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Pope Leo visits site of miracle cures, meets people whose unexplained healings stunned doctors

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Siegel, M. (2026, September 27). Pope Leo visits site of miracle cures, meets people whose unexplained healings stunned doctors. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/health/pope-leo-visits-site-miracle-cures-meets-people-unexplained-healings-stunned-doctors

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-27 · by Marc Siegel

Quick Summary

Pope Leo XIV visited Lourdes on Saturday evening from Paris to pray at the site where Bernadette Soubirous reported visions of the Virgin Mary and lead an open-air Mass attended by hundreds of thousands Sunday. The pope met with people who experienced unexplained healings, such as Sister Bernadette Moriau and Antonietta Raco, whose cases were recognized by the Church. Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, recently retired from reviewing potential miracle cures at Lourdes, highlighted both spiritual and physical healing during the pope's visit aimed at purification and addressing church scandals.
Written by AI on 2026-09-27, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Pope Leo XIV concluded his four-day visit to France on September 28, 2026, with massive crowds and significant discussions on migration and European unity. The Pope’s trip, the first papal state visit in 18 years, began with an address on artificial intelligence at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and a Mass attended by more than half a million people. In Metz, he emphasized the importance of peace through dialogue and criticized increased arms expenditure, advocating for welcoming migrants and fostering European unity. The visit also highlighted Catholicism’s resurgence, as young people engaged enthusiastically despite France's secular history. Pope Leo met with several European leaders in Metz to discuss these themes further, ending a trip that showcased both religious devotion and political discourse.

Written for “Pope Leo's Visit To France” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 64 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Pope Leo's Visit To France
World · 65 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 68/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100
BBC News
Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 44 claims Outlet record 59/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 5 of 46 claims Outlet record 64/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 34 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different parts of Pope Leo XIV's visit to France; Article A focuses on his Mass in Paris while Article B discusses his visit to Lourdes.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 66/100
Euronews
Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles describe Pope Leo XIV's visit to France, Article A covers the Mass in Paris and the start of his pilgrimage to Lourdes on September 26th, whereas Article B focuses specifically on his activities during his time in Lourdes after arriving from Paris.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different parts of Pope Leo's visit to France on the same day but distinct events: one in Paris and another in Lourdes.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
65
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6304 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Marc Siegel
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Have hundreds of patients been isolated and several hospitals been shut down out of an abundance of caution, as the health authorities there would have you believe, or is this something far worse, as it was during the initial Wuhan lockdown for COVID?
🔮 I have no idea at the moment about the role he will play in my survival."
🔮 But though drinking may temporarily ease stress, the long-term health risks are significant.
🔮 Her would-be boyfriend had carried her down one-way streets (going in the opposite direction of the cars) to MGH.
🔮 The pope prayed at the Grotto Saturday night before leading an open-air Mass on the Prairie on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands expected to be in attendance.
🔮 She is not expected to survive.
Also by Marc Siegel
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Marc Siegel →

Topics

Chicago Church Lourdes Paris the Lourdes Office of Medical Observation

Subjects

Lourdes GPE · 5× de Franciscis PERSON · 4× Church ORG · 3× Alessandro de Franciscis PERSON · 1× Bernadette Moriau PERSON · 1× Bernadette Soubirous PERSON · 1× Chicago GPE · 1× Leo XIV PERSON · 1× Paris GPE · 1× the Lourdes Office of Medical Observation ORG · 1×

Narrative

In the book, de Franciscis emphasizes the vital role of the hospitaliers, as well as the fact that much of the healing associated with visits to Lourdes and the Grotto is spiritual and often goes unrecognized — remaining below the radar.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-27
🔮 The pope prayed at the Grotto Saturday night before leading an open-air Mass on the Prairie on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands expected to be in attendance.

Claims (24 extracted, 1 hedged)

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Lourdes from Paris on Saturday evening for his first-ever visit to the renowned place of miracle cures. asserted
XIV → arrive → cures
Back in 1858, a 14-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous reported having 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at the Lourdes Massabielle Grotto. asserted
girl → name → Grotto
This ultimately led to her being named a saint. asserted
her → lead → ?
The pope prayed at the Grotto Saturday night before leading an open-air Mass on the Prairie on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands expected to be in attendance. asserted
thousands → pray → attendance
He also planned to meet with bishops, the sick and the support staff. asserted
He → plan → bishops
I spoke with Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, who recently retired as president of the Lourdes Office of Medical Observation after 17 years of reviewing treatments and possible miracle cures. asserted
who → speak → treatments
He discussed his upcoming meeting with the pope, who he said was visiting Lourdes in the name of purification and healing, including healing from the Church's recent sexual abuse scandals. asserted
he → discuss → scandals
"I think I love him," he told me. asserted
he → think → me
"I think he's doing very well (as pope). asserted
he → think → pope
He's talking of the challenges that we have. asserted
we → talk → that
You must have heard about his first encyclical letter on artificial intelligence ... all the good that this technology can bring to today's world. asserted
technology → hear → world
I love him. asserted
I → love → him
We all love him!" asserted
We → love → him
Dr. de Franciscis said the pope would meet with people whose miracle healings were investigated and later recognized by the Church. asserted
healings → say → Church
Those include Sister Bernadette Moriau, who was cured of a spinal condition and was able to walk again, and Antonietta Raco, who in 2009 was cured of the severe neurodegenerative disease primary lateral sclerosis. asserted
who → include → disease
"He's also going to meet with a young woman (Delizia Cirolli) who was cured when she was only 7 years old of a Ewing's Sarcoma, a right knee cancer, back in the late '70s. asserted
she → go → 70s
" But for Lourdes, as well as for the pope, spiritual and physical healing lead to both minor and major miracles, according to de Franciscis. uncertain
healing → lead → Franciscis
He also spoke with me for my new book, "The Angels Among Us," about the hospitaliers, the aptly named "angels of Lourdes," who care for the sick there. asserted
who → speak → sick
In the book, de Franciscis emphasizes the vital role of the hospitaliers, as well as the fact that much of the healing associated with visits to Lourdes and the Grotto is spiritual and often goes unrecognized — remaining below the radar. asserted
much → emphasize → radar
"These so-called spiritual cures are so, so much more numerous than the physical ones that we know." asserted
we → call → that
"I think that statistically, these so-called spiritual cures are so, so much more numerous than the physical ones that we know," he said to me from Lourdes, as he eagerly anticipated the pope’s visit. asserted
he → think → visit
"People come here to serve, they think they come here to help others — and instead they come out of this experience being so much better," de Franciscis went on. asserted
Franciscis → come → experience
"And they go back to their work and their lives and their families, and they're so relieved, I would say, they've really changed. asserted
they → go → work
So I think this aspect is very, very interesting." In Lourdes this weekend, in the name of repentance and accountability, the pope also planned to sit down with seven victims of sexual assault committed by clergy of the Church. asserted
pope → think → Church
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