes is about more than miracles. It is also about how those miracles can be understood in the modern age. My communication skills helped me see how Lourdes was affected by the media, institutions and the community of people working to give it meaning.
I would not have been successful without the support of the Marian Library's collection. My research culminated in something I was proud of, earning me the Father Jack McGrath scholarship and an opportunity to present my work at the Catholic Intellectual Traditions Symposium. I never thought I would engage so deeply with religious studies, but I enjoyed my experience.
If you are a student at the University of Dayton doing research and feeling outside your comfort zone, you can get a good start at the Marian Library. You do not need a theology background to be successful. Considering your own perspective can really make a difference.
– Brookelyn Rice ’28 is a communication major and a recipient of the Father Jack McGrath, S.M. Research Award.
